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Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in 
Brunswick Square information
from Camden Council
LondonTown.com information
{{Bloomsbury Squares in the London Borough of Camden Bloomsbury Grade II listed parks and gardens in London Garden squares in London
Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north; the Brunswick Centre
The Brunswick Centre is a grade II listed residential and shopping centre in Bloomsbury, London, England. It is located between Brunswick Square and Russell Square and is administratively in the London Borough of Camden.
Planning and design
T ...
to the west; and International Hall
International Hall is a Hall of Residence owned by the University of London and situated on Brunswick Square and Lansdowne Terrace in the Bloomsbury district of London. It is an intercollegiate hall, and as such provides accommodation for fu ...
(a hall of residence of the University of London) to the south. East is an enclosed area of playgrounds with further trees, Coram's Fields, associated with charity Coram Family
The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children is a large children's charity in London which uses the working name Coram (formerly Coram Family).
It originated as part of England's oldest children's charity, the Foundling Hospital, established by ro ...
which is just over double its size; next to that area Brunswick Square is mirrored, symmetrically by Mecklenburgh Square, likewise of 3 acres including roads. The squares are named after contemporary Queen consorts (the wife of George III and the wife of his eldest son George IV).
Layout
Bloomsbury is notable for its garden squares, literary connections, and numerous cultural, educational and health care institutions. Mecklenburgh Square is a matching square to the east covering three acres. Between the two, east of this square, is an enclosed area of playgrounds with further trees, Coram's Fields (associated with charityCoram Family
The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children is a large children's charity in London which uses the working name Coram (formerly Coram Family).
It originated as part of England's oldest children's charity, the Foundling Hospital, established by ro ...
) which occupies just over seven acres. Russell Square is the nearest tube station to the south-west.
;Protection
Brunswick Square and Mecklenburgh Square and Coram's Fields are jointly listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...
.
History
What is now the square (apart from the longer of the two roads bounding it and sharing in its name which is older) including the nearer part of buildings facing it was originally part of the grounds of theFoundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...
. It was planned to be leased for housebuilding, along with Mecklenburgh Square, to raise funds for the hospital in 1790. Brunswick Square, named after Caroline of Brunswick, was finished first, being built by James Burton in 1795–1802; none of the original houses remain.
The bronze sculpture of a child's mitten, by Tracey Emin, sits on top of one of the railings outside the Foundling Museum.
In literature, arts and the media
InJane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
's ''Emma
Emma may refer to:
* Emma (given name)
Film
* Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown
* Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow
* Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...
'', John and Isabella Knightley live in Brunswick Square.
Notable residents
John Ruskin was born at 54 Hunter Street, Brunswick Square in 1819. TheMinerva Club
The Minerva Club was a residential members club at 28a Brunswick Square in the Bloomsbury district of London. It was established by the Women's Freedom League (WFL) in 1920. The executive meetings of the WFL were held at the club into the 1930s. Th ...
was founded here by Dr Elizabeth Knight and Alice Green in 1920. The club was used for Women's Freedom League meetings and as a hostel for suffrage activists and fund-raising annual birthday parties for Charlotte Despard. Despard travelled from Ireland each year to attend.
The writer E.M. Forster used 26 Brunswick Square as his London base from 1930 to 1939.David Bradshaw, ed (2007). "Chronology". The Cambridge Companion to E. M. Forster. Cambridge University Press.
References
External links
Brunswick Square information
from Camden Council
LondonTown.com information
{{Bloomsbury Squares in the London Borough of Camden Bloomsbury Grade II listed parks and gardens in London Garden squares in London