St Peter's Square, in Hammersmith, London, England, is a garden square laid out in the 1820s, just north of the River Thames between the Great West Road (A4) and King Street, within the St Peter's Square Conservation Area and London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
The limit of Chiswick (thus now also the London Borough of Hounslow) is the westernmost garden fences where there is a lane called British Grove. St Peter's Church, Hammersmith, the substantial Grecian Ionic structure that was completed in 1829 [1] occupies the south eastern corner of the site and is opposite 22 St Peters Square, a Grade II listed architect's studio and office building, that was formerly Island Records headquarters and is now named Island Studios. The houses are a good example of 19th century squares architecture, with paired villas in classical style arranged around a central space. The square today is maintained by residents, in partnership with Hammersmith & Fulham Council. [2]
The public garden in the centre of the square is Grade II listed on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and is 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) excluding roads. In 1913, a proposal to build on the garden was abandoned after local protests. The land was bought by the Borough Council and in 1915 the garden was opened to the public. The centre of the garden is occupied by a sculpture, The Greek Runner, by Sir William Blake Richmond, which was erected in 1926. [2]
The square was laid out during the economic boom of the 1820s, when the then owner, George Scott decided to build a speculative housing development on part of his Ravenscourt Park estate and also provided the land for St Peter's Church, Hammersmith. From 1827 plots were developed piecemeal by builders who undertook to conform to the master plan. The square was mostly complete by the end of the 1830s. The houses are mostly built in groups of three, with stucco fronts, pediments and Ionic porches. Some retain eagles, lions and dogs as decoration. Numbers 1 to 6 were the first to be built and are the grandest in the square. [3]
The Pumpkin Eater in 1963/4 was filmed on location at St Peter's Square. The director was Jack Clayton, the script was by Harold Pinter and the leading roles were played by Anne Bancroft and Peter Finch [6]
Many episodes of 1970s police series The Sweeney were filmed here, as well as Miss Potter , a 2006 Chris Noonan biopic of Beatrix Potter, [7] I Capture The Castle , a 2003 film directed by Tim Fywell, [8] and Silent Witness , a BBC thriller series, which filmed in the Square in March 2010. [8]
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the United Kingdom. It includes affluent areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge.
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borough borders Brent to the north, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east, Wandsworth to the south, Richmond upon Thames to the south west, and Hounslow and Ealing to the west.
Fulham is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth, Putney, Barn Elms and the London Wetland Centre in Barnes. on the far side of the river.
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the sub-districts of South Kensington to the east, Chelsea to the south and Kensington to the northeast. It lent its name to the now defunct eponymous pleasure grounds opened in 1887 followed by the pre–World War II Earls Court Exhibition Centre, as one of the country's largest indoor arenas and a popular concert venue, until its closure in 2014. The area has long been known as "Bedsitter Land" with many of its stuccoed terraces converted into studio flats, hotels and hostels.
The Metropolitan Borough of Fulham was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith to form the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was a riverside borough, and comprised the many centuries-long definition of Fulham so included parts often considered of independent character today Walham Green, Parsons Green, Hurlingham, Sands End and that part of Chelsea Harbour west of Counter's Creek. The SW6 postal district approximately follows this as does the direct, though less empowered, predecessor Fulham civil parish.
Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, an Inner London borough, has 231 hectares of parks and open spaces that are accessible to the general public, 159 hectares being within parks and 52.5 hectares within cemeteries and churchyards. Wormwood Scrubs and Scrubs Wood, located in the north of the Borough account for 42 hectares and Fulham Palace and Bishop's Park grounds contain another 14 hectares of open space. Private open space includes Hurlingham, Fulham and Queen's Club in West Kensington.
West Kensington, formerly North End, is an area in the ancient parish of Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) west of Charing Cross. It covers most of the London postal area of W14, including the area around Barons Court tube station, and is defined as the area between Lillie Road and Hammersmith Road to the west, Fulham Palace Road to the south, Hammersmith to the north and West Brompton and Earl's Court to the east. The area is bisected by the major London artery the A4, locally known as the Talgarth Road. Its main local thoroughfare is the North End Road.
Brompton, sometimes called Old Brompton, survives in name as a ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Until the latter half of the 19th century it was a scattered village made up mostly of market gardens in the county of Middlesex. It lay south-east of the village of Kensington, abutting the parish of St Margaret's, Westminster at the hamlet of Knightsbridge to the north-east, with Little Chelsea to the south. It was bisected by the Fulham Turnpike, the main road westward out of London to the ancient parish of Fulham and on to Putney and Surrey. It saw its first parish church, Holy Trinity Brompton, only in 1829. Today the village has been comprehensively eclipsed by segmentation due principally to railway development culminating in London Underground lines, and its imposition of station names, including Knightsbridge, South Kensington and Gloucester Road as the names of stops during accelerated urbanisation, but lacking any cogent reference to local history and usage or distinctions from neighbouring settlements.
Hammersmith is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is currently represented by Andy Slaughter, a member of the Labour Party, who has represented the seat since its recreation in 2010.
Ravenscourt Park or RCP is an 8.3 hectares public park and garden located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England. It is one of the Borough's flagship parks, having won a Green Flag Award. Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park tube stations are close by.
All Saints' Church is the ancient parish church of Fulham, in the County of Middlesex, pre-dating the Reformation. It is now an Anglican Church in Fulham, London, sited close to the river Thames, beside the northern approach to Putney Bridge. The church tower and interior nave and chancel are Grade II* listed.
St Peter's, Hammersmith, is a Church of England parish church. It is a Grade II* listed church, and the oldest church in Hammersmith.
Bishops Park is a park in Fulham, West London. The park was opened by the London County Council in 1893, on land given by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It is listed Grade II on the register of parks and gardens of special historic interest maintained by English Heritage.
22 St Peter's Square, in Hammersmith, London, is a grade II Listed building with a former laundry that has been converted to an architects' studio and office building. The property is situated in the western corner of St Peter's Square, that was laid out and built from 1827, opposite St Peter's Church, Hammersmith. In the basement of the rear of the building is the former studio of Island Records known as The Fallout Shelter, 47 British Grove. Many musicians began their careers or recorded in the building; Steve Winwood and Traffic, Robert Palmer, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, U2, Nick Drake and Sandy Denny. It has a Hammersmith Society Conservation award plaque (2009) and has been included in tours in Architecture Week.
Margravine Cemetery, also known as Hammersmith Cemetery, is in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The closest London Underground station is Barons Court.