Berkeley Square Gardens (London)

 square, garden

Berkeley Square, Westminster, London UK

As in the famous song, "A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square".
which is the title of a well-known romantic British popular song with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by Manning Sherwin. First published in 1940, when it was performed in the show New Faces, it was most famously performed by Vera Lynn in the same year. She was not the first interpreter, being preceded by Ray Noble, and subsequently it has become a standard, being performed in a noteworthy fashion by Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller, Bobby Darin, Harry Connick Jr. and Sonny Rollins. A famous version by The Manhattan Transfer won a Grammy in 1981 for its arranger, Gene Puerling. Veteran British musician Ian Hunter, former vocalist for Mott the Hoople, regularly performs it in his concerts; Hunter's rendition appears on at least two of his live recordings. A performance of the song by British actor Robert Lindsay was used as the theme to the British situation comedy series Nightingales. The recording by John Le Mesurier is widely regarded as the definitive version.

the Square was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent. It is named after the noble Gloucestershire family of the same name whose London home, Berkeley House, had stood nearby until 1733. Berkeley Square is a mostly residential enclave inhabited almost exclusively by residents who are most likely of extremely well-to-do financial means and some even of titled or peeraged gentry. A residence in Berkeley Square is highly sought after, and residences do not come up on the market very often at all. The limited supply and great demand has created a market where a residence in Berkeley Square commands higher-than-usual prices on the realty market compared to similar residences, even in other affluent neighborhoods.

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.

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 south-west corner of the square.

50 Berkeley Square is the most infamous haunted house in London.

Residents of Berkeley Square have included:

George Canning, UK Prime Minister (1827) - at no. 50
Winston Churchill lived at no.48 as a child
Robert Clive of India - bought no. 45 in 1761