King Square is a square in central London, in the St Luke's area of the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

. It is at the corner of Lever Street and Central Street, and shares in King Square Gardens to the west. It is two green courtyards, one of a semi-private nature hemmed in by mid-rise blocks at the corner of Lever Street and Central Street; and King Square Gardens which takes the only street named as the 'Square', namely as its east side, and uses Lever Street and part of Goswell Road (designated part of the A1) for its other sides.

Surroundings

The square is surrounded by restaurants, cafeterias, a newsagent's, a florist shop, a pub and somewhat modernist, mid-rise housing. 19th century St Clement's Church stands in the corner of the square. On the other side of Central Street stands Thistle City Barbican Hotel.

History

The square originally lined with spacious housing for wealthy Londoners to live in a convenient distance from the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

was laid out between 1822 and 1825 on land belonging to

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

. It was named after

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, the ex-

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

and

constitutional monarch Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. In 1824 the construction of a church at the square (then called St Barnabas) was completed. During

Victorian times In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

, the social composition of the area changed and the housing was occupied mostly by poorer Londoners, with houses divided into smaller flats. The area now occupied by the square was badly damaged during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

and the houses were demolished in the 1950s. It is now thought that

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

stayed in King Square for a few weeks in 1907 while attending a conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). In 1959 Finsbury Borough Council ordered the construction of the King Square Estate surrounding the square; work was completed in 1965. The estate was designed by Emberton, Franck and Tardrew and built from pre-cast concrete. Turnpike House, the tallest tower was completed in 1965; it stands to the west of King Square Gardens, with a ground-level arch providing entrance to the park. President House, a collection of six-storey blocks, was built to the north of the park.

Transport

The nearest bus stops are located on the nearby Goswell Road (

London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...

routes 4 and 56) as well as City Road (route 43). The square is approximately 10 minutes walk from

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

, and

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London, England that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shor ...

tube stations, and 12 minutes from

Farringdon station Farringdon () is an interchange station located in Clerkenwell, London, England, in the London Borough of Islington, just outside the boundary of the City of London for London Underground, Elizabeth line and National Rail services. The statio ...

References

{{Coord, 51, 31, 38.46, N, 0, 5, 52.53, W, scale:1563_region:GB, display=title Squares in the London Borough of Islington