Dorset Square is a garden square in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

, London. All buildings fronting it are

terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s and listed, in the mainstream (initial) category. It takes up the site of Lord's (MCC's) Old Cricket Ground, which lasted 23 years until the 1811 season. Internally it spans .

Location

Approach ways

It is one 84-metre block north of Marylebone Road and lends its name to the roads on all four sides, in typical fashion — the east side forms a pause in the numbering and scope of Gloucester Place; the west does so as to Balcombe Street. The south side links: *to the west Melcombe Place which behind the square's largest house/building (№s 26 to 28, known as 28) to the west fronts the ticket hall (with food, drink and supermarket outlets) of

Marylebone station Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern ter ...

(formerly Harewood Square) and the Landmark Hotel. *to the east Melcombe Street (formerly New Street) which ends two main blocks away at Baker Street.

Site history

Dorset Square takes up (1787-founded)

Lord's Old Ground Lord's Old Ground was a cricket venue in London that was established by Thomas Lord in 1787. It was used mainly by Marylebone Cricket Club for major matches until 1810, after which a dispute about rent caused Lord to relocate. Matches The first ...

the closure of which at the end of 1810's season was brought about by a sought rent increase.The Independent
site unseen The first Lord's Cricket Ground, Dorset Square, London - Entertainment - Extras - The Independent
accessdate: 02/09/2014

Buildings

The buildings are or apart (north-to-south, east-to-west). Dorset Square Hotel, created in 1985, can be found on the south side of the square, at 39-40 Dorset Square All sides (east, №s1-8; north №s9-20; west №s21-28; south №s29-40) are Grade II

listed building 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 ...

s. The Embassy of El Salvador is at № 8. № 1 currently houses the London branch of

Alliance Française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

but during

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

functioned as its international headquarters when the original in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

was closed. A plaque by the front door commemorates the building's history as the site from which agents of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

were equipped for, and dispatched to, undercover missions in Occupied France.

Notable residents

In birth order: *

George Saxby Penfold George Saxby Penfold (176913 October 1846) was a Church of England clergyman, Rector of several parishes and active as a visiting preacher. In 1825 the University of Oxford awarded him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. A pluralist, for much of h ...

(1770–1846), a popular preacher, lived at № 15 * Robert Fellowes (1771–1847), cleric, journalist and philanthropist * Thomas Duer Broughton (1778–1835), army officer and writer on India * Jeanette Pickersgill (c1814-1885), the first person to be legally cremated in the UK *

George Grossmith George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical ...

(1847–1912), comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer (№ 28) *

Bithia Mary Croker Bithia Mary (or May) Croker (née Sheppard, c. 1848 or 1849 – 20 October 1920) was an Irish novelist, most of whose work concerns life and society in British India. Her 1917 novel ''The Road to Mandalay'', set in Burma, was the uncredited basis ...

(c. 1848–1920), Irish-born novelist, died at № 30. * Sir Laurence Gomme (1853–1916), folklorist (№ 24) * Dodie Smith (1896–1990), novelist and playwright (№ 18) *

Jane Ridley Jane Ridley (born 15 May 1953) is an English historian, biographer, author and broadcaster, and Professor of Modern History at the University of Buckingham. Ridley won the Duff Cooper Prize in 2002 for ''The Architect and his Wife'', a biograph ...

(born 1953), historian, biographer and broadcaster (№ 31)Ridley, Jane 1953–
at encyclopedia.com, accessed 6 March 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorset Square Marylebone Squares in the City of Westminster Streets in the City of Westminster Communal gardens Garden squares in London