Description
Development of the area took place mainly after the success of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and building began on the Harrington Estate in 1855. Stanhope Gardens was among the terraces to be built from the mid-1860s, and the communal gardens for the residents' use were laid out around the same time. The underground railway track was laid between South Kensington and Gloucester Road in the mid 1860s and runs under the south of the gardens. Harrington Road was constructed in 1867.
Practical Information
| Site location | Stanhope Gardens |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW7 |
| What3Words | ///loaf.kite.sobs |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Has opened for London Open Gardens. Otherwise private, for keyholders only |
| Public Transport | Tube: Gloucester Road/South Kensington (District, Circle, Piccadilly). Bus: 49, 74. |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Development of this area of Kensington took place predominantly after the success of the Great Exhibition of 1851 when Parliament decided that a 'cultural centre' for the Nation should be established here, together with a grand residential estate, and identified funds from profits of the Exhibition and additional monies from the Treasury. Ownership of the land was in the hands of the 1851 Commissioners and a number of private estates including the Harrington and Alexander estates. Up until then a number of individual houses, some substantial, had been built in the area. Building began in 1855 on the Harrington Estate, developed by William Jackson with C J Richardson the architect, and the first terrace of houses is now Nos. 5-19 Queen's Gate. The style of Jackson's development, which extended north to Nos. 1-4 Hyde Park Gate and was also on land owned by the 1851 Commissioners, was suitably opulent, maintaining the tradition of the Georgian town house with mews behind, grand terraces of four or more stories with ornamental stuccoed facades above a rusticated ground floor.
Stanhope Gardens was among the terraces built from the mid-1860s/70s, also on the Harrington Estate; Stanford's Library Map of London and Its Suburbs of 1862 shows the site with a building at the corner of Harrington Road (now Stanhope Gardens) and Gloucester Road marked as Jackson's Works, with open land to the east with trees indicated. The fully stuccoed terrace of houses on the west end of the south side was designed by Thomas Cundy III in c.1871. The east side of Stanhope Gardens was rebuilt in 1955-60 as a result of war damage.
The communal gardens were probably laid out around mid-1860s when the underground railway track between South Kensington and Gloucester Road was laid, with Harrington Road constructed above in 1867 by the engineer John Fowler. The line runs under the south of the gardens, including a planted area between Nos. 52 and 53 Stanhope Gardens. The original cast iron railings still surround the garden on three sides, representing a notable exception to the common practice of removing garden railings for the war effort in WWII. The gate piers also survive, but the gate is of modern design with wire mesh. In 1928 the owner of the gardens was the Earl of Harrington and those able to access them were his lessees of the adjoining houses. The garden was maintained and controlled by a Garden Committee elected by the lessees who paid a garden rate for its maintenance. It was described at that time as an 'oblong enclosure flanked on three sides by roads and on one (short) side by the rear of houses. A large and attractive open space with well-kept lawns, tennis courts and flower beds, and some fine trees. Surrounded by a sparse shrubbery.' Today the gardens have a central raised flower bed with a modern low brick wall around it, lawns and many ornamental trees; there are no longer tennis courts.
Stanhope Gardens was among the terraces built from the mid-1860s/70s, also on the Harrington Estate; Stanford's Library Map of London and Its Suburbs of 1862 shows the site with a building at the corner of Harrington Road (now Stanhope Gardens) and Gloucester Road marked as Jackson's Works, with open land to the east with trees indicated. The fully stuccoed terrace of houses on the west end of the south side was designed by Thomas Cundy III in c.1871. The east side of Stanhope Gardens was rebuilt in 1955-60 as a result of war damage.
The communal gardens were probably laid out around mid-1860s when the underground railway track between South Kensington and Gloucester Road was laid, with Harrington Road constructed above in 1867 by the engineer John Fowler. The line runs under the south of the gardens, including a planted area between Nos. 52 and 53 Stanhope Gardens. The original cast iron railings still surround the garden on three sides, representing a notable exception to the common practice of removing garden railings for the war effort in WWII. The gate piers also survive, but the gate is of modern design with wire mesh. In 1928 the owner of the gardens was the Earl of Harrington and those able to access them were his lessees of the adjoining houses. The garden was maintained and controlled by a Garden Committee elected by the lessees who paid a garden rate for its maintenance. It was described at that time as an 'oblong enclosure flanked on three sides by roads and on one (short) side by the rear of houses. A large and attractive open space with well-kept lawns, tennis courts and flower beds, and some fine trees. Surrounded by a sparse shrubbery.' Today the gardens have a central raised flower bed with a modern low brick wall around it, lawns and many ornamental trees; there are no longer tennis courts.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ263787 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.8566 |
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1860s |
| Listed Structures | LBII: 21-62 (consec.) Stanhope Gardens, railings to three sides of garden enclosure |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | Yes |
| Local Authority | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Queen's Gate |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Hereford Square is a private communal garden provided for residents of the surrounding houses, part of the Day Estate developed from 1847-52 by architect Thomas Holmes. Benjamin Day had married Ann Dodemead in 1743, whose father had land here, and they built Hereford Lodge (demolished 1840s) on what is now the south-west corner of the square. The central garden was part of the original plan and completed by 1848; it has mature trees, paths, lawn, shrub and flowerbeds. Among famous residents was Sir James Barrie, author of 'Peter Pan' who lived at 133 Gloucester Road. During WWII, the garden was used as baseball ground by American soldiers.
Now a landscaped area behind the Holiday Inn, this was once part of private communal gardens provided for residents of the houses that surrounded it, which were built as part of the Gunter Estate development that took place from 1840s onwards. The northern area of the estate was developed from 1865, encouraged by the arrival of the railway. The garden was laid out with lawn, shrubbery and trees, and was accessible to lessees of houses abutting. A garden rent for its upkeep was reserved in the leases. A number of mature plane trees remain from the original garden square.
St Stephen's Church was built in 1867 when new parishes were created in the large parish of Kensington to serve the growing population, as house development accelerated. A small area of the church garden is publicly accessible along Southwell Street with gravel, flower beds and a number of trees. A stone seat was installed here in memory of Susan Sadleir (d.1991). A further area of garden to the south of the church is not publicly accessible, where a Church Room has been built and the trees here have Tree Preservation Orders.