St Mary's Gardens is an 18th-century garden triangle in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. The "square" is in the

London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...

and has an unusual triangular shape. Since 1968 in planning policy it is a Conservation Area. Three rows of houses front its communal green, granted

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

status under the statutory protective and recognition scheme in 1981 (the mainstream and initial category).

Location and layout

To the north is

Walcot Square Walcot Square is an 18th century garden triangle in Central London. The "square" is in the London Borough of Lambeth and has a very rare triangular shape. Since 1968 in planning policy it is a Conservation Area. Three rows of houses front its ...

and Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park in which stand

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

and two cafes (on the site of a mental-health hospital). To the west an avenue, Kennington Road, and east is West Square. The communal-green-centred street is in the SE11 postcode district. The nearest

tube station The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

is Lambeth North, 500 m north. The late Georgian three-storey terraced houses, forming its stock (some of which due to slightly raised-above subterranean-only level basements), surround a private communal garden, owned and maintained by the Walcot Foundation.

History

Edmund Walcott, a haberdasher bequeathed the on his death, in 1667, in trust for the poor of St. Mary, Lambeth, and

St Olave's Church, Southwark St Olave's Church, Southwark was a church in Southwark, England which is believed to be mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was located on Tooley Street which is named after the church, i.e. 't'olous'. It became redundant in 1926 and was ...

. In 1713 the estate was partitioned between the two parishes in order that it might be developed more conveniently. With St. Mary's taking the northeastern and St. Olave's the south-western portion. In 1750–51, when the New (Kennington) Road was laid out, St. Olave's and St. Mary's parishes both sold land to the Turnpike Trustees, St. Mary's retaining part of the land on the west side of the road and St. Olave's a tiny triangular piece of land on the east side. In 1815 it was found necessary to make a further partition of the estate, since in its development two houses (Nos. 112 and 114 Kennington Road) had been built half on St. Olave's and half on St. Mary's land. The triangular piece of land to the west of Kennington Road was given to St. Mary's parish and an adjustment was made in the boundaries on the other side of the road.

Film and literature

* Scenes for the 2016 film ''

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' is a 2016 fantasy film directed by David Yates and written by J. K. Rowling in her debut as a screenwriter. It is the first instalment in the ''Fantastic Beasts'' film series and the ninth overall i ...

'', and the 2018 sequel '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'' were filmed on the square. St Mary's Gardens is the home of

Newt Scamander Newton Artemis Fido Scamander or "Newt" is a fictional character created by J. K. Rowling. He is the protagonist of the Fantastic Beasts, ''Fantastic Beasts'' film series, a spin-off prequel to the Harry Potter, ''Harry Potter'' novel and Harry P ...

. * St Mary's Gardens was the location of a number of scenes featured in crime drama ''

Trigger Point Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs), also known as trigger points, are described as hyperirritable spots in the skeletal muscle. They are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibers. They are a topic of ongoing controvers ...

''.

References

External links

A Walk through Lambeth and Southwark
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