Description
Trinity Church Square was laid out in 1824-32 on land belonging to the Corporation of Trinity House. Adjacent to the garden is the church of Holy Trinity, built in 1823-24, and since 1975 converted into the Henry Wood Hall for music rehearsal. The garden is private and laid out with lawn, shrubs, ornamental planting and mature plane trees. Within it is the statue of a king on a stone pedestal, late C14th in style, which was erected here by 1836 and may have once been in Westminster Hall. The garden has undergone re-planting in 2000 and in 2002 Trinity Street was closed to through-traffic.
Practical Information
| Site location | Trinity Church Square/Trinity Street |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SE1 4HT |
| What3Words | ///hers.comical.blunt |
| Type of Site | Garden Square |
| Borough | Southwark |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | Has opened for London Open Gardens. Otherwise private, for keyholders only |
| Public Transport | Tube: Borough (Northern), Elephant & Castle (Northern, Bakerloo); London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee). Bus: 21, 35, 40, 133, 343, C10 |
| Research Updated | 1 June 2011 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Trinity Church Square was laid out between 1824-32 on land owned by the Corporation of Trinity House. The church of Holy Trinity was built in 1823-24 and designed by Francis Bedford, with masonry work by William Chadwick who built houses in Trinity Square and worked on St Peter Walworth (q.v.). Chadwick (d.1852) was buried at Nunhead Cemetery (q.v.) but a memorial was erected to him in Holy Trinity Church. In 1956 the parish was united with that of St Andrew New Kent Road, and in 1974 joined that of St Matthew. In 1975 the church was converted for use as a concert hall, the Henry Wood Hall. The building is fronted by a wide gravelled driveway that divides the church from the central garden behind fine railings. The garden is private and has only been open to residents of the surrounding houses since 1997. It is well laid out with lawn, shrubs, ornamental planting and mature plane trees.
Within the garden is the statue of a king on a stone pedestal, late C14th in style, which was erected here by 1836 and is possibly one of a pair showing Alfred the Great and Edward the Black Prince made for the Garden of Carlton House in the C18th. Flat to the back, it was probably designed for setting within a niche.
The garden has undergone re-planting in 2000 under the supervision of the Museum of Garden History, now renamed the Garden Museum (q.v.) In 2002 Trinity Street was closed to through-traffic.
Within the garden is the statue of a king on a stone pedestal, late C14th in style, which was erected here by 1836 and is possibly one of a pair showing Alfred the Great and Edward the Black Prince made for the Garden of Carlton House in the C18th. Flat to the back, it was probably designed for setting within a niche.
The garden has undergone re-planting in 2000 under the supervision of the Museum of Garden History, now renamed the Garden Museum (q.v.) In 2002 Trinity Street was closed to through-traffic.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ324795 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Corporation of Trinity House |
| Site Management | Corporation of Trinity House |
| Dates | 1824-32 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: 4 terraces 1 - 68 Trinity Church Square with cast iron railings; statue of King on stone pedestal; Holy Trinity Church; K2 telephone kiosk on north-east corner of Hall |
| 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 | Southwark |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Trinity Church Square |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaeological Priority Zone |
| Other LA Designation | London Squares Preservation Act; Strategic Views Backdrop Consultation Zone |
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
Merrick Square is named after Christopher Merrick who left land to Trinity House in 1661. The square of 32 houses was built from 1853-72 and overlooked a private garden, still enclosed by its original C19th cast iron railings. At each end of the garden are 2 concrete cast urns on plinths and trees include London plane, chestnut, lime, sycamore, laburnum and various shrubs. The central beds were replanted in 2000 under the supervision of the Museum of Garden History, now renamed the Garden Museum.
Dickens’ Fields, formerly known as Dickens Square Park is a local park located off Falmouth Road, close to the Rockingham, Lawson and Trinity Newington housing estates. The LCC Rockingham Estate was built in the 1930s and included Dickens Square, although this road pre-dates the LCC estate and is shown on maps from the mid-C19th as Union Square. A number of the streets and terraces of housing here were cleared in the early 1970s and part of the area was laid out as public open space with Dickens Park dating from the 1980s. The need to improve the park, which had become overgrown and was felt to be unsafe, was under discussion for many years and it was eventually re-landscaped and re-opened on 1 September 2021 when it was renamed Dickens’ Fields. Within the park is the Anne Keane playground, named after a local resident who had campaigned for the development of the park.
Newington Gardens is on the site of Horsemonger Lane Gaol and the Surrey County Sessions House, where executions took place until the mid C19th. After the gaol closed in 1878, the building was demolished and the site was used as a playground, although the external walls remained. A portion of the land was maintained as a public playground by Newington Vestry, laid out by the MPGA and opened by Mrs Gladstone on 5 May 1884. In 1890 the LCC took over the Sessions House and the associated property, and enlarged the recreation ground between 1892 and 1919 providing a children's gymnasium, garden with bandstand, toilets and seating. The park has been restored in recent years, and has shrubberies and a number of mature trees.