Berkeley Square ( /ˈbɑrkliː/) is a town square in the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent. The square is named after the noble Gloucestershire family of the same name whose London home, Berkeley House, had stood nearby until 1733, and had served as their London residence when they were away from their ancestral Gloucestershire home Berkeley Castle.
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Whilst Berkeley Square was originally a mostly residential area, there now remains only one residential block on the square - number 48. A residence in Berkeley Square is highly sought after, and residences do not come up on the market very often. The limited supply and great demand has created a market where a residence in Berkeley Square commands higher prices on the property market than similar residences in equivalently affluent neighbourhoods.
The square features a statue by Alexander Munro, a Pre-Raphaelite sculptor, made in 1858. The surrounding London Plane trees are among the oldest in central London, planted in 1789. Gunter's Tea Shop, founded under a different name in 1757, is also located in Berkeley Square.
The buildings around the square include several by other notable architects including Robert Adam, who designed Lansdowne House (since 1935 home of the Lansdowne Club) in the southwest corner of the square on Fitzmaurice Place.
50 Berkeley Square is the most infamous haunted house in London. The house is currently occupied by Maggs Brothers Antiquarian Booksellers.[1]
Residents of Berkeley Square have included:
Current businesses include: [2]
Berkeley Square can be easily reached from Green Park tube station on the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Victoria lines, and Bond Street tube station on the Central and Jubilee lines. London Buses route C2 also passes through the square.
Berkeley Square is also one of the most popular locations for the Elektrobay charging points supplied by Elektromotive, with requests for additional charging points to be installed.