Hanover Square Gardens

Welcome to Hanover Square Gardens

The garden is managed by the City of Westminster's Parks Service. Click this link to contact the Parks Service

Location

Hanover Square is located in the south west corner of Oxford Circus and is directly across Oxford Street from Cavendish Square. A location map is shown at the bottom of the page.

Tube

The nearest tube station is Oxford Circus which is served by the Central, Bakerloo and Victoria Lines.

Buses

It can be accessed by any buses that serve both Oxford Street and Regent Street.

History

The first square to be laid out for building was Hanover Square which was started in about 1717 and named after the new king, George I, who was the Elector of Hanover in Germany.

The gardens in the centre of Hanover Square were originally plain, but by the time of the 1750's bird's eye view paths had been made in the shape of a cross with diagonals. These paths were replaced before 1787 with a circular path running round the circumference bordered by trees.

Shortly after the Second World War this was succeeded by diagonal paths and a pond with a fountain near the north end. The bronze statue of the Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806) by the great sculptor Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey has stood at the southern end of the square since 1831. It survived an attempt by Reform Bill agitators to pull down on the opening day.

The gardens were purchased by the City Council in 1997 to prevent them from becoming derelict. It should be noted that the council had been funding them along with the original gardens committee for a number of years previous to their purchase.

Location  for Hanover Square Gardens