Earl's Court Square

The Square lies between Warwick Road in the west and Earl's Court Road in the east, with the northern and southern sides extending to those roads beyond the square itself. Farnell Mews runs from the east side of the garden square.[https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/51.48935/-0.19323 Earl's Court Square.] OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 12 October 2019.

The Square was developed from 1872 or 1873 on agricultural land originally belonging to the Rich family and then to the Edwardes family with the south side being developed last. The terrace numbered 30 to 52 (even) on the south side was built in the Jacobean Revival style in 1888–1890.{{cite book|author=Pevsner, Nikolaus & Bridget Cherry.|title=The Buildings of England: London 3: North West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AuvCfuvUy-0C&pg=PA546|year=2002|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven & London|isbn=0300096526|page=546}}

The general style of architecture is stuccoed terraced houses with Italianate dressings and upper floor balconies supported by columns, but there are several styles in the square including buildings that have Jacobean and Second Empire influences. There are several purpose built apartment blocks, including Wetherby Mansions, Herbert Court Mansions, Langham Mansions, and more recently, Northgate House, built in 1965.

By the 1970s, the Square was "extremely run down", and "there were two squalid brothels, they were at no. 9 and in the A-L block of Wetherby Mansions that were eventually evicted by the borough's Health Inspector and a sordid murder occurred at no. 4."{{cite web |title=The History of Earl’s Court Square |url=https://ecsra.co.uk/history/history-2/ |website=ECSRA |accessdate=7 October 2019}}

The Poetry Society Bookshop was located at number 21 and in the 1970s was the scene of the "Battle of Earl's Court" when traditionalist and modernist poets fought for the future of British poetry during the British Poetry Revival after the modernists took over the conservative Poetry Society.{{cite book|author=Brinton, Ian.|title=Contemporary Poetry: Poets and Poetry since 1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aF0FRD3PzPcC&pg=PA24|year=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521712484|page=24}}[http://jacketmagazine.com/31/sheppard-barry.html Poets Behaving Badly.] Robert Sheppard, Jacket2, October 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2019.[https://www.saltpublishing.com/products/poetry-wars-9781844712472 Poetry Wars], Salt Publishing. Retrieved 12 October 2019.

There are no listed buildings in the Square but it was given conservation area status in 1975.

• Sir Frederick Ashton, choreographer
• Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, musician, lived at 29 Wetherby Mansions from January 1969 with the artist Duggie Fields.{{cite book|author=Barry Miles|title=Pink Floyd: The Early Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vu-aAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT270|date=12 December 2011|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0-85712-740-2|page=270}}
• Joan Buck, American writer and actress{{cite book|author=Allegra Huston|title=Love Child: A Memoir of Family Lost and Found|url=https://archive.org/details/lovechildmemoiro00hust|url-access=registration|date=7 April 2009|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-5926-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/lovechildmemoiro00hust/page/239 239]}}
• Sir John Egan, businessman, in 1960{{cite book|author1=John Egan|author2=Des Wilson|title=Private Business-Public Battleground: The Case for 21st Century Stakeholder Companies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7t5cTHQMuUC&pg=PA25|date=24 February 2002|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-55460-3|page=25}}
• Frank Gielgud, father of the actor Sir John Gielgud
• Sir William Palliser, ordnance inventor, lived at no 21 (originally Earl's Court Lodge), and it was later home to the Poetry Society{{cite web |title=The Edwardes estate: South of West Cromwell Road |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol42/pp300-321#h3-0007 |website=Survey of London |accessdate=7 October 2019}}
• Ninette de Valois, founder of The Sadler's Wells, later The Royal Ballet, lived at no 23 at the start of her career, as it was her parents' home.{{cite news |title=London Open Garden Squares Weekend: top 20 to visit |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardens-to-visit/london-open-garden-squares-weekend-top-20-to-visit/earls-court-square-kensington-and-chelsea/ |accessdate=7 October 2019 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=14 June 2015}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{commons category-inline|Earls Court Square|Earl's Court Square}}

{{coord|51.48985|-0.19275|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earl's Court Square}}

Category:Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Category:Garden squares in London