Kensington Square is a garden square in Kensington, London, W8. It was built from 1692 on land acquired for the purpose in 1685 and is the oldest such square in Kensington. The houses facing, Nos. 1–45, are listed Grade II for their architectural/historic merit.

History

In 1685, Thomas Young, a woodcarver, acquired land in Kensington which he sought to develop, and as he later described it in 1701, "did sett out and appoint a considerable part thereof to be built into a large Square of large and substantial Houses fit for the Habitacion of persons of good Worth and Quality, with Courts and Yards before and Gardens lying backwards". In London, St. James's Square, Soho Square and Golden Square are a few years older, but in contrast with these Kensington Square still retains its residential character.

Garden

The communal gardens were laid out in 1698 and are in size. The garden is private and not open to the public, though it has taken part in the annual Open Garden Squares Weekend.

Heythrop College

No. 23 was

Heythrop College Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with soc ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

until 2018, "the Specialist Philosophy and

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

College of the University of London," which included a library originally established in 1614 in Louvain (Leuven) by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(the Jesuits) for those studies.

Former residents

; Blue plaque holders The square includes the former homes of: *composer

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...

at No. 17 *liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill at No. 18 *sanitary reformer and pathologist John Simon at No. 40; *

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

artist

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman ...

at No. 41 — Other homes belonged to, or were rented as their family home by: *Lawyer and positivist Vernon Lushington at No. 36. He introduced one of the foremost Pre-Raphaelites to another: E. Burne Jones (Burne-Jones) to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, at the Working Men's College. The Lushingtons and Parrys frequently visited each other. *Scholar and philanthropist Richard Buckley Litchfield (1832–1903) at No. 31 with his wife *

Henrietta Litchfield Henrietta Emma Litchfield (née Darwin; 25 September 1843 – 17 December 1927) was a daughter of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma Wedgwood. Henrietta was born at Down House, Downe, Kent, in 1843. She was Darwin's third daughter and the eldest da ...

(1843–1927), who was

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

's daughter. *Their niece, artist

Gwen Raverat Gwendolen Mary "Gwen" Raverat (née Darwin; 26 August 1885 – 11 February 1957), was an English wood engraver who was a founder member of the Society of Wood Engravers. Her memoir '' Period Piece'' was published in 1952. Biography Gwendolen ...

, describes visits there in her memoir ''

Period Piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

''. First published by Faber & Faber, 1952 Between 1831 and 1896 (the) Kensington School occupied two sites: No. 31, then No.s 25–29. It is notable as one of the founders of

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

in 1863. The school built classrooms and fives courts in the gardens of the houses; all that remains is No. 27a, the cottage or small house behind No. 28.

In popular culture

In the 2016 film ''

The Exception ''The Exception'' is a 2016 romantic war film directed by David Leveaux (in his directorial debut) and written by Simon Burke, based on Alan Judd's 2003 novel ''The Kaiser's Last Kiss''. The film stars Jai Courtney, Lily James, Janet McTeer, an ...

'', protagonist Mieke de Jong coyly inscribes a copy of landmark philosophical work ''

Beyond Good and Evil ''Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' (german: Jenseits von Gut und Böse: Vorspiel einer Philosophie der Zukunft) is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that covers ideas in his previous work ''Thus Spoke Zarathu ...

'' with:

References

External links

Kensington Square at OGSW
{{commons 1698 establishments in England Garden squares in London Grade II listed houses in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Kensington Squares in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Communal gardens