Description
Warwick Square was laid out by Lord Kensington's surveyor William Cutbush between 1824-39 but it was not a successful development. It was later bisected by the roadway, now Warwick Gardens, a major one-way route south. In the centre of the road is an area of landscaping around the Queen Victoria Monument, a memorial erected by inhabitants of the borough of Kensington. Designed by H L Florence in 1904, the granite column is topped with an urn and has reliefs of the Queen on the faces. It was re-erected here in 1934. All that remains of the houses of Warwick Square are Nos. 1 - 9 Warwick Gardens. The central area with the memorial column has planters either side and a drinking trough to the south, sited here in 1899 by the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association at the behest of 'R McC'.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Warwick Square |
|---|---|
| Site location | Warwick Gardens/Kensington High Street |
| Postcode | W14 |
| What3Words | ///twigs.humans.oath |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | none |
| Public Transport | London Overground/Tube (District): Kensington (Olympia). |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ247790 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | to check |
| Site Management | Transport for London |
| Dates | 1824-39; 1934 |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Queen Victoria Monument |
| 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 | To be checked |
| Local Authority | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Edwardes Square, Scarsdale and Abingdon |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| 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
This is a strip of private garden in front of Nos. 1-7 Edwardes Place, set behind a brick wall with railings, gate, trees and shrubberies. The houses were built in c.1820 as part of Lord Kensington's Edwardes Square development, and undertaken in the first period of building that was focussed along the Kensington to Hammersmith Road.
Leighton House Museum is the former home of Victorian artist Frederic Lord Leighton (1830-1896), a grand house with a large secluded garden. The house with purpose-built painting studio was designed for him in the mid-1860s by architect George Aitchison on a plot adjacent to Holland Farm, part of the Holland Estate. At that time the area to the north was open land, but gradually other grand houses were built, and the area became a centre for artists, writers and politicians. Leighton's immediate neighbour was the painter Val Prinsep, whose house by Philip Webb was built at the same time as Leighton's, and later residents included Sir Luke Fildes. Leighton lived here until his death in 1896, the house then opening as a museum. With funding from the HLF, the garden of Leighton House was restored in 1997 based on a plan of 1896 that showed formal beds immediately in front of the house and a large lawn with perimeter herbaceous borders. A trellis covered part of the path on the west of the garden and two mounds were originally planted with substantial trees.
This triangular area of communal garden was provided for residents of Pembroke Gardens, which was developed from 1863 in the second phase of building on Lord Kensington's Edwardes Estate. The name Pembroke derives from the Welsh estates of the family and many of the street names in this area are named for villages on their lands in Wales.