Victoria Square is a small, rectangular

garden square A garden square is a type of communal garden in an urban area wholly or substantially surrounded by buildings; commonly, it continues to be applied to public and private parks formed after such a garden becomes accessible to the public at large. ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, beginning some 50 metres south of the remaining stables of the

Royal Mews The Royal Mews is a mews, or collection of equestrian stables, of the British royal family. In London these stables and stable-hands' quarters have occupied two main sites in turn, being located at first on the north side of Charing Cross, and ...

(on the large green block taken up by

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

) and 150 metres north of Victoria bus station, which stands in front of Victoria Station. It has a statue of the young

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. The main wing of the

Goring Hotel The Goring Hotel is a 5-star luxury hotel at 15 Beeston Place in the Victoria area of London, England. It is located just east of Belgravia, and to the southwest of Buckingham Palace. The hotel's restaurant, The Dining Room, holds one Michelin ...

separates the square from an almost identical-size space between buildings, as private gardens for the hotel. This is backed by one road, not four roads with parking and sets of pavements. Most of the Victoria and

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

area is part of the

Duke of Westminster Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

's Grosvenor Estate as to minor, overarching legal interests, especially the open spaces and the valuable freehold of shops. This square is such an instance, which has a lasting influence on local planning policy. However, most of the freeholds have been sold, sometimes facilitated by leasehold reform under the

Leasehold Reform Act 1967 The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (c. 88) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which concerns English land law and compulsory purchase. A government bill, the law remains largely intact. It was passed by both Houses and had been tabled ...

Architecture and history

Fronting the square are 26 houses, which are all

Grade II* 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 ...

listed which is the second tier (and so second-rarest) of the pyramidal-hierarchy protection and recognition system. These are five-storey

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

-fronted properties designed by architect Sir Matthew Wyatt (1805–1886), a member of the

Wyatt family The Wyatt family included several of the major English architects during the 18th and 19th centuries, and a significant 18th century inventor, John Wyatt (inventor), John Wyatt (1700–1766), the eldest son of John Wyatt (1675–1742). The fami ...

— son of sculptor

Matthew Cotes Wyatt Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777 – 3 January 1862) was an English painter and sculptor and a member of the Wyatt family, who were well known in the Victorian era as architects and sculptors. Early life Wyatt was born in London, the son of the archit ...

and the grandson of

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

; seeing them built in 1838–40 to celebrate the beginning of

's reign. Most of the houses fronting are now held as freeholds, the residual interest in their leases (reversions) having been bought from the Grosvenor Estate. Protection of planning law of character in this zone has been strengthened to preserve the appearance of Belgravia.

Renovation

The private gardens were in the 2000s decade renovated; for which residents gave between £100,000 and £1M in total. A statue of the young Queen Victoria by the artist Catherine Anne Laugel was specially commissioned then installed, in 2007.

Former residents

* Author

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

(1908–1964) from 1953 until his death in 1964. The first of his

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

novels, '' Casino Royale'', was published shortly after he took his house, where he threw a post-premiere of '' From Russia with Love'' party on 10 October 1963 – at No. 16. *

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Government Minister, then journalist, author and travel journalist,

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...

(born 1953). *Poet Thomas Campbell (1777–1844) from 1840 to 1844 – at No. 16. *Musician

John Ella John Ella (1802–1888) was an English violinist and director of concerts. Early life Ella was born Leicester 19 December 1802, baptism at St. Martins, now Leicester Cathedral, his parents buried there. He was intended by his father, Richard E ...

(1802–1888) from 1868 to 1888 – at No. 16. *Army officer, artist and author Henry Hope Crealock (1831–1891) from the 1860s until 1891 – at No. 20 *Musician and composer

Mike Oldfield Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English retired musician, songwriter and producer best known for his debut studio album ''Tubular Bells'' (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a gu ...

for some time – at No. 1.

Appearance in film

In 1991, the square was used for the filming of the

Merchant Ivory Productions Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During the ...

adaptation ''

Howards End ''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book wa ...

''.

Notes and references

;Footnotes ;References {{coord , 51, 29, 52, N, 0, 08, 42, W, display=title 1830s establishments in England Squares in the City of Westminster Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster Monuments and memorials to Queen Victoria Grade II* listed houses in London