Lowndes Square

Lowndes Square lies at the north-west end of Belgravia, a quiet residential garden square lined with grand terraces of light stucco houses. Cream or white façades face a central rectangular garden, its length running parallel to Sloane Street on the west side. From the north-west corner a glimpse of Harvey Nichols and Knightsbridge tube station can be seen across the rooftops. The square straddles two parishes and two London boroughs, Chelsea and St Paul Knightsbridge, Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. The east side belongs to the small parish of St Paul, Knightsbridge. Its houses rank among London’s most expensive, valued at over ten million pounds each. Forty per cent of the properties are owned through anonymous shell companies, their interiors often converted into multi-level apartments. Most façades remain protected by local listing, preserving the original stucco above ground. George Basevi designed the majority of the houses, while Lowndes Court occupies the south side and the Park Tower Hotel fronts Knightsbridge on the north. The Pakistan High Commission occupies an interior conversion of two houses on the square. The private communal garden covers just under one hectare and contains plane trees and shrubs. It has appeared in novels by Edward Frederic Benson and Alan Hollinghurst, and in the 1970 film Performance. The square’s residents have included Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, and Violet Mond, Baroness Melchett, a noted humanitarian. Other figures range from the 14th Earl of Strathmore, maternal grandfather of Elizabeth II, to Roman Abramovich, the Russian tycoon.