Leinster Square
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Leinster Square /ˈlɛnstə/ is a garden square located in the exclusive area on the cusp between Notting Hill and Bayswater in the City of Westminster in London, W2. The square lies within an area bound by Hereford Road, Prince's Square and Garway Road, and it is very close to Westbourne Grove, the major retail road running across Notting Hill, as well as the Tube stations of Bayswater, Queensway and Notting Hill Gate.
Grade II listed Victorian houses encompass the square, which, on the Hereford Road side, also features several restaurants and cafès.
As of 2015, a string of high-end developments is taking place in the square, with new flats and townhouses built behind the façade of two former hotels.[1]
History
Leinster Square was begun along with adjacent Prince's Square in 1856 and finished in 1864, largely the work of the obscure builder and speculator George Wyatt.[2] The plane trees which still today dominate the gardens date from this time, including the one planted in the middle of the garden on 26 February 1887 in Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year.
After a period of decline, in 1977 the garden underwent refurbishment, with extensive planting that largely survives today and the restoration of its iron railings, the originals removed during the Second World War.
As of today the garden is accessible to key-holding residents only and managed by the Leinster Square Gardens Association (LSGA), set up in 1976 to rebuild the gardens after the above-mentioned period of neglect.[3]
Notable residents
- Sting (musician), who lived at 28A Leinster Square in the late 1970s during the formative years of The Police.[4]
References
- ↑ In London, Bayswater, Paddington and QueensWay Are the Property Stories to Watch, The Wall Street Journal
- ↑ G.L.C. Hist. Bldgs. Div., WM 212; Hitchcock, Early Victorian Archit. 488. Wyatt was 'chief owner, architect, and builder': Bldg. News, 19 June 1857, 635.
- ↑ Information for Members - LSGA
- ↑ Interview: Trudie Style, The Observer
