Chester Square is an elongated residential garden square in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both 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 dange ...

district. It was developed by the Grosvenor family, as were the nearby Belgrave and

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgra ...

. The square is named after the city of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, the city nearest the Grosvenors' ancestral home of Eaton Hall. No.32 was used as a backdrop for video accompanying Morrissey's track " Suedehead". The whole except No.s 80a, 81, 81a, 82, 83 and 83a (so No.s 1–13 and 14–23, 24–32, 37–39, 42–45, 45a, 45b, 65–76 and 77–80, 80a, and 84–88 and the Mews Arch) is 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 Ire ...

for architectural merit. The (private, communal) gardens are Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

St Michael's Church

The Anglican church of Saint Michael in Chester Square was built in 1844 along with the rest of the square, and consecrated two years later. '' The Ecclesiologist'' magazine criticised the opening, saying it was "an attempt - but happily a most unsuccessful one - to find a Protestant development of the Christian styles". The church is in the late

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

style, with an exterior of Kentish Ragstone. The architect was Thomas Cundy the younger.

Notable residents

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the ...

Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs ( Russian: олигархи, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the So ...

and former owner of Chelsea FC *

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, li ...

, poet and critic *

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

, actor, had a house here when he was filming ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is an action-comedy series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the cycle of adventure se ...

'' in the early 1970s. *

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

and

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy ...

, film director and his actress wife, lived here for a few years in the early 1970s after their departure from Hollywood * George II, King of the Hellenes, bought a lease on a house at No. 45 shortly before his return to Greece in 1946 *

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

, pop musicians, lived here in 1966-67 * Nigella Lawson, celebrity chef and food writer; daughter of Conservative former Cabinet Minister Lord Lawson *Sir John Liddell, doctor and director-general of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

medical department, lived at No. 72 until his death in 1868 *

Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

, American-born violinist and conductor * Edward Ford, private secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, lived at No. 16 during the 1950s *

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, former British Conservative Prime Minister, lived at No. 73 until shortly before her death in 2013 * Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, had her headquarters at No. 77 during the

Second World War 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 ...

*Major Conrad Norman, Senior Gunnery Officer Royal Artillery Woolwich, Dunkirk survivor, officer in charge of British coastal gun emplacements in the Second World War, lived at No. 56 from 1946 until 1951 *

Gideon Mantell Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS (3 February 1790 – 10 November 1852) was a British obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstruct the structure and life of '' Iguanodon'' began the scientific study of dinosaurs: in ...

, an obstetrician, geologist, and palaeontologist, whose attempts to reconstruct the structure and life of the Iguanodon began the scientific discovery of dinosaurs, lived until his death at No. 19. *

W H Elliott The Reverend Canon Wallace Harold Elliott (1884 - 1957) was a Church of England clergyman and Precentor of the Chapels Royal, and a broadcaster on religious matters for the BBC, known as "the Radio Chaplain". Early life and education Elliott ...

, a broadcaster on religious matters for the BBC, and known as "the Radio Chaplain", was vicar of St Michael's in the mid-20th century.

Footnotes and References

;Footnotes ;Citations {{Reflist 1828 establishments in England Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade II listed houses Grade II listed parks and gardens in London Squares in the City of Westminster Belgravia Garden squares in London Communal gardens