Kensington Square

Kensington Square is a garden square in Kensington, London, W8. It was founded in 1685; hence it is the oldest such square in Kensington. In London, St. James's Square, Soho Square and Golden Square are a few years older, but in contrast with these Kensington Square still retains its residential character. 1–45 Kensington Square are listed Grade II for their architectural merit.HistoryIn 1685, Thomas Young, a woodcarver, acquired land in Kensington which he sought to develop, and as he later described it in 1701, "did sett out and appoint a considerable part thereof to be built into a large Square of large and substantial Houses fit for ye Habitacion of persons of good Worth and Quality, with Courts and Yards before and Gardens lying backwards".GardenThe communal gardens were laid out in 1698 and are 0.3642ha in size. The garden is private and not open to the public, though it has taken part in the annual Open Garden Squares Weekend.Heythrop CollegeLocated at number 23 is Heythrop College, University of London, "the Specialist Philosophy and Theology College of the University of London," which includes a library of books originally established "in 1614 in Louvain by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) for the study of philosophy and theology."