Description
Woodsford Square is a communal garden built as part of the Wates development by Fry Drew and Partners, which consists of 4-storey terraces with communal green behind. This area was once part of the Holland House estate, which in the late C18th consisted of c.200 acres, but the original estate had once been nearly 500 acres, extending almost to Fulham Road. The development for housing began from the 1820s onwards under the third Lord Holland, and continued through the C19th. The 1950s and 60s saw building on a scale reminiscent of the 1870s, with Wates building many houses north of Oakwood Court on Abbotsbury Road.
Practical Information
| Site location | off Addison Road |
|---|---|
| Postcode | W14 |
| What3Words | ///casino.chats.bonus |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Tube: Holland Park (Central), Shepherd's Bush Market (Hammersmith and City). Rail/London Overground/Tube (Central): Shepherd's Bush. |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ243798 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1968-74 |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Holland Park |
| 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
Debenham House was built for Sir Ernest Debenham, owner of the department store that bears his name. It was designed by Halsey Ricardo, and has fine mosaic and tile decoration in the interiors. The garden is contemporary with the house and consists of a formal area near the house. A garden pavilion that adjoins the house has tiles by William de Morgan. Beyond this are steps leading up to the lawn.
Fronting Nos. 135-159 Holland Park Avenue is a strip of landscaping between the main road and a private roadway. In the early C20th it was owned and maintained by The Alliance Economic Investment Company Ltd, who acted as Trustees for themselves and other freeholders of the terrace. Under the Trust Deed all the freeholders were under covenant to contribute to the maintenance of the garden and roadway, which was carried out by the Company as Trustees.
This private walled garden was originally created by the poet Jean Ingelow and later developed by Beth McWilliam as a setting for the sculpture of F.E.McWilliam who worked here until his death in 1992. The studio was originally a garden music room probably dating from the same time as the main house (1852). The garden was simply laid out with a large bordered lawn and a central stone path connecting the house and artist's studio. A proposal made to English Heritage to preserve the house, garden and studio as a place where McWilliam's sculpture could be studied in the setting of its making did not come to fruition. The contents of his studio were later gifted to Banbridge District Council in Northern Ireland, the town of his birth, where a purpose-built gallery was opened in his memory in 2008. No 8a was sold to a private buyer and a garden house has been built on the studio site.