Regent Square

Regent Square Gardens were originally laid out for the private use of residents of the surrounding houses built from 1829, of which only the terrace on the south side of the square remains.  The areas around the square were seriously damaged by a German V bomb during the Second World War, including Lumen Church. It was originally a miniature version of York Minster and so popular in the 19th century that carriages took half an hour to disperse after morning service. It had been first established to provide Gaelic language worship in London. Many famous people have been associated with the church, including Edward Irving, John Ruskin, Thomas Carlyle, Sir Robert Peel, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and George and Ada Reith (parents of John Reith, the founder of the BBC, who were married there in 1870).

The current Regent Square garden layout (of 1995, as part of King’s Cross area improvements) is close to the original design. Planting consists of shrubs and herbaceous perennial plants, the central area mainly laid to lawn crossed by a serpentine path, and the garden has a number of the original London plane trees.

See our photo album here

The garden is owned and maintained by Camden Council and is open during the hours of daylight.

Fuller historical details can be seen at London Gardens Online