Description
The land was originally part of St James's Park. Wellington Barracks date from 1833-4 although from c.1810 the site was already partly in use by the Guards. The main range was designed by Col. Sir Frederick Smith of the Royal Engineers and architect Philip Hardwick, with later buildings added in the C20th, such as the New Barracks dating from 1979-85. In front of the Royal Military Chapel or Guards' Chapel is a memorial garden laid out in the 1980s and consists of lawn, shrubbery, a fountain and planting in the shape of the Brigade insignia. To the north-west is a bronze statue to Field Marshal The Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891-1969) by James Butler (1985). The modern chapel of the 1960s by Bruce George of George, Trew and Dunn replaced the earlier chapel, which was largely destroyed by a German flying bomb in 1944. The railings of the neighbouring Barracks are C19th.
Practical Information
| Site location | Birdcage Walk |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW1 |
| What3Words | ///leans.eaten.atomic |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Westminster |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Tube: Victoria (District, Circle, Victoria) |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ292795 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Ministry of Defence |
| Dates | 1830s |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Royal Military Chapel. LBII: Wellington Barracks East Guardhouse, West Guardhouse, Main Centre Block with East and West Wings; C19th railings and East and West Gates to Birdcage Walk |
| 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 | Birdcage Walk |
| 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
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
The marshy site was acquired in 1532 and drained for a deer park by Henry VIII, who built St James's Palace as a hunting lodge. In the C17th St James's Park was remodelled for James I and later for Charles II who opened it to the public. Its formal layout had avenues of trees, lawns and a rectangular canal extending for c.900m. In 1828/9 it was drastically re-landscaped by John Nash, and his undulating landscape essentially remains, the lake the central feature with an island at each end, belts of trees along boundaries, extensive lawns and winding paths. Pulham & Co constructed various works in 1895 and 1899, including rockwork on the lake edge, 'Cormorant & Pelican islands' for the park's birdlife and a small rocky pool along the inner bank of the island. The western end of the park and lake were remodelled in 1901-11 to accommodate the rond-point of the Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens. Between c.1894 and at least 1914 a historic bomb disposal facility was located on Duck Island.
The marshy site was acquired in 1532 and drained for a deer park by Henry VIII, who built St James's Palace as a hunting lodge. In the C17th St James's Park was remodelled for James I and later for Charles II who opened it to the public. Its formal layout had avenues of trees, lawns and a rectangular canal extending for c.900m. In 1828/9 it was drastically re-landscaped by John Nash, and his undulating landscape essentially remains, the lake the central feature with an island at each end, belts of trees along boundaries, extensive lawns and winding paths. Pulham & Co constructed various works in 1895 and 1899, including rockwork on the lake edge, 'Cormorant & Pelican islands' for the park's birdlife and a small rocky pool along the inner bank of the island. The western end of the park and lake were remodelled in 1901-11 to accommodate the rond-point of the Queen Victoria Memorial Gardens. Between c.1894 and at least 1914 a historic bomb disposal facility was located on Duck Island.
Christchurch Gardens is the site of the former burial ground for St Margaret Westminster dating from 1625. Broadway Chapel was built here in 1638-42, replaced in the C19th by Christ Church Westminster. Among those buried in the churchyard were several notorious people. Christ Church was destroyed in the Blitz in 1941 and the site was left as open space until it was converted into a public garden in 1950. There were no monuments remaining but the garden was laid out with grass, a number of mature trees, and some formal landscaping. In 1970 the Suffragette Monument was erected in the gardens and in 1995 a bronze statue commemorating Henry Purcell. In 2020 the gardens were re-landscaped following an improvement scheme undertaken by Victoria BID with WCC. The new scheme provides additional planting together with new seating, lighting, paving and historical information as well as features to improve biodiversity.
The site of Westminster Cathedral was marshland known as Bulinga Fen in medieval times, reclaimed by Benedictine monks and used as a market, with the annual St Mary's Fair held on 22 July. Later a pleasure garden, in 1826 the Middlesex County Prison was built here. In 1884 it was purchased as the site for the new RC cathedral, with money raised following the death of the first Catholic Archbishop of Westminster in 1850, but the Cathedral was not completed until 1903. The piazza in which the Cathedral is sited is hard-landscaped and has a cross erected for Cardinal Basil Hume, who was Archbishop of Westminster from 1975 until his death.
