Bedford Square

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Bedford Square is a square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England.

It was built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, and 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 the main title of the Russell family, the Dukes of Bedford, who were the main landlords in Bloomsbury.

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.

Current occupants

• Nos. 1 and 2: Cameron Mackintosh's London offices.
• No. 6: New York University's London Academic Facility.
• No. 16: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
• No. 19: Morse Plc
• No. 25: InferMed Ltd
• No. 29: London office of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
• No. 36: Architectural Association School of Architecture.
• Nos. 8, 9, 49, 50 and 51: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Former occupants

• No. 6: Lord Eldon — Lord Chancellor
• No. 11: Henry Cavendish — scientist
• No. 13: Harry Ricardo — engine designer — born here
• No. 22: Johnston Forbes-Robertson — actor
• No. 35: Thomas Hodgkin — physician, reformer and philanthropist
• No. 35: Thomas Wakley — founder of The Lancet
• No. 41: William Butterfield — architect
• No. 41: Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins — novelist
• No. 44: Margot Asquith — wife of the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith
• No. 48: Elizabeth Jesser Reid — anti-slavery activist and founder of Bedford College for Women
• No. 49: Ram Mohan Roy — Indian scholar and reformer

See also

Other squares on the Bedford Estate in Bloomsbury included:

• Bloomsbury Square
• Gordon Square
• Russell Square
• Tavistock Square
• Torrington Square
• Woburn Square

References

• Steen Eiler Rasmussen: "London, the Unique City".

Blue plaques

A number of houses have blue plaques recording famous residents:

• Plaquemap.com London blue plaque scheme — For exact location of these plaques within the square.

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Last updated on Tuesday February 19, 2008 at 14:45:10 PST (GMT -0800)
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