Porchester Square Gardens

Welcome to Porchester Square Gardens.

The gardens won its first Green Flag in 2008 and the Management Plan for the site can be viewed by clicking on the highlighted link.

These gardens are managed by the City of Westminster's Parks Service. Click on this link  to contact the Parks Serivce

Location

Porchester Square, Bayswater, W2 6AW. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page for a location map.

Tube

Nearest tube station is Royal Oak on the Hammersmith and City Line.

Bus

The 36 bus runs along Porchester Road and Bishops Bridge Road.

The 18 Bus runs along Harrow Road (there are stops at the end of Porchester Road)

Facilities

• Formal lawn and bedding areas
• Donated benches
• Children's Playground (3 to 11 years)

Playground Information:

• Equipment age range - 3 to 11 years
• Sand pit - No
• Paddling pool - No
• Children's toilet - No
• Manned site - Yes
• Adults admitted - Only if accompanying children
• Dogs admitted - No
• Seating - Yes
• Drinking Fountain - No

Playground Equipment - Inspection and Maintenance

Westminster has a very thorough inspection and maintenance policy for its playgrounds. We believe that the safety of the users is paramount. To view the Inspection and Maintenance regime please click on the link

History

Completed between 1855 and 1858, Porchester Square was one of the last areas of Bayswater to be built. Eight different builders were involved with different parts of the square as can be seen from a variety of exterior details on the houses. The architect most closely concerned with Porchester Square was George Wyatt, but the final word on both the general layout and the architectural detail would have been with George Gutch who in 1822 became the surveyor of Bishop of London's Paddington estate and so supervised the overall development of the whole of Bayswater.

In 1955 when the Church Commission offered the leases of Porchester Square for sale, the northern side and some of the surrounding area was bought by the London County Council with a view to the complete rehabilitation of these fine Victorian houses. This was successfully carried out by the Greater London

Council during the ten year period from 1964.

The name Porchester comes from one of the Hampshire estates of the Thistlewaites who with only two or three other families had been chief lessees of the Bishop of London's land in Paddington since before 1750. The gardens themselves were acquired by Paddington Borough Council and first opened to the public in 1955. The principle species of tree that can be found in this garden is the London Plane (Platanus x hispanica). Double Gean (Prunus avium 'Plena') and Indian Horse Chestnut (Aesculus indica).

Location map for Porchester Square