Tavistock Square

Tavistock Square is a public garden in Bloomsbury, part of the Bedford Estate. It was laid out after 1806 by James Burton and Thomas Cubitt for the Duke of Bedford. The square’s name comes from the courtesy title of the Duke’s eldest son. Richard Lydekker, a noted naturalist, was born here in 1849. On 7 July 2005 a bomb exploded outside the British Medical Association building, killing 13 people. The gardens now hold several memorials. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands in the centre, its hollow pedestal used for flowers. A cherry tree planted in 1967 remembers Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A stone from 1994 honours conscientious objectors worldwide. Virginia Woolf lived at number 52 from 1924 to 1939 and ran the Hogarth Press nearby. A bust of surgeon Louisa Aldrich-Blake also stands in the square. The square is framed by listed buildings. Connaught Hall, a university residence, faces the gardens on the west side. BMA House, designed by Edwin Lutyens, occupies the east side. Woburn House houses Universities UK and the Medical Schools Council. Passfield Hall provides student rooms for the London School of Economics. The space remains a quiet spot for reflection among the surrounding streets.