Park of the week

137. Canonbury Square Gardens

This garden square is, in fact, two small parks in North Islington surrounded by a square of Georgian houses that were laid out just under two hundred years ago.

The land was owned by the Marquess of Northampton, who leased it to a developer in 1805. Before building finished, plans for a quiet square were interrupted by the construction of what is now Canonbury Road, which runs through the middle of the square. The Marquess opened the gardens in 1884 and donated them to Islington Council in 1888 ‘for the enjoyment of the public’. The original railings were removed during World War II, and an air raid shelter may also have been dug in the gardens, as a tender to dig one was issued. The railings were replaced with reproduction versions when the garden was redesigned in the nineteen fifties, after which the Evening Standard described it as London’s most beautiful square.

Today, the two gardens have different appearances. The smaller western garden is dominated by old plane trees, paving, and raised beds running around the edge, where there are benches. It has a shady feel it. There was further refurbishment in 2006, funded by the Loire Valley Wines Legacy Gardens, including a small vineyard and rose bed in the west garden reflecting the planting of the vineyards in the Loire Valley.

The larger eastern garden is more open and ornamental, laid out with two large lawns split by a central path and surrounded by a bench-filled walkway. There are plane, lime, magnolia, and horse chestnut trees, with bedding around the edges. The central avenue was restored in 2019 and a free-standing stone urn replaced with a globe sculpture, surrounded by bedding plants.

Former residents include literary figures George Orwell, Evelyn Waugh, and Vanessa Bell. 

Judith Field

Canonbury Square, London N1 2AW