Bessborough Gardens Pimlico

Bessborough Gardens were developed in the 1980s by the Crown Estate working with George Wimpey (as the housing developer) and with Sir Peter Shepheard (as the landscape architect) on the garden square. He was a Modernist with Arts and Crafts tendencies. The houses were built in the manner of Thomas Cubitt. The gardens adjoin the housing on the west and north sides of the square, instead of being separated by a road, as Cubitt would have done. This was possible becuase the car parking was placed underground. Sir Peter Shepheard also designed the Queen Mother's Commemorative Fountain. Though cast in aluminium it  uses the motif of a dolphin, borrowed from George Vulliamy's dolphin lights (as in London's Dolphin Zone). Architectural critics sneered at the 'pastiche' approach to architecture and gardens. Residents love it. The gardens are maintained by Westminster City Council and are open to the public.

Bessborough Gardens is on the London Gardens Walk and included in the eBook guide to the London Gardens Walk