Carlyle Square is a garden square off the

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

in London's

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

district, SW3. The square was laid out on market gardens and was originally called Oakley Square. It was later named in honour of the writer

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, ...

in 1872. The garden at the centre of the square was the site of the annual summer party held by the broadcaster

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

. The party attracted many notable people from British and international society, politics and broadcasting, and was described by the ''Daily Telegraph'' in 2008 as "an important fixture for the London media and political party season". 1, 2 and 3, and 40, 41 and 42 Carlyle Square are

listed Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

in two groups.

Notable residents

No. 2 was the home of the literary brothers

Osbert Osbert is a male given name and a surname. It may refer to: Osbert , a novel by R.A. Currier Given name *Osbert or Osberht of Northumbria (died 867), King of Northumbria *Osbert or Osbeorn Bulax (died c. 1054), son of Siward, Earl of Northum ...

and

Sacheverell Sitwell Sir Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell, 6th Baronet, (; 15 November 1897 – 1 October 1988) was an English writer, best known as an art critic, music critic (his books on Mozart, Liszt, and Domenico Scarlatti are still consulted), and writer on ...

in the early 1920s. The composer

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the canta ...

lived for many years with the Sitwells at Carlyle Square. No. 6 was the home of actress

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...

from 1921 to 1932. 18 Carlyle Square was the home of the spy

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British ...

and his family for several years. 21 was the home of

Victor Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th Duke of Portland Victor Frederick William Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th Duke of Portland, (18 June 1897 – 30 July 1990), known as Victor Cavendish-Bentinck until 1977 and Lord Victor Cavendish-Bentinck from 1977 to 1980, and informally as Bill Bentinck, was a Britis ...

, who served as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 22 was the residence of actress

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

and her husband Jack Fox following their 1926 marriage. It was subsequently the home of writer

Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the "UK and Ireland Nobel" ...

, and the broadcaster

and his family later lived at No. 22 for 25 years. 26 was the residence of co-founder of the hairdressing chain

Toni & Guy Toni & Guy (stylised as TONI&GUY) is a British international chain of hairdressing salons founded in the UK in 1963 by brothers Toni and Guy Mascolo. History In 1963, Toni Mascolo and his brother Guy opened their first salon in Clapham, Londo ...

Toni Mascolo Giuseppe "Toni" Mascolo (6 May 1942 – 10 December 2017) was an Italian-born British hairdresser and businessman, and the co-founder of hairdressing chain Toni & Guy with his brother Gaetano "Guy" Mascolo. Early life He was the eldest of five s ...

, paid £8 million for a corner house on the square in 2010. The property was sold in 2021 to venture capitalist Walter Kortschak for £20.2 million. The Irish nationalist MP William Stacpoole died at his Carlyle Square residence, Cupola House, in 1879.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Coord, 51, 29, 12.04, N, 0, 10, 21.59, W, scale:1563_region:GB, display=title Garden squares in London Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II listed houses in London Houses completed in the 19th century Chelsea, London Squares in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Communal gardens King's Road, Chelsea, London