Fitzroy Square was built 1790-1840 on Charles Fitzroy's 'Home Field'. Leigh's New Picture of London (1819) commented that 'The houses are faced with stone, and have a greater proportion of architectural excellence and embellishment than most others in the metropolis. They were designed by the Adams's, but the progress of the late war prevented the completion of the design.' Fitzroy Square gave its name to a grand and Bohemian part of London known as in Fitzrovia. George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf lived in Fitzroy Square. Roger Fry worked in the building which is now the London Foot Hospital. The central garden, protected by railings, has always been maintained by a committee of local residents. It is neither public nor private open space: it is communal. The re-design of the garden was by John Brooks. and the pedestrianisation scheme was by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe.
