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68-591: Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London , England . Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, including Lord Eldon , one of Britain's longest serving and most celebrated Lord Chancellors , who lived in the largest house in the square for many years. The square takes its name from

136-646: A heritage asset legally protected) is called 'designation'. Several different terms are used because the processes use separate legislation: buildings are 'listed'; ancient monuments are 'scheduled', wrecks are 'protected', and battlefields, gardens and parks are 'registered'. A heritage asset is a part of the historic environment that is valued because of its historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have extra legal protection through designation. Buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest can still be regarded as

204-436: A material consideration in the planning process. As a very rough guide, listed buildings are structures considered of special architectural and historical importance. Ancient monuments are of 'national importance' containing evidential values, and can on many occasions also relate to below ground or unoccupied sites and buildings. Almost anything can be listed. Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in

272-661: A building. Listed building consent must be obtained from local authorities before any alteration to a listed structure. There are about 8,500 listed buildings in Northern Ireland, divided into four grades, defined as follows: In Scotland, listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947, and the current legislative basis for listing is the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 . As with other matters regarding planning, conservation

340-463: A commitment to sharing the understanding of the historic environment and more openness in the process of designation. In 2008, a draft Heritage Protection Bill was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny before its passage through UK Parliament. The legislation was abandoned despite strong cross-party support, to make room in the parliamentary legislative programme for measures to deal with the credit crunch, though it may be revived in future. The proposal

408-404: A group that is—for example, all the buildings in a square. This is called 'group value'. Sometimes large areas comprising many buildings may not justify listing but receive the looser protection of designation as a conservation area . The specific criteria include: The state of repair of a building is not generally deemed to be a relevant consideration for listing. Additionally: Although

476-451: A list of locally listed buildings as separate to the statutory list (and in addition to it). There is no statutory protection of a building or object on the local list but many receive a degree of protection from loss through being in a Conservation Area or through planning policy. Councils hope that owners will recognise the merits of their properties and keep them unaltered if at all possible. Listing began later in Northern Ireland than in

544-403: A listed building is a criminal offence and owners can be prosecuted. A planning authority can also insist that all work undertaken without consent be reversed at the owner's expense. See also Category:Grade II* listed buildings for examples of such buildings across England and Wales. See also Category:Grade II listed buildings for examples of such buildings across England and Wales. It

612-558: A listed building which involves any element of demolition. Exemption from secular listed building control is provided for some buildings in current use for worship, but only in cases where the relevant religious organisation operates its own equivalent permissions procedure. Owners of listed buildings are, in some circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them and can face criminal prosecution if they fail to do so or if they perform unauthorised alterations. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained,

680-687: A listed structure. Applications for consent are made on a form obtained from Historic Environment Scotland. After consulting the local planning authority, the owner, where possible, and an independent third party, Historic Environment Scotland makes a recommendation on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. The scheme for classifying buildings is: There are about 47,400 listed buildings in Scotland. Of these, around 8 percent (some 3,800) are Category A, 50 percent are Category B, and 42 percent are listed at Category C. Although

748-558: A non-statutory basis. Although a limited number of 'ancient monuments' were given protection under the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 , there was reluctance to restrict the owners of occupied buildings in their actions related to their property. The extensive damage to buildings caused by German bombing during World War II prompted efforts to list and protect buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. Three hundred members of

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816-532: A process of reform, including a review of the criteria used for listing buildings. A Review of Heritage Policy in 2006 was criticised, and the Government began a process of consultation on changes to Planning Policy Guidance 15 , relating to the principles of selection for listing buildings in England. The government's White Paper "Heritage Protection for the 21st Century", published on 8 March 2007, offered

884-519: A provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 covering England and Wales, and the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1947 covering Scotland. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972. The listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. The process of protecting the built historic environment (i.e. getting

952-809: A public private partnership between the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Fitler Square Improvement Association. In Boston tens of squares exist, some having a mainly residential use. The Kingstowne development in Fairfax County, Virginia , near Washington, DC , contains several townhouse complexes built around garden squares. In Africa, garden squares are rare. Many squares and parks in Africa were constructed during colonial rule, along with European-styled architecture. A well-known square like this in Africa

1020-557: A single document, the National Planning Policy Framework . A consultation draft of this was published on 25 July 2011 and the final version on 27 March 2012. This became a material consideration in planning matters on publication. It has since been revised in 2018, 2019 and 2021. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission in England and Cadw in Wales list buildings under three grades, with Grade I being

1088-408: A three bay Georgian terraced house because such an arrangement required an ingenious plan to accommodate the staircase. The front door leads into an entrance hall which is flanked by two separate spaces, an anteroom to the right and the fine stone staircase to the left. With the staircase in the front of the house, Leverton was able to design full width rooms to the rear half which took full advantage of

1156-618: A wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and structures. These include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. However, in 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Dill v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and another that buildings in

1224-474: Is Greenmarket Square , in the center of Cape Town , which previously hosted more townhouses at its edges but has been mostly paved over. Garden Squares generally do not occur throughout Asia. Parks usually occupy the need for urban green spaces, while historic and modern gardens exist as attractions, not central communal spaces. Listed building In the United Kingdom , a listed building

1292-802: Is a power devolved to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government . The authority for listing rests with Historic Environment Scotland (formerly Historic Scotland ), an executive agency of the Scottish Government, which inherited this role from the Scottish Development Department in 1991. The listing system is administered by Historic Environment Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. Listed building consent must be obtained from local authorities before any alteration to

1360-884: Is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England , Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland , Cadw in Wales , and the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland . The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (see sections below). The term has also been used in

1428-438: Is almost certainly the work of the architect Thomas Leverton (1743-1824). By his own admission Leverton designed the interiors of both Numbers 6 and 13 Bedford Square and a number of details in those houses are repeated here. Although it sits outside the uniform symmetrical east side of the square, it has always been part of it and appropriately has always been numbered 1. The house is distinguished by its central entrance, rare for

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1496-486: Is famous for them; they are described as one of the glories of the capital. Many were built or rebuilt during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, at the height of Georgian architecture , and are surrounded by townhouses . Large projects, such as the Bedford Estate , included garden squares in their development. The Notting Hill and Bloomsbury neighbourhoods both have many garden squares, with

1564-441: Is not unusual for historic sites, particularly large sites, to contain buildings with multiple, sometimes varying, designations. For example, Derwent Valley Mills , a World Heritage Site contains 838 listed buildings, made up of 16 listed at Grade I, 42 at Grade II* and 780 at Grade II. A further nine structures are Scheduled monuments . Many councils, for example, Birmingham City Council and Crawley Borough Council , maintain

1632-857: Is opened to the public as part of the Open Garden Squares Weekend. The square is Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . Bedford College , the first place for female higher education in Britain, was originally located in (and named after) Bedford Square (No. 47). Other squares on the Bedford Estate in Bloomsbury included: A number of houses have blue plaques recording famous residents: 51°31′08.08″N 00°07′48.39″W  /  51.5189111°N 0.1301083°W  / 51.5189111; -0.1301083 Garden square The archetypal garden square

1700-552: Is possible but is rare. One example is Anmer Hall in Norfolk, which was listed in 1984 and de-listed in 1988. In an emergency, the local planning authority can serve a temporary " Building Preservation Notice " (BPN), if a building is in danger of demolition or alteration in such a way that might affect its historic character. This remains in force for six months until the Secretary of State decides whether or not to formally list

1768-416: Is surrounded by tall terraced houses and other types of townhouse . Because it is designed for the amenity of surrounding residents, it is subtly distinguished from a town square designed to be a public gathering place: due to its inherent private history, it may have a pattern of dedicated footpaths and tends to have considerably more plants than hard surfaces or large monuments. At their conception in

1836-482: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to deliver the government policy on the protection to historic buildings and other heritage assets. The decision about whether or not to list a building is made by the Secretary of State, although the process is administered in England by Historic England . The listed building system in Wales formerly also operated under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, as in England, until this

1904-863: The Place de la République . The enclosed garden terraces ( French: jardins terrasses ) and courtyards ( French: cours ) of some French former palaces have resulted in redevelopments into spaces equivalent to garden squares. The same former single-owner scenario applies to at least one garden square in London ( Coleridge Square ). Grandiose instances of garden-use town squares are a part of many French cities, others opt for solid material town squares. The Square de Meeûs and Square Orban are notable examples in Brussels. Dublin has several Georgian examples, including Merrion Square , Fitzwilliam Square , Mountjoy Square , St Stephens Green and Parnell Square . Perhaps

1972-558: The Republic of Ireland , where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is " protected structure ". A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without permission from the local planning authority, which typically consults the relevant central government agency. In England and Wales , a national amenity society must be notified of any work to be done on

2040-701: The Royal Institute of British Architects and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings were dispatched to prepare the list under the supervision of the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments, with funding from the Treasury. The listings were used as a means to determine whether a particular building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing, with varying degrees of success. In Scotland,

2108-597: The 19th century, with notable exceptions below. Rittenhouse Square in the Center City, Philadelphia encases a public garden, one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. It was first named Southwest Square. Nearby Fitler Square is a similar garden square named for late 19th century Philadelphia mayor Edwin Henry Fitler shortly after his death in 1896. The Square, cared for through

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2176-558: The 2008 draft legislation was abandoned, Historic England (then part of English Heritage) published a single list of all designated heritage assets within England in 2011. The National Heritage List for England is an online searchable database which includes 400,000 English Listings, this includes individual listed buildings, groups of multiple listed buildings which share the same listing, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, protected historic wrecks and registered battlefields and World Heritage Sites in one place. The 400,000 in

2244-642: The 20th century, many garden squares that were previously accessible only to defined residents became accessible to the public. Those in central urban locations, such as Leicester Square in London's West End, have become indistinguishable from town squares. Others, while publicly accessible, are largely used by local residents and retain the character of garden squares or small communal parks. Many private squares, even in busy locations, remain private, such as Portman Square in Marylebone in London, despite its proximity to London's busiest shopping districts. London

2312-763: The DCLG published Planning Policy Statement 5 , "Planning for the Historic Environment". This replaced PPG15 and set out the government's national policies on the conservation of the historic environment in England. PPS5 was supported by a Practice Guide, endorsed by the DCLG, the DCMS, and English Heritage, which explained how to apply the policies stated in PPS5. In December 2010, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that in England all PPSs and Planning Policy Guidance Notes would be replaced by

2380-665: The Firestone demolition, the Secretary of State for the Environment , Michael Heseltine , also initiated a complete re-survey of buildings to ensure that everything that merited preservation was on the lists. In England, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) works with Historic England (an agency of the DCMS), and other government departments, e.g. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and

2448-519: The Government's Heritage Protection Reform (HPR) report in July 2003 by the DCMS, entitled "Protecting our historic environment: Making the system work better", asked questions about how the current designation systems could be improved. The HPR decision report "Review of Heritage Protection: The Way Forward", a green paper published in June 2004 by the DCMS, committed the UK government and English Heritage to

2516-696: The UK's architectural heritage; England alone has 14,500 listed places of worship (4,000 Grade I, 4,500 Grade II* and 6,000 Grade II) and 45% of all Grade I listed buildings are places of worship. Some of the listed churches are no longer in use; between 1969 and 2010, some 1,795 churches were closed by the Church of England , equalling roughly 11% of the stock, with about a third listed as Grade I or Grade II. The criteria for listing include architectural interest, historic interest and close historical associations with significant people or events. Buildings not individually noteworthy may still be listed if they form part of

2584-549: The architectural and historic interest. The Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether to list or delist the building. In England, the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 . Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England 'Heritage at Risk' Register . In 1980, there

2652-557: The building. Until the passing of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 an application for a Certificate of Immunity from Listing (CoI) could only be made if planning permission was being sought or had been obtained in England. However, the changes brought about by the Act means that now anyone can ask the Secretary of State to issue a Certificate of Immunity in respect of a particular building at any time. In England and Wales,

2720-407: The decision to list a building may be made on the basis of the architectural or historic interest of one small part of the building, the listing protection nevertheless applies to the whole building. Listing applies not just to the exterior fabric of the building itself, but also to the interior, fixtures, fittings, and objects within the curtilage of the building even if they are not fixed. De-listing

2788-428: The early 17th century, each such garden was a private communal amenity for the residents of the overlooking houses akin to a garden courtyard within a palace or community. Such community courtyards date back to at least Ur in 2000 BC where two-storey houses were built of fired brick around an open square. Kitchen , working, and public spaces were located on the ground floor, with private rooms located upstairs. In

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2856-558: The entire west side (Nos. 28–39), were granted in November 1776. It seems unlikely that these dozen houses were built within 11 months so building probably started in 1775. Except for No. 46, the south side leases were granted in 1777, the east side in 1777 and 1778 (except Nos. 1 and 10), and the north side in 1781 and 1782 (except Nos. 24–27, granted in 1777). No. 11, which stands in Gower Street but has always been considered part of

2924-472: The former mostly still restricted to residents, and the latter open to all. Other UK cities prominent in the Georgian era such as Edinburgh , Bath , Bristol and Leeds have several garden squares. Householders with access to a private garden square are commonly required to pay a maintenance levy. Normally the charge is set annually by a garden committee. Sometimes private garden squares are opened to

2992-602: The highest grade, as follows: There was formerly a non-statutory Grade III , which was abolished in 1970. Additionally, Grades A, B and C were used mainly for Anglican churches in active use, loosely corresponding to Grades I, II and III. These grades were used mainly before 1977, although a few buildings are still listed using these grades. In 2010, listed buildings accounted for about 2% of English building stock. In March 2010, there were about 374,000 list entries, of which 92% were Grade II, 5.5% were Grade II* and 2.5% were Grade I. Places of worship are an important part of

3060-410: The listing should not be confused with the actual number of listed buildings, which will be much larger than the listing, because a listing can include more than one building that share the same listing number. The legislative frameworks for each type of historic asset remains unchanged. A photographic library of English listed buildings was started in 1999 as a snapshot of buildings listed at the turn of

3128-542: The main title of the Russell family, the Dukes of Bedford , who owned much of the land in what is now Bloomsbury. The architect Thomas Leverton is known to have designed some of the houses, although he may not have been responsible for all of them. The building agreements for Bedford Square were signed by the trustees of the late Duke of Bedford and William Scott and Robert Grews, the builders, in 1776. The first leases, for

3196-536: The management of listed buildings is the responsibility of local planning authorities and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (i.e., not DCMS, which originally listed the building). There is a general principle that listed buildings are put to 'appropriate and viable use' and recognition that this may involve the re-use and modification of the building. However, listed buildings cannot be modified without first obtaining Listed Building Consent through

3264-603: The most famous garden square in the United States is Gramercy Park in southern Midtown Manhattan . Famously, it has remained private and gated throughout its existence; possession of a key to the park is a jealously guarded privilege that only certain local residents enjoy. The tradition of fee simple land ownership in American cities has made collective amenities such as garden squares comparatively rare. Very few sub-dividers and developers included them in plats during

3332-616: The outset, is the Square René Viviani . Gardens substantially cover a few of the famous Places in the capital; instead, the majority are paved and replete with profoundly hard materials such as Place de la Concorde . Inspired by ecological interests and a 21st-century focus on pollution mitigation, an increasing number of the Places in Paris today many have a focal tree or surrounding raised flower beds/and or rows of trees such as

3400-671: The owners are often required to use specific materials or techniques. Although most sites appearing on the lists are buildings, other structures such as bridges, monuments, sculptures, war memorials, milestones and mileposts , and the Abbey Road zebra crossing made famous by the Beatles , are also listed. Ancient, military, and uninhabited structures, such as Stonehenge , are sometimes instead classified as scheduled monuments and are protected by separate legislation. Cultural landscapes such as parks and gardens are currently "listed" on

3468-577: The process slightly predated the war with the Marquess of Bute (in his connections to the National Trust for Scotland ) commissioning the architect Ian Lindsay in September 1936 to survey 103 towns and villages based on an Amsterdam model using three categories (A, B and C). The basis of the current more comprehensive listing process was developed from the wartime system. It was enacted by

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3536-538: The public, such as during Open Garden Squares Weekend. Privately owned squares which survived the decades after the French Revolution and 19th century Haussmann's renovation of Paris include the Place des Vosges and Square des Épinettes in Paris. The Place des Vosges was a fashionable and expensive square to live in during the 17th and 18th centuries, and one of the central reasons that Le Marais district became so fashionable for French nobility. It

3604-521: The rear elevation of Number 1. The threat produced an article in Country Life that heralded the house as "a masterpiece of English architecture" and of "exceptional merit". Support came from Sir Edwin Lutyens , former resident of Number 31 Bedford Square for three years from 1915, who described the house as a "most interesting house ... of exceptional quality". The British Museum's Duveen Gallery

3672-539: The relevant local planning authority. In Wales, applications are made using a form obtained from the relevant local authority. There is no provision for consent to be granted in outline. When a local authority is disposed to grant listed building consent, it must first notify the Welsh Parliament ( i.e. Cadw ) of the application. If the planning authority decides to refuse consent, it may do so without any reference to Cadw. Carrying out unauthorised works to

3740-512: The responsibility for the listing process rests with the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities , which took over the built heritage functions of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (formerly the Environment and Heritage Service) following the break up of the Department of the Environment. Following the introduction of listing, an initial survey of Northern Ireland's building stock

3808-579: The rest of the UK: the first provision for listing was contained in the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972; and the current legislative basis for listing is the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991. Under Article 42 of the Order, the relevant Department of the Northern Ireland Executive is required to compile lists of buildings of "special architectural or historic interest". Since 2016,

3876-456: The scheme must meet certain criteria – "a three-fold test which involved considering size, permanence and degree of physical attachment" – referred to as the Skerritts test in reference to a previous legal case in England. Both Historic Environment Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners. In England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to

3944-413: The secretary of state; this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England . The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed. Full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on

4012-489: The square can be put down in part to the shortage of money during the American War of Independence. Loans were granted by the trustees of the estate to the builders in order to finance building work from November 1777. Number 1 Bedford Square is one of the great terraced houses of Georgian London and by far the best house in the square. Sir John Summerson described it as a "particularly fine house" in 1945. Number 1

4080-406: The square, had a separate building agreement of 1781 and was leased in June 1783. This section was designed and built by Peter Matthias Van Gelder . The leases were granted by the estate once the shells were built but with internal finishing still to be carried out. No. 23 was the last house to be occupied, its owner moving in during the last quarter of 1784. The delay in finishing the building of

4148-631: The view over the established gardens of the British Museum . There is a particularly fine decorative plaster ceiling in the first floor rear room. The house was threatened with demolition by the British Museum in 1860, along with Numbers 2 and 3 and the fourteen houses to the south in Bloomsbury Street , but nothing came of the museum's plans. Then in the early 1930s a new building was planned which would stand only 20 feet from

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4216-564: Was begun in 1974. By the time of the completion of this First Survey in 1994, the listing process had developed considerably, and it was therefore decided to embark upon a Second Survey, which is still ongoing, to update and cross-check the original information. Information gathered during this survey, relating to both listed and unlisted buildings, is entered into the publicly accessible Northern Ireland Buildings Database. A range of listing criteria, which aim to define architectural and historic interest, are used to determine whether or not to list

4284-647: Was built shortly before the Second World War and today its plain brick flank wall is the view from the house rather than the gardens of the museum, which was such an important consideration in Thomas Leverton's original designs for the house. Bedford Square is one of the best preserved set pieces of Georgian architecture in London, but most of the houses have now been converted into offices. Numbers 1–10, 11, 12–27, 28–38 and 40–54 are grade I listed buildings . The central garden remains private, but

4352-481: Was inaugurated in 1612 with a grand carrousel to celebrate the engagement of Louis XIII to Anne of Austria and is a prototype of the residential squares of European cities that were to come. What was new about the Place Royale as it was known in 1612 was that the house fronts were all built to the same design, probably by Baptiste du Cerceau . In town squares, similarly green but publicly accessible from

4420-490: Was public outcry at the sudden destruction of the art deco Firestone Tyre Factory ( Wallis, Gilbert and Partners , 1928–29). It was demolished over the August bank holiday weekend by its owners Trafalgar House , who had been told that it was likely to be 'spot-listed' a few days later. In response, the government undertook to review arrangements for listing buildings in order to protect worthy ones from such demolition. After

4488-442: Was replaced in 2024 with Wales-specific heritage legislation. In Wales, the authority for listing is granted to the Welsh Ministers by section 76 of the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023, although the listing system is in practice administered by Cadw . There have been several attempts to simplify the heritage planning process for listed buildings in England. As of 2021, few changes had been implemented. The review process

4556-405: Was started in February 2000 by Alan Howarth , then minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The outcome was the paper "Power of Place" in December 2000, followed by the subsequent policy document "The Historic Environment: A Force for Our Future", published by the DCMS and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DTLR) in December 2001. The launch of

4624-644: Was that the existing registers of buildings, parks and gardens, archaeology and battlefields, maritime wrecks, and World Heritage Sites be merged into a single online register that will "explain what is special and why". English Heritage would become directly responsible for identifying historic assets in England and there would be wider consultation with the public and asset owners, and new rights of appeal. There would have been streamlined systems for granting consent for work on historic assets. After several years of consultation with heritage groups, charities, local planning authorities, and English Heritage, in March 2010,

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