The Restoration of Bloomsbury Square Gardens

Originally known as Southampton Square, Bloomsbury Square was one of London's first designed garden squares. It was initially laid out during the middle of the 17th Century, after Lord Southampton built Southampton House, a large mansion with the square as its forecourt. In 1669 the Dukes of Bedford acquired the square through the marriage of the daughter of Lord Southampton and, by the 1730s, the name Bloomsbury Square was firmly established.

Illustrations from the early 18th Century show the square as a simple rectangular grass space crossed by cruciform and diagonal paths. In 1806-07 a design by Humphry Repton, England's foremost landscape architect of the time, was laid out with deciduous shrub planting to the perimeter, a circle of lime trees at the centre, shaded walks and oval planting beds to each corner. Repton also designed Russell Square in 1801 which is linked to Bloomsbury Square by the formal axis of Bedford Place. A statue of statesman Charles James Fox (1749-1806) stands on the north side of Bloomsbury Square, providing a focal point on this axis, whilst also facing the statue of the fifth Duke of Bedford, which stands in Russell Square. Both statues were designed by the English neoclassical sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott (1775-1856).

Prior to World War II the square was enclosed by iron railings and access was only for the surrounding residents. During the war the railings were removed as part of the war effort to be melted down for munitions and the public were able to access the square for the first time. In 1950 public access was formalised when the square was officially opened to the public. During the 1970s an underground car park was built beneath the square and a new landscape scheme was implemented, radically modifying the layout of the gardens and resulting in further loss of Humphry Repton's scheme.

The restoration of Bloomsbury Square Gardens has included elements of Repton's design along with the incorporation of the 17th century cruciform path layout as shown in the 18th century illustrations. Much of the planting follows Regency horticultural principles with colourful flowerbeds containing an informal mixture of shrubs and herbaceous plants. Whilst features of the Square's past have been reinstated, a new play area and site furniture ensure that the needs of 21st century users are met.

Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster in 1746 by John Roque when Bloomsbury Square acted as a forecourt to Bedford House (formerly Southampton House)

Plan by James Wyld engraved by N R Hewitt in 1824 showing Humphry Repton's design for Bloomsbury Square and its relationship with Russell Square to the north

Engraving by Edward Walford showing Bloomsbury Square and the statue of Charles Fox, during the 1870s

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