Visit Brown Hart Gardens

Brown Hart Gardens in Mayfair, is a paved Italian 'garden' on top of an electricity substation which reopened to the public in 2007. It is officially a private terrace but is open to the general public and is used by many to escape the office at lunchtimes, considering its proximity to both Oxford Street and Bond Street.


The Square, like much of London's prime real estate is the sole possession of the Duke of Westminster under the Grosvenor Estate banner and he occasionally grants us serfs such events as free classical music concerts, open air theatre and the free children's fun day.

In the nineteenth century the surrounding houses were pulled down to make way for Chesham and Balderton Buildings, as part of the Third Duke's plan to provide 'improved working-class dwellings'. As a result of this process a communal garden was placed down the centre for the residents.

However, when the electricity substation was built in 1902 the original garden had to be removed so, as compensation to the users of the garden, the paved area we see today was placed on the roof. This remained open until the 1980s when it was closed by the London Electricity Group. It reopened, however, in 2007 and remains open today.

For more information, visit http://www.brownhartgardens.co.uk

_{^Picture from Flickr courtesy of LondonM@^}