Mecklenburgh Square is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

square in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The square and its garden were part of the Foundling Estate, a residential development of 1792–1825 on fields surrounding and owned by the Foundling Hospital. The square was named in honour of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

's queen,

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...

. It was begun in 1804, but was not completed until 1825. It is notable for the number of historic terraced houses that face directly onto the square and the Mecklenburgh Square Garden. Access to the garden is only permitted to resident keyholders, except when it is open to all visitors for Open Garden Squares Weekend. The garden was laid out between 1809 and 1810 as the centrepiece of the newly developed Mecklenburgh Square; buildings on the eastern side were designed by architect Joseph Kay. The garden is made up of formal lawns, gravel paths, mature

plane tree ''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...

s and other ornamental trees. It contains a

children's playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people w ...

, and a

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

. The east side of the garden is planted with plants native to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. To the west is

Coram's Fields Coram's Fields is a seven acre urban open space in the Kings Cross area of the London Borough of Camden. Adults are only permitted to enter if accompanied by children. History The park is situated on the former site of the Foundling Hosp ...

, and to the east is

Gray's Inn Road Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at the City of London boundary, where it bisects High Holborn, and ends at King's Cross and ...

, a major local thoroughfare.

Goodenough College Goodenough College is a postgraduate residence and educational trust in Mecklenburgh Square in Bloomsbury, central London, England. Other names under which the college has been known are London House, William Goodenough House, and the London Go ...

is a postgraduate residence and educational trust on the north and south sides of the square, and operates an academic-oriented hotel on the east side.

Russell Square tube station Russell Square is a London Underground station opposite Russell Square on Bernard Street, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. The station is on the Piccadilly line, between Holborn and King's Cross St Pancras and is in Travelcard Z ...

is located to the south-west of the square, and the railway termini King's Cross and St Pancras are a short walk north. Mecklenburgh Square, Brunswick Square and Coram's Fields are jointly listed Grade II on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

Notable residents

Samuel Parkes (chemist) Samuel Parkes (1761–1825) was a British manufacturing chemist, now remembered for his ''Chemical Catechism''. Life He was born at Stourbridge, Worcestershire, on 26 May 1761. He was the eldest son of Samuel Parkes (died 1 April 1811, aged ...

died here on 23 December 1825. *

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

and

Jane Welsh Carlyle Jane Baillie Carlyle ( Welsh; 14 July 1801 – 21 April 1866) was a Scottish writer and the wife of Thomas Carlyle. She did not publish any work in her lifetime, but she was widely seen as an extraordinary letter writer. Virginia Woolf ca ...

took lodgings at 4 Amport Street, Mecklenburg Square from late Oct 1831 to 25 March 1832. It was here he wrote his acclaimed review of Boswell's ''Life of Johnson'' and the brief "Baron Von Goethe" article published in ''Fraser's'' magazine (March 1832). * Karl Pearson lived at no. 40 as a child from 1866 to 1875. *At no. 21 there is a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

for

R. H. Tawney Richard Henry Tawney (30 November 1880 – 16 January 1962) was an English economic historian, social critic, ethical socialist,Noel W. Thompson. ''Political economy and the Labour Party: the economics of democratic socialism, 1884-2005''. 2nd ...

(1880 – 1962), historian. In the same doorway is a blue plaque for

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, h ...

(1817–1898), who lived there from 1869 to 1870. * William Baylebridge lived for a time on Heathcote Street around the year 1909. *At no. 44 there is a plaque (though not an English Heritage one) for H.D. (Hilda Doolittle 1886 – 1961), the American poet, who lived there from 1917 to 1918. *

Helena Normanton Helena Florence Normanton, Queen's Counsel, QC (14 December 1882 – 14 October 1957) was the first woman to take advantage of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 and join an institution of the legal profession. In November 1922, she was ...

, the first practising female barrister, with a number of other legal firsts to her name, is honoured by a blue plaque at no. 22, where she lived during her early legal career. *

Jane Ellen Harrison Jane Ellen Harrison (9 September 1850 – 15 April 1928) was a British classical scholar and linguist. Harrison is one of the founders, with Karl Kerenyi and Walter Burkert, of modern studies in Ancient Greek religion and mythology. She ...

the classicist and linguist lived at no. 11 from 1926 to her death in 1928. *

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

lived at no. 37 from 1939 to 1940. The house was bombed in a German air raid in 1940 and replaced in 1957 by William Goodenough House at

. *

Emanuel Litvinoff Emanuel Litvinoff (5 May 1915 – 24 September 2011) was a British writer and well-known figure in Anglo-Jewish literature, known for novels, short stories, poetry, plays and human rights campaigning. Early years Litvinoff's early years in what ...

poet and writer lived here until his death aged 96
"Emanuel Litvinoff, Writer , Spitalfields Life". *

Eileen Power Eileen Edna Le Poer Power (9 January 18898 August 1940) was a British economic historian and medievalist. Early life and education Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at Altrincham, Cheshire (now part of Great ...

the medievalist scholar and expert on the lives of medieval women lived on the square from 1922 to 1940.

Gallery

Numbers 43-47 And Attached Railings.jpg, Numbers 43-47 and attached railings London - Mecklenburgh Square from NW 2015-05-20 (18076450900).jpg, Mecklenburgh Square from NW Twin blue plaques, Mecklenburgh Square - geograph.org.uk - 2273976.jpg, Twin blue plaques HD Plaque.jpg, Plaque on number 44

References

{{Bloomsbury Squares in the London Borough of Camden Grade II listed parks and gardens in London Garden squares in London Communal gardens