# Cleaver Square

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{{short description|Garden square in London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2022}}

thumb|Cleaver Square
''' Cleaver Square ''' (formerly '''Prince's Square''') is an 18th-century [garden square](/source/garden_square) in the [London Borough of Lambeth](/source/London_Borough_of_Lambeth), dating from 1789. It is notable for having been the first garden square in South London.

==History==
Cleaver Square was laid out in 1789, and was the first garden square in South London.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleaversquare.org/history-of-the-square---text-from-signboard.php|title=Cleaver Square: History of Cleaver Square|access-date=30 January 2022|website=Cleaver Square}}</ref>

==Features==
There is a residents' association, which hosts an annual outdoor carol service and other events.<ref name="auto1"/>

Until the middle of the 18th century, the locality consisted of hedgerows, fields and meadows, traversed by [Kennington Road](/source/Kennington_Road) from the [City](/source/City_of_London) to [Clapham](/source/Clapham).<ref name="auto1"/> Mary Cleaver inherited the estate in 1743; at that point it consisted of a large open pasture, screened from the high road by a line of trees and known as White Bear Field.<ref name="auto1"/> In 1780 she leased it to Thomas Ellis, the landlord of the Horns Tavern on [Kennington Common](/source/Kennington_Common), who laid out and developed the square.<ref name="auto1"/> The terraces at the entrance of [Kennington Park Road](/source/Kennington_Park_Road) were built in 1788, houses on the north west side of the square in 1789, followed by other houses on the north side in 1792.<ref name="auto1"/> Other houses were built later, between 1815 and 1824, and 1844 and 1853.<ref name="auto1"/> By the 1870s the area had reduced in status, and the houses were overcrowded.<ref name="auto1"/> Originally named Prince's Square, it was renamed Cleaver Square in 1937.<ref name="auto1"/>

The centre of the square was enclosed by Ellis in 1792 as a grazing ground.<ref name="auto1"/> By 1871 it was a garden circumscribed by a formal path, and by 1898 it had been cultivated as a nursery with greenhouses.<ref name="auto1"/> The centre of the square was acquired by the [Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth](/source/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Lambeth) in 1927 in order to prevent development on it.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://londongardenstrust.org/conservation/inventory/site-record/?ID=LAM010|title=Lambeth: Cleaver Square|access-date=30 January 2022|website=London Gardens Trust}}</ref> From 1995 the centre of the square was restored as a public space with a grant from the [Metropolitan Public Gardens Association](/source/Metropolitan_Public_Gardens_Association).<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.londongardenstrust.org/guides/site.php?tour=Docks&stage=210.00|title=London Gardens Trust: Cleaver Square|access-date=30 January 2022|website=londongardenstrust.org}}</ref>

Cleaver Square is within the Kennington [Conservation Area](/source/Conservation_area_(United_Kingdom)), which was first designated in 1968 and extended in 1979 and 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleaversquare.org/lambeth-archive-talk-on-history-of-the-area.php|title=Cleaver Square: Lambeth Archive talk on history of the area|access-date=30 January 2022|website=Cleaver Square}}</ref> It is a registered historic square.<ref name="auto"/> Many but not all, of the houses on the square are [Grade II listed](/source/Grade_II_listed). Those that are listed are 1-20;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1358226|title=Historic England: 1-20 Cleaver Square SE11|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Historic England}}</ref> 21–25;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1184579|title=Historic England: 21-25 Cleaver Square SE11|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Historic England}}</ref> 26–33;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1080480|title=Historic England: 26-33 Cleaver Square SE11|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Historic England}}</ref> 34–41;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1358227|title=Historic England: 34-41 Cleaver Square SE11|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Historic England}}</ref> and 50, 51 and 52.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1184593?section=official-listing|title=Historic England: 50, 51 and 52 Cleaver Square SE11|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Historic England}}</ref>

==Features==
thumb|The Prince of Wales on Cleaver Square
There is a residents' association, which hosts an annual outdoor carol service and other events.<ref name="auto1"/>

To the south-east, the square is bordered with the [City and Guilds of London Art School](/source/City_and_Guilds_of_London_Art_School) (formerly the Lambeth School of Art).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk|title=City & Guilds Art School|access-date=30 January 2022|website=cityandguildsartschool.ac.uk}}</ref> 

In the north-west corner is the Prince of Wales public house, dating originally from 1792 but refaced in 1901.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.princeofwaleskennington.co.uk|title=Prince of Wales, Kennington|access-date=30 January 2022|website=princeofwaleskennington.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> A [Shepherd Neame](/source/Shepherd_Neame_Brewery) tied house until 2019,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/prince-of-wales-kennington_3654|title=Square Meal: Prince of Wales, Kennington|access-date=30 January 2022|website=squaremeal.co.uk}}</ref> the Prince of Wales is now a [free house](/source/Free_house_(pub)).<ref name="auto2"/> It has [pétanque](/source/p%C3%A9tanque) sets available for hire, for use in the gravelled centre of the square.<ref name="auto2"/>

==Notable residents==
Notable residents have included the artist [Innes Fripp](/source/Henry_Charles_Innes_Fripp),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/place.php?id=msib2_1220434462|title=Mapping Sculpture: Kennington Studios|access-date=31 January 2022|website=sculpture.gla.ac.uk}}</ref>  the Tate & Lyle businessman Sir [Saxon Tate](/source/Saxon_Tate) Bt,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleaversquare.org/resources/Residents%20Assoc%20AGM%20minutes%20Nov%2012.pdf|title=Cleaver Square: AGM 2012|access-date=31 January 2022|date=15 February 2013}}</ref> and former Prime Minister, Sir [John Major](/source/John_Major).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/major-bowled-over-by-his-oval-house-1250015.html|title=''The Independent'': "Major bowled over by his Oval house", 10 July 1997|access-date=31 January 2022|website=The Independent|date=10 July 1997}}</ref>

==Cultural references==
*[Patrick McGrath](/source/Patrick_McGrath_(novelist))'s 2021 novel ''Last Days in Cleaver Square'' (2021: Hutchinson) is about the end of life of a resident of the square.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/112/1120535/last-days-in-cleaver-square/9781529156485.html|title=Penguin: Last Days in Cleaver Square|access-date=31 January 2022|website=penguin.co.uk}}</ref>
*[Peter Snow](/source/Peter_Snow_(artist))'s 1988 oil painting ''Cleaver Square from Kennington Park Road'' is held by Southwark Art Collection.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/cleaver-square-from-kennington-park-road-193426|title=Art UK: Cleaver Square from Kennington Park Road|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Art UK}}</ref> His 1985 oil painting, ''The Passing World'', from a similar perspective, is held by the [Museum of London](/source/Museum_of_London).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-passing-world-50728|title=Art UK: The Passing World|access-date=31 January 2022|website=Art UK}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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Category:Squares in the London Borough of Lambeth
Category:Conservation areas in London
Category:Garden squares in London

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cleaver Square](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaver_Square) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaver_Square?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.