Berkeley Sqare Gardens

Berkeley Square Gardens is a green space in Mayfair, London, which dates back to the 1740’s. It houses different sculptures which are rotated to different pieces yearly. The garden has come quite a way from its hey-day.

In 1727, Berkeley Square Garden was built as an enclosed space. It had a water meadow that ran off the River Tyburn which was situated just south of the square. The Vestry minutes referred to meadow as the “the Common Sewer”.

 

Arrangements were made through an agreement between the 4th Lord Berkeley, his son and two carpenters Cook and Hilliard, who developed the square. 3 ½ acres were enclosed on the south and west end by “dwarf wall and wooden rails and pallisadoes set thereon.”

Emily Young - Earth/Cassandra II (2014)

There was no upkeeping of the garden of laying it out and keeping the garden tidy, as no one took responsibility of the garden. It was then enclosed for strict access during the mid-1740s.

 

During the 1760s, the railings and walls of the garden were taken down and by 1766, the garden “had gone to ruin”. An Act of Parliament was granted to enclose and adorn the square as proposed by residents who took it into their own hands to plan for fencing and laying of the garden. In the same year of 1766, the act gave residents the power to “raise money to pave, light and adorn the space”, which caused the rates to rise for the maintenance of the square.

“The plan approved at Gwynn’s Tavern in Berkeley Square. There is a grass plot in the middle, a gravel walk around, and iron pallisadoes; but there is no statue or bason in the middle. The undertaker of the work has engaged to finish it completely for £7,000.”

 

The following year, fences were up and the grounds laid with the layout kept to the original. A report from 1767 says that the square became “a handsome green walk next the railing, then a terras walk, and the rest laid out as a grass plot”. London Plane trees were later planted in 1789 by Edward Bourverie and is said to be the oldest Plane trees in London.

A statue of George III was erected but was taken down and replaced by a pump house/gazebo, which still stands there today. The statue was an equestrian sculpture cast in lead made by French sculptor Beaupre. But due to weather conditions and the weight of the rider, the legs of the horse snapped off, consequently causing it to be removed in 1827.

31 years later, Henry (3rd Marquess of Lansdowne) commissioned a nympy statue created by Alexander Munro in 1858, which was created of Carrara marble. It was located on the south side outside of the park offering water to any passer-by. It was later relocated inside the square when a path was laid leading up to the pump house. The water feature was restored in 1994.

During the World War II in 1941, the railings were removed and the square used for armaments manufacture for the units of the US army. After the war, the City Council reinstated it back as a garden, removing any air-raid shelters and replanting the lawns.  

In 1977, the Berkeley Square Ball was held in commemoration of the Queen Silvere Jubilee, which ran through the 1980’s and raised £800,000. The square is reference in Eric Maschwitz’s wartime ballad A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.

Postman's Park

Postman’s Park is one of the hidden parks of London, enriched with history as well as upholding an honour to heroes who have died to save others. It is located at St Martin’s Le Grand, London EC1A between Aldersgate Street and King Edward Street with an entrance found on both ends. The park is at Grade II meaning it is of more than special interest and do everything to preserve it.

The name came from the local office workers who came from the post office just by the park to sit down and have lunch. In 1887, socialist GF Watts wrote to the Times proposing a park to be builtin honour of “heroic men and women” who gave their lives to save others as a way to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee. It was created and named Watts Gallery at the Watts Memorial/Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice in Postman’s Park with Doultton tablets running along the wall of the gallery of poignant detailing’s of the individual and their heroic acts.

Headstones of can be found on either side of the Memorial and it was said this was due to possibly being two churches on each side. The headstones are restored every so often.

In front of Watts Memorial is four beds of flowers and a sundial at the centre of it. When in full bloom, the flowers present a gathering of splendour and beauty of colours. Arrive on a sunny day in spring or summer as it'll be total treat to gaze at the flowers while you rest under the perfect shade of the London Plane tree on top of a small hill.

Despite being quite a small park, it attracts an abundance of animals such as bats, robins, blue and grey tits with boxes and feeders dotted around the park. Gorgeous Golden Orfe fishes can be found swimming around the trickling Gothic-styled fountain. The Golden Orfe fishes have been there over 10 years.

The film Closer, starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen, was filmed on location. Not one to ruin the film for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet so I won’t give anything away, but Alice Ayres taken off the tiles become an inspiration for one of the characters. The film itself is very much worth the watch and You can catch the Alice Ayres’s tablet above.

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Holland Park

Holland Park is the London’s Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s largest park at 22.5 hectares with one of the main attractions being the Japanese garden, Kyoto Garden. The park is open daily from 07:30 until 30 minutes before dusk.

The park, originally, was the grounds for Cope Castle, which was a Jacobean mansion hidden away in the woods. The mansion was built by Sir Walter Cope in the early 17th century, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer under King James I rule. It was renamed to Holland House after the Earl of Holland’s wife Lady Rich had acquired it through inheritance. Following World War II, the mansion was severely damaged leaving only one wing remaining, which is now used for open air theatre and classical concerts.

The Kyoto Garden was created by to celebrate the Japan festival as a joint venture between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the chamber of commerce of Kyoto. It was donated by the chamber of commerce of Kyoto and opened in 1991. It was refurbished in 2001 with garden specialists flown in from Japan to retransform the Garden. The Garden is done in a “tour garden” style, a traditional style of a Japanese garden, with everything carefully arranged to fit and shape in with the climate and locality to make it seem natural.

The garden is made up of different elements with different representations. The waterfall represents mountains and gorges with the water leading into the pond as a representation of the ocean. Around the pond runs paths and a stonebridge. The whole garden is a representation of the splendour and beauty of the landscape. Positioned at different points in the Garden, tōrō (stone lanterns), tsukubai (stone washbasin) and shishi-odoshi (bamboo alarm to scare off animals) are placed along the paths for the enjoyment for the sights of visitors.

 

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St Dunstan in the East

St Dunstan in the East is what used to be a church but gone through a lot of change running through two significant historical events, being the Great Fire of London and the Blitz. Now, it is a hotspot for city workers’ lunch breaks during the weekdays and offers a soothing and calming atmosphere during the weekends.

St Dunstan in the East was built as an Anglo-Saxon church built at around 1100 as and it was not until 1391, when a new south aisle was added in. It was later repaired in 1631.

In 1666, the Great Fire of London breezed through it, but rather than having it rebuilt, it was patched up in 1671. The west section of the garden held the graves of the victims who died in the Great Fire of London, where it now resides with Wisteria vines and Azalea trees.

Christopher Wren added in a steeple and tower which was constructed from 1695 to 1701. It is said that the builders dared not remove the scaffolding away in fear of it collapsing. Despite their concerns, Wren took faith in his own design and had his daughter lay under the scaffold. All the scaffolding were removed, so I’m guessing Wren’s daughter survived as the church tower still stands there today.

In 1941, the church was destroyed in the Blitz, but the church tower and all the outer wall survived leaving a hollow church with no roof. During the re-organisation of the church following World War II, the City of London Corporation decided that they were not going to rebuild it but turn what was left into a public garden.

Having been there several times, I completely enjoy what the garden has to offer each time, especially during the weekends when it is completely quiet. The garden is secluded by surrounding offices obscuring the splendour of evergreen in the middle of it, making it a very out-of-the-way garden, which many won’t come across. On the weekends, the park is completely quiet giving many of a chance to sit down and enjoy the tranquillity of the greenery and lovely water features of the fountain. The park is home to many stunningly beautiful flowers of Wisteria, Magnolia and climbing roses in flower beds and clambering on to the church walls.