Description
Originally part of Tothill Fields, in mediaeval times the area was apparently used for military practice and there were plague pits here. Terraced houses existed in nearby Rochester Row by the 1790s. Vincent Square is named after Dr William Vincent (d.1815), former Dean of Westminster and Master of Westminster School. The centre of the square became a playground for Westminster School in 1810, enclosed by railings in 1842. Westminster School originated as a small charity school provided by Westminster Abbey's Benedictine monks in c.1179. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the school's continuation was ensured by a statute of Henry VIII of 1540 and it was granted a charter by Elizabeth I in 1560. Set to turf, there are large London plane trees around the perimeter and a lodge in the south corner of c.1920, with stone gate piers, and also a large half-timbered sports pavilion.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Westminster School Playing Fields |
|---|---|
| Site location | Vincent Square, Westminster |
| Postcode | SW1 |
| What3Words | ///note.ropes.golf |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Westminster |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, school use only |
| Public Transport | Rail/Tube (District, Circle, Victoria): Victoria |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
In 1907 E Beresford Chancellor described Vincent Square 'which is far removed from one's ordinary conception of a London square, covers indeed an area as large as that of Belgrave Square, but instead of the umbrageous central garden surrounded by wide roadways, the middle is a large bare field enclosed by the most uncompromising of iron railings'. The railings thus referred to were erected in 1842, but were later lost during WWII and have been replaced by net fencing. The square is overlooked by buildings that include the Royal Horticultural Society Old Hall, designed by E.J. Stebbs in 1904, as well as ranges of early C19th terraced houses, and the 1950s extension to the former Westminster Technical College.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ295788 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Westminster School |
| Site Management | Westminster School |
| Dates | late C18th, early C19th |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Westminster College. LBII: Royal Horticultural Society Old Hall; Nos. 3 & 4; 7 & 8; 84 & 85; 86 Vincent Square; Nos |
| 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 | No |
| Local Authority | Westminster |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Vincent Square |
| 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
Hide Tower Garden is modest architect-designed landscaping at the base of Hide Tower, a 1970s point block built for WCC. When it was built it was described as one of 'the sheerest, most uncompromising towers of London' (Nikolaus Pevsner), nearly 65m high and an early use of precast concrete. To the west of Hide Tower is an area of grass with trees, bounded by a concrete screen wall. To the south a row of Japanese cherry trees sprout out of a cement terrace. The rest of the site is mainly devoted to car parking.
Regency Place at the junction of Horseferry Road and Regency Street was formed in the early C19th on what was the north-east corner of Tothill Field, now entirely rebuilt. The site is a dense but effective shrubbery below advertising hoardings to the south-west beside the Coroner's Court by CRW Wheeler of 1893. On the corner opposite is the RC Church of the Sacred Heart, a 1930s building, with a large front garden enclosed by a chain-link fence. The garden is enthusiastically tended and contains a lawn, shrubs and a chequer-board of cement slabs with masses of daffodils growing up through the interstices. In the centre of the junction is a curiosity, an iron hexagonal urinal with a pitched roof, very like a Parisian `pissoir', much resorted to by taxi drivers.
The Grosvenor Estate's garden is in the area bounded by Rogers House and Tothill House. It is part of Sir Edwin Lutyens' famous 'chequerboard' Page Street Estate built from 1929-35 in conjunction with the WCC to replace housing due for clearance after the Thames flooded in 1928. Many of the Houses are listed, and together with a number of small related buildings such as lodges and dustbin shelters, provide the setting for the garden. It appears to have been laid out in the 1970s after part of the two largest blocks were demolished, and is roughly square, comprising a series of brick planters stepping down to a secluded central area that is provided with seating and a children's playground.
