This is a roughly 200-year-old pocket park surrounded by grand houses. Although originally private, it’s been open to the public for over a century.

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 a master plan, which is why the buildings around the square are almost all identical. The houses are mostly built in groups of three, with stucco fronts, pediments and Ionic porches. The housing development took until the end of the 1830s to be finished.

I suspect that part of the park’s design was changed when it was being laid out, as there’s an advert in 1829 for 10 large walnut trees in the park being put up for sale — so they were presumably no longer needed for the pocket park space.

The rectangular garden originally included a well and an engine house in the centre. The engine was used to raise water from a deep artesian well and pumped water to the neighbouring residents.

Although the property developer owned it when it was laid out, its existence today as a public park is due to the developer’s attempt to develop it. In 1903, the owner wanted houses to sell, and the locals wanted a garden to enjoy, and provoked a huge fuss to try and stop the garden from being lost.

Initially, the owner wanted an eye-watering £12,500, which was about twice the value of the land. Eventually, the developer agreed to sell the land at a more reasonable price, but delays and a lawsuit in 1909 saw the sale nearly collapsing in June 1913 due to a dispute between the local council and the London County Council (LCC) about the cost.

Finally, the LCC agreed to provide £4,000 of the £7,600 asking price, with the local borough council to cover the rest. The council later took out a loan for £1,600 to cover its shortfall. The legal paperwork was completed on 3rd December 1913, with the local council taking ownership of the park as an open space for all to enjoy.

It opened to the public in 1915.

Today, it’s a large open space with a ring-road path around the edges and a lot of seating and bedding planting that creates an enclosed space that’s not overlooked by the grand houses on the other side of the railings. The centre of the garden, which used to have the water well is now occupied by a sculpture, The Greek Runner, gifted to the council by Sir William Blake Richmond, and was installed in 1926.

Today, the park is managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council along with the St Peter’s Residents’ Association.

It’s also quite busy on the sunny weekend that I visited.