The Story Of Grosvenor Square: Three Centuries Of Change

Last week, on 20th July 2026, a newly restored Grosvenor Square, one of London’s largest and most historic squares, was unveiled to the public.

I was invited to meet with heritage consultant Cordula Zeidler, who advised on the project, and Fay Rajaratnam from the Grosvenor Estate, who showed me around. It was great to hear the vision behind the project and particularly how historical aspects of the square were considered. The transformation is wonderful, increasing biodiversity, celebrating the square’s rich history and creating a beautiful green space for everyone to enjoy.

I’ll come to the recent changes shortly, but first, let’s explore the fascinating history of Grosvenor Square.

Origins

Grosvenor Square is at the heart of the Grosvenor Estate, owned by the Duke of Westminster. The Grosvenor Estate in London today encompasses roughly half of Mayfair and Belgravia. 

The origins of this estate in London all goes back to, what would turn out to be, a most fortuitous marriage for the Grosvenors in 1677. Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet, from an established aristocratic Cheshire family, married a young girl called Mary Davies. When I say young, I mean it, she was just 12 years old and he was 22. Although early marriages among wealthy landowning families were often arranged to consolidate estates and fortunes, this was young even for the time. 

Mary was sole heiress to the Manor of Ebury which consisted of roughly 500 acres of largely unused pasture, marshland and orchards, out to the West of the growing city of London. The estate had been amassed through her great-grandfather Hugh Audley, a wealthy 17th century financier. 

As the metropolis grew, particularly after the Great Fire of London in 1666, this land suddenly came into its own. It would soon become one of the most fashionable neighbourhoods in Europe. 

An Aristocratic Enclave

Development began under Sir Richard Grosvenor, son of Sir Thomas and Mary, who had been born to them in 1689 when Mary was 23. 

The estate was laid out by the surveyor Thomas Barlow around a large central square with wide roads radiating out.

Grosvenor Square was very large, covering over eight acres, second only in size in London to Lincoln’s Inn Fields still today. The scale was part of an effort to attract the most prestigious residents. Dukes, Earls and high ranking religious figures promptly moved in. In the later 18th century wealthy bankers, merchants and East India Company officials started moving in. 

The houses around the outside were built speculatively, with many individual plots and many different builders. 

A Pioneering Garden

The central garden was originally for the exclusive use of the key-holding residents. It was an oval-shaped garden, laid out, by gardener and surveyor John Alston in the ‘country manner’. It was intended to be conducive to strolling and conversing. At the centre was an equestrian statue of King George I.

Most of the other squares in London such as Bloomsbury, St James’s or Cavendish, were plain open squares rather than a garden, but Grosvenor Square was described as a ‘wilderness worke’. It had more planting material than most of the other London squares combined, with thousands of plants, shrubs and hedges. 

Victorians Into The 20th Century

Later redesigns simplified the layout, replacing intricate planting with broad lawns and avenues that better suited Victorian sensibilities. Gradually, many of the grand houses found new uses as clubs, offices and diplomatic residences. 

By the mid 1920s the central garden had become more standard in design, with grouped trees, and a tennis court. In the 1930s many of the surviving 18th townhouses were demolished to make way for blocks of flats. 

There are only two surviving Georgian townhouses on the square today. Most notably at 9 Grosvenor Square, which was, from 1785-1788, the home of John Adams, the first US Minister to Great Britain and later the second US President.

This would start the square’s long association and status as a centre of Anglo-American diplomacy. 

The Second World War

Grosvenor Square was used and disfigured by various air raid precautions during World War Two, for example barrage balloons were tethered into the gardens. 

It became known as ‘Eisenhower Platz’ or ‘Little America’, because General Dwight D. Eisenhower established his wartime headquarters here. It was from the building below that he directed much of the preparations for the D-Day landings.

Other American military officers filled the surrounding buildings. I have written here before about the nearby St Mark’s Church, now Mercato Mayfair, that became known as the ‘American Church’. 

In 1946, the central gardens were made public. The year before, following the end of World War Two, Parliament had passed the Roosevelt Memorial Act, transferring ownership of the gardens so they could become a public memorial dedicated to the late President, Franklin D Roosevelt.  

The layout of the square was ‘radically rearranged’ from 1947-8, the idea being to give it a more dignified, regimented and solemn feel. Over sixty mature trees were sadly felled, although some new planes and cherry trees were planted. The garden was given a new north-south axis, and incorporated a low yew hedge surrounding the garden, and a wide north/south path, leading north to the statue. 

Diplomacy and Protest

The US embassy moved into 1 Grosvenor Square in 1938. In 1960 the new US Embassy, or US Chancery, was completed on the square, designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen. Topped by a 35ft gilded eagle, this elegant modernist building very much stood out from its neighbours. 

The embassy naturally made Grosvenor Square a focus for protests. During the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched here. The protest that took place on 17th March 1968, led by actress Vanessa Redgrave and featuring figures such as Mick Jagger, became particularly notorious, with violent clashes between protesters and police outside the embassy. It was dubbed by the press as the ‘Battle of Grosvenor Square’, with 117 police officers injured and dozens of protesters hurt.

Similar demonstrations followed over nuclear weapons, the Gulf War and the Iraq War. 

Due to security threats, the US embassy moved to Nine Elms and opened in 2017. The old embassy building recently reopened as the Chancery Rosewood Hotel. 

Further Memorials 

There are a number of other memorials in and around the square. 

A memorial garden was created after the 9/11 attacks commemorating the 67 Britons who had died in the attack. 

Close to the old embassy you will find a statue, created by artist Chas Fagan, of Ronald Reagan.

Unveiled on 4th July, 2011, it was erected to honour the former US President’s role in ending the Cold War. 

In the other Northern corner is a statue of Dwight D Eisenhower, sculpted by Robert Dean and unveiled on 23rd January, 1989, given as a gift by the people of Kansas City. 

Facing the statue of Franklin D Roosevelt is the Eagle Squadrons Memorial, by Dame Elizabeth Frink, unveiled in 1986.

It honours the service of 244 American and 16 British volunteer pilots who flew in three RAF Eagle Squadrons before the United States joined World War Two. 

A New Chapter

The US embassy moving in 2017 gave the Grosvenor Estate an opportunity to rethink again how the square looks, feels and functions. 

Following extensive consultation, Grosvenor undertook its largest redesign in generations costing around £25 million, funded by the Grosvenor Estate. The new garden is designed to tackle biodiversity loss, urban flooding and rising temperatures, but also to create a much more pleasant garden to spend time in. 

Wildlife, Water And Wellbeing

Over 150,000 new plants and bulbs have been installed. Previously only 1% of the square had planting coverage, now it is up to nearly half. 

44 new trees have been planted and two small wetland areas have been created.

It genuinely feels like wildlife has already returned to the garden. I saw a dragonfly buzzing over one of the ponds, plenty of butterflies and apparently a family of ducks visit the ponds most mornings. 

300 new seats, a cafe, play areas for children, free toilets and an education centre have also been installed.

The education centre is run by the London Wildlife Trust with regular events to help people learn about biodiversity. You can see all the events here including guided walks and talks.

Crucially also the soil has been decompacted and irrigated meaning that the square can absorb up to 1.4 million litres of stormwater. 

The new project has stayed true to the history of the square. The original Georgian oval layout has been reinstated, original views have been opened up and the large lawn recalls the spacious Georgian landscape. The memorials and statues have been carefully integrated into the design, making sure the framing of them is maintained or enhanced. 

The design was originated by London-based architecture practice Tonkin Liu and delivered by design practice BDP. The planting strategy was by Professor Nigel Dunnett, who sadly passed away in April 2026 and Grosvenor Square is one of his final completed projects. 

Visiting Grosvenor Square

I would highly recommend you visit and spend a bit of time in the new and improved Grosvenor Square. I think it is a really lovely example of how history, nature and wellbeing can be combined in our cities. 

The square is open from 7am-9pm in the summer and 7am-6pm in the winter. Find out more on their website here.

Thank you for reading, more blog posts on fascinating historic spots in London and beyond below!