Welcome

Welcome to the website for Gledhow Gardens, one of the most beautiful garden squares in London. This website has been established by the body which maintains the garden square to tell you about what’s going on and may be of interest to all those residents of Gledhow Gardens who enjoy its facilities. The website is also here to keep residents informed of events on the square, matters that interest and concern you and provide information as to how the garden square is managed, including the date of the annual general meeting, and other information which we hope will be of interest.

Gledhow Gardens is bordered by the Old Brompton Road to the south, Wetherby Gardens to the north, the road known as Gledhow Gardens to the east and Bolton Gardens to the west. In total, the garden square is one acre. It was laid out around 1890, the majority of the building surrounding the square having been constructed between 1866 and 1883.

The garden square is private and can be enjoyed by all the residents forming the community that surrounds the square, approximately 198 flats totalling 400 people in number. The square is, however, open once a year to the public usually on a Saturday during the London Garden Square Open Day Weekend which is usually in June. For further details please see the notice board. The cost of running the square is met through a precept, that is to say a charge levied as part of the council tax and is set annually at the annual general meeting to which all the residents are invited. The administration of the square is delegated to a sub-committee (see the Garden Square Sub-Committee) and is run in accordance with the Kensington Improvement Act 1851. The gardens contain many rare plants and trees (including two of the oldest plane trees in London) and its enclosed nature creates a micro-climate which attracts numerous birds and insects and unusual plant species.

The use of the garden is governed by its rules (the Bye Laws) which are posted on the notice board at the entrance on the east side of the garden and are also found on this website. Residents are asked to respect the rules of the garden square.

Gledhow Gardens was established during the second half of the 19th century on land forming the Gunter Estate, an area formerly owned by James and Robert Gunter, and thereafter Robert’s sons, Robert II and James II, following an accumulation of land which began in 1797 and completed in 1857.

Many of the houses surrounding Gledhow Gardens were constructed by the builder John Spicer, responsible for much of the building development on the Gunter Estate including Bolton Gardens, Courtfield Gardens and Wetherby Gardens, following the architectural design of George and Henry Godwyn, the Gunters’ surveyor. Nos 1-17 consecutively were built by John Spicer and Nos 18-30 were thought to be built by James Baker, Morris Hulbert the architect.

For more information about the history of the area and Gledhow Gardens in particular please see the history on this website.

Any observations on specific issues that residents might wish to raise with the sub-committee responsible for running the garden square can be sent to the following e-mail address: info@gledhowgardens.org.uk. Further information concerning the administration of the garden square and its activities can be found on this website or by contacting a member of the sub committee, details of whom can be found on this website.

We very much hope you enjoy this website and find it useful.