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Cleaver Square (formerly Prince's Square) is an 18th-century
garden square A garden square is a type of communal garden in an urban area wholly or substantially surrounded by buildings; commonly, it continues to be applied to public and private parks formed after such a garden becomes accessible to the public at large. ...
in the
London Borough of Lambeth Lambeth () is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as ''Lambehitha'' ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as ''Lambeth''. The geographical centre of London is at Frazi ...
, dating from 1789. It is notable for having been the first garden square in South London.


History

Cleaver Square was laid out in 1789, and was the first garden square in South London.


Features

There is a residents' association, which hosts an annual outdoor carol service and other events. Until the middle of the 18th century, the locality consisted of hedgerows, fields and meadows, traversed by Kennington Road from the
City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
to
Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...
. Mary Cleaver inherited the estate in 1743; at that point it consisted of a large open pasture, screened from the high road by a line of trees and known as White Bear Field. In 1780 she leased it to Thomas Ellis, the landlord of the Horns Tavern on
Kennington Common Kennington Common was a swathe of common land mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth. It was one of the earliest venues for cricket around London, with matches played between 1724 and 1785. G B Buckley, ''Fresh Light on 18th Century Cric ...
, who laid out and developed the square. The terraces at the entrance of Kennington Park Road were built in 1788, houses on the north west side of the square in 1789, followed by other houses on the north side in 1792. Other houses were built later, between 1815 and 1824, and 1844 and 1853. By the 1870s the area had reduced in status, and the houses were overcrowded. Originally named Prince's Square, it was renamed Cleaver Square in 1937. The centre of the square was enclosed by Ellis in 1792 as a grazing ground. By 1871 it was a garden circumscribed by a formal path, and by 1898 it had been cultivated as a nursery with greenhouses. The centre of the square was acquired by the
Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth Lambeth was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in south London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. The parish was included in the area of respo ...
in 1927 in order to prevent development on it. From 1995 the centre of the square was restored as a public space with a grant from the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association The Metropolitan Public Gardens Association (also known as the MPGA) is a charity in London for the purposes of the preservation of public parks and gardens, established in 1882. It facilitated the creation of new public open spaces, including f ...
. Cleaver Square is within the Kennington
Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
, which was first designated in 1968 and extended in 1979 and 1997. It is a registered historic square. Many but not all, of the houses on the square are
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
. Those that are listed are 1-20; 21–25; 26–33; 34–41; and 50, 51 and 52.


Features

There is a residents' association, which hosts an annual outdoor carol service and other events. To the south-east, the square is bordered with the
City and Guilds of London Art School Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...
(formerly the Lambeth School of Art). In the north-west corner is the Prince of Wales public house, dating originally from 1792 but refaced in 1901. A
Shepherd Neame Shepherd Neame is an English independent brewery which has been based in the market town of Faversham, Kent, for over 300 years. While 1698 is the brewery's official established date, town records show that commercial brewing has occurred on the ...
tied house until 2019, the Prince of Wales is now a free house. It has
pétanque Pétanque (, ; ; ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports (along with Raffa (boules), raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, Bowls, lawn bowls, and Crown green bowls, crown green bowling). In these sports, players or teams play thei ...
sets available for hire, for use in the gravelled centre of the square.


Notable residents

Notable residents have included the artist Innes Fripp, the Tate & Lyle businessman Sir Saxon Tate Bt, and former Prime Minister, Sir
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...
.


Cultural references

* Patrick McGrath's 2021 novel ''Last Days in Cleaver Square'' (2021: Hutchinson) is about the end of life of a resident of the square. *
Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its lau ...
's 1988 oil painting ''Cleaver Square from Kennington Park Road'' is held by Southwark Art Collection. His 1985 oil painting, ''The Passing World'', from a similar perspective, is held by the
Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...
.


References

{{coord, 51.487797, -0.10874748, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Squares in the London Borough of Lambeth Conservation areas in London Garden squares in London