Myddelton Square was named after Sir Hugh Myddelton (1560-1631), a successful businessman who planned and partly financed the New River water supply to London from Hertfordshire. This square is on land owned by the New River Company and developed for housing alongside Claremont Square, with Myddelton Square as the ‘showpiece’ square.
What sets this square apart is its church. In 1822 Mr Handley, the vicar of St James’s, Clerkenwell, approached the New River Company: ‘..If, in laying out the ground for building purposes you contemplate having a square, I cannot think anything could be more appropriate, both as a necessary and an ornamental edifice, than a handsome church, to be erected in the middle of such a square..’. The ground in the centre of the new Myddelton Square was subsequently donated and the New River company stipulated that there was to be no graveyard around the Church and that the majority of the Square was to be available for the use of the residents. In 1829 the square was enclosed with railings for the use of the residents. The church was badly damaged during WWII, but rebuilt and returned to use in 1962.
The square was laid out by William Chadwell Mylne, the surveyor of the New River Company, and developed by different builders between 1824-36. I found the square to be quiet and quite elegant, but I missed a real garden, as you might expect!
You may be interested in
Myddelton Square Gardens
History of Myddelton Square
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