Bedford Square is a square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England.
Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, including Lord Eldon, one of Britain's longest serving and most celebrated Lord Chancellors, who lived in the largest house in the square for many years. The square takes its name from the main title of the Russell family, the Dukes of Bedford, who were the main landlords in Bloomsbury.
Bedford Square is one of the best preserved set pieces of Georgian architecture in London, but most of the houses have now been converted into offices. Numbers 1-10, 11, 12–27, 28–38 and 40–54 are grade I listed buildings. The central garden remains private. Bedford College, the first place for female higher education in Britain, was formerly located in (and named after) Bedford Square.
Read more about Bedford Square: Current Occupants, Former Occupants
Famous quotes containing the words bedford and/or square:
“A part, a large part, of travelling is an engagement of the ego v. the world.... The world is hydra headed, as old as the rocks and as changing as the sea, enmeshed inextricably in its ways. The ego wants to arrive at places safely and on time.”
—Sybille Bedford (b. 1911)
“I would say it was the coffin of a midget
Or a square baby
Were there not such a din in it.”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)