Vincent Square, SW1P

Vincent Square is a large grass-covered square which provides playing fields for Westminster School, which owns it.

Originally part of Tothill Fields, the area known as Bear Garden was used in medieval times for military training exercises. By the 1790s, terraced houses existed along Rochester Row, and Vincent Square was first laid out in the early 19th century, named after William Vincent, Dean of Westminster until his death in 1816.

Today, Vincent Square contains a cricket pavilion, football pitches, tennis courts, and a groundskeeper’s house used on weekdays by Westminster Under School. It is also home to the headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society. The square’s recreational spaces stand on land that once hosted martial drills in the medieval era, showing the transformation of this patch of London over centuries of urban development.

Main source:	Wikipedia
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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LOCALITY

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LATEST LONDON-WIDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROJECT

Tony Whipple Frank Whipple Place, E14 Added: 16 Apr 2024 21:35 GMT	Frank Whipple Place, E14 Frank was my great-uncle, I’d often be ’babysat’ by Peggy while Nan and Dad went to the pub. Peggy was a marvel, so full of life. My Dad and Frank didn’t agree on most politics but everyone in the family is proud of him. A genuinely nice, knowledgable bloke. One of a kind. Reply
Theresa Penney Whites Row, E1 Added: 16 Apr 2024 18:08 GMT	1 Whites Row My 2 x great grandparents and his family lived here according to the 1841 census. They were Dutch Ashkenazi Jews born in Amsterdam at the beginning of the 19th century but all their children were born in Spitalfields. Reply
Wendy The Polygon Added: 22 Mar 2024 15:33 GMT	Polygon Buildings Following the demolition of the Polygon, and prior to the construction of Oakshott Court in 1974, 4 tenement type blocks of flats were built on the site at Clarendon Sq/Phoenix Rd called Polygon Buildings. These were primarily for people working for the Midland Railway and subsequently British Rail. My family lived for 5 years in Block C in the 1950s. It seems that very few photos exist of these buildings. Reply
Steve Charleville Circus, SE26 Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:42 GMT	Road construction and houses completed New Charleville Circus road layout shown on Stanford’s Library Map Of London And Its Suburbs 1879 with access via West Hill only. Plans showing street numbering were recorded in 1888 so we can concluded the houses in Charleville Circus were built by this date. Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London Reply
Steve Charleville Circus, SE26 Added: 19 Mar 2024 08:04 GMT	Charleville Circus, Sydenham: One Place Study (OPS) One Place Study’s (OPS) are a recent innovation to research and record historical facts/events/people focused on a single place �’ building, street, town etc. I have created an open access OPS of Charleville Circus on WikiTree that has over a million members across the globe working on a single family tree for everyone to enjoy, for free, forever. Source: Charleville Circus, Sydenham, London Reply
Charles Hornsey Rise, N19 Added: 8 Mar 2024 20:45 GMT	My House I want to know who lived in my house in the 1860’s. Reply
NH Woodgrange Road, E7 Added: 7 Mar 2024 11:41 GMT	Telephone House Donald Hunter House, formerly Telephone House, was the BT Offices closed in 2000 Reply
Paul Cox Aldine Street, W12 Added: 5 Mar 2024 22:18 GMT	War damage reinstatement plans of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street Whilst clearing my elderly Mothers house of general detritus, I’ve come across original plans (one on acetate) of No’s 11 & 13 Aldine Street. Might they be of interest or should I just dispose of them? There are 4 copies seemingly from the one single acetate example. Seems a shame to just junk them as the level of detail is exquisite. No worries if of no interest, but thought I’d put it out there. Reply

LOCAL PHOTOS

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Wood engraving showing mothers, with their children, exercising at Tothill Fields Prison Credit: Wiki Commons TUM image id: 1504357431 Licence:	The Lillington Gardens estate Credit: Ewan Munro TUM image id: 1516208904 Licence: CC BY 2.0	The 52 bus TUM image id: 1556876554 Licence:	Westminster Abbey with a procession of Knights of the Bath (1749) Credit: Canaletto TUM image id: 1557315488 Licence:	The sign for the "Stage Door", formerly a pub in Allington Street, SW1 Credit: GoArt/The Underground Map TUM image id: 1593785741 Licence:
Victoria coach station’s temporary base (1929) This was sited where the Tachbrook Estate is now. The open-air King’s Scholar Pond sewer is on the left. TUM image id: 1545177549 Licence:	Broadway SW1 TUM image id: 1530117235 Licence:	The Two Chairmen, Dartmouth Street Adjacent to the Cockpit Stairs, the "Two Chairmen" pub was established possibly in 1729. It is thought to be the oldest public house in Westminster. The pub’s name is a nod to the practice of hiring sedan chairs, which were available for rent outside the establishment. Sedan chairs, a popular mode of transport for short London journeys, allowed passengers to travel above the city’s filth and mud. They were introduced in the early years of King Charles I’s reign. Credit: Wiki Commons/Philafrenzy TUM image id: 1706885335 Licence:	Cockpit Steps in Westminster once led down to the Royal Cockpit - an 18th century cockfighting venue. The Royal Cockpit disappeared in 1810 but the stairs have remained. Credit: GoArt/The Underground Map TUM image id: 1617007476 Licence:	Parliament Square (1980) Parliament Square features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contains twelve political statues of statesmen and other notable individuals. Credit: Wiki Commons/Misterweiss TUM image id: 1621956571 Licence:
Pulford Street being demolished Credit: Peabody Trust TUM image id: 1545176771 Licence: CC BY 2.0	Antrobus Street sign TUM image id: 1601897046 Licence:	Recruiting Sergeants (1877) "The most prominent figure in the accompanying photograph, standing with his back to the Abbey, and nearest to the kerb stone, is that of Sergeant Ison, who is always looked upon with more than ordinary curiosity as the representative of the 6th Dragoon Guards, or Carbineers - a regiment which of late has been chiefly distinguished for having included in its ranks no less a person than Sir Roger Tichborne himself! To the right we have the representatives of two heavy regiments, Sergeant Titswell, of the 5th Dragoon Guards, and Sergeant Badcock, of the 2nd Dragoons, or Scots Greys; the latter is leaning against the corner of the public-house. Close to him may be recognized the features of Sergeant Bilton, of the Royal Engineers, while Sergeant Minett, of the 14th Hussars, turns his head towards Sergeant McGilney, of the 6th Dragoons, or Enniskillen, whose stalwart frame occupies the foreground. This group would not, however, have been complete without giving a glimpse at Mr. Cox, the policeman, to whose discretion and pacific interference may be attributed the order which is generally preserved even under the most trying circumstances at the Mitre and Dove." From ’Street Life in London’ by John Thomson and Adolphe Smith Credit: John Thomson and Adolphe Smith TUM image id: 1637601129 Licence:	"A Sunset with a View of Nine Elms" (c.1755) Credit: Samuel Scott/Tate Britain TUM image id: 1623706678 Licence:	Phone box and Elizabeth Tower Credit: IG/steven.maddison TUM image id: 1653777171 Licence: