Eccleston Square is a square in

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

, London.

History

The square dates to the 1830s, an integral part of

Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. Background The s ...

's planned design of "South Belgravia", which is now called Pimlico. Cubitt designed many of the houses on the square and built and leased Nos 1–3 in 1836 and Nos 4 and 5 in 1842 all of which are grade II listed with

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. The land was formerly part of the Grosvenor family estate, who owned land in Eccleston, Cheshire, from where it is thought the square takes its name. The communal private gardens in the centre of the square are grade II listed with

since 1987, and open for the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

each year. The Buddhist Society has been based at no.58 since 1956. There are two

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

s in the square. The first is for

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, who moved to Eccleston Square a year after marrying Clementine Hozier, and their first two children, Diana and Randolph, were born there. The second blue plaque is for the conductor and orchestra reformer Sir Michael Costa, who lived at Wilton Court, 59 Eccleston Square, from 1857 to 1883. The Eccleston Square Hotel is a grade II listed building at no.37.

Notable residents

Blue plaques

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, politician – lived at 33 Eccleston Square * Sir Michael Costa, conductor and orchestra reformer – lived at Wilton Court, 59 Eccleston Square

Others

* Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, born at no.71 * James Erskine (Conservative politician), lived at no.7 * Adolphus FitzGeorge, admiral, died at no.20 * Bertha Jane Grundy, novelist, died in Eccleston Square in 1912 * Alfred Hillier, Conservative MP, died by suicide in 1911 in his home at no.20 * Richard Hull (author), crime novelist, died at no.32 in 1973 *Field Marshal Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet, Chief of the Imperial General Staff * Harold Rutland, music critic, lived at no.27 in the 1960s and 1970s *

Patrick Swift Patrick Swift (1927–1983) was an Irish painter who worked in Dublin, London and the Algarve, Portugal. Overview In Dublin he formed part of the Envoy, A Review of Literature and Art, Envoy arts review / McDaid's pub circle of artistic and l ...

, Irish artist *

William Watson-Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong William Henry Armstrong Fitzpatrick Watson-Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, Deputy Lieutenant, DL, (3 May 1863 – 16 October 1941), was a British benefactor. Born William Watson, he was born at 65 Eccleston Square, London, and educated at Eton C ...

, born at no.65 * Humbert Wolfe, poet, died at no.75

References

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