Look, I’m well aware that the phrase ‘hidden gem’ is chucked about rather liberally these day, but I’m about to point you in the direction of a surreptitious spot that hits the brief – and then some. One of the twinklies item in London’s treasure trove comes in the form of Brown Hart Gardens, a sky-high haven in the heart of Mayfair that’s been perched on top of a historic electrical substation for the past 120 years. Yet many Londoners have absolutely no idea it’s there.
Brown Hart Gardens
Prior to Brown Hart Gardens setting up shop (we’ll get on to that shortly, of course), the site in which it now sits was originally home to a street-level community garden. Duke Street Gardens provided an outdoor space for those living in the surrounding residential houses, but the garden was removed in 1902 to make way for the construction of the Duke Street electricity substation. Despite the fact that it was an undeniably good-looking substation (designed by Charles Stanley Peach, the brains behind Wimbledon’s Centre Court), the local residents weren’t best pleased about the fact that they no longer had access to a garden.
To make up for the fact that the ground-floor garden was no more, the Duke of Westminster (who was in charge of the area at the time) insisted that a big old community garden be plonked on top of the substation instead. And the rest is history, really. The 10,000 square-feet Italian-style paved garden was filled with trees and plants, and opened to the public as Brown Hart Gardens in 1906. Offering a little pocket of peace and quiet in the middle of central London, the garden remained open until the 1980s, when it was closed by the London Electricity Board.
After being closed for 20 years, Brown Hart Gardens was given a new lease of life in 2007. It underwent another glow-up in 2013, and has been going strong ever since. Over the past decade or so, its deck has been resurfaced, its drainage system has been redesigned, and a fancy water feature and a cafe have been thrown into the mix, but the garden’s history and charm have well-and-truly survived to tell the tale.
The Duke Street electricity substation is still alive and kicking to this very day, and it’s actually now a Grade II listed structure. While the substation itself is well worth having a nosey at if you’re in the area, the garden perched above it is the real ‘I know a little place’ place – perfect to have firmly tucked up your sleeve in those moments when you need a little bit of respite from the chaos of the capital city below.
Brown Hart Gardens can be found just off Duke Street in Mayfair. It is open from 8am until 8pm daily, and is completely free to visit.
