Ranelagh Gardens (London)

 park, public garden, Grade II Listed (UK)

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The site of C17 formal gardens laid out around Sir Christopher Wren's Royal Hospital, Chelsea by George London and Henry Wise. Ranelagh Gardens, to the east, were developed as public pleasure gardens in the mid C18 but reverted to the Royal Hospital in the early C19. Both areas underwent major remodelling in the mid C19 and retain this form in the C20.

To the north-west of Royal Hospital Road is a rectangular piece of land known as Burton's Court. Laid to grass and used mainly for sports, the area is divided into two by a wide gravel path lined with immature plane trees. The path, which runs north-west/south-east for 150m, links Royal Hospital Road with Royal Avenue and King's Road, Chelsea. Made as part of Wren's grand design, Burton's Court was originally the Great Court and provided the setting for the main entrance to the Royal Hospital. The greater portion of Burton's Court was divided by avenues of lime trees and horse chestnuts into three areas which corresponded in width with the three buildings constituting the north front of the Royal Hospital (Kip and Knyff, 1692). The land appears to have acquired the name of Burton's Court by c 1719, although there is a reference to 'two lodges at Burtons' in 1702 (Dean 1949). After it was separated from the Hospital grounds by Royal Hospital Road in the early C19 the public had free access to the area. In 1888 the Chelsea Board allotted Burton's Court to the London Garrison for playing fields. In the ensuing replanning a row of plane trees was planted either side of the main walk, obscuring Wren's intended vista from the north. The C19 trees having been replaced in the late C20.

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