Brunswick Square: A Short Distance Away

There are several places called Brunswick Square. Brunswick Square in Bloomsbury, London, is a 3-acre public garden with ancillary streets on two of its sides. The nearest tube station is Russell Square, to the south-west. Brunswick Square in Hove, England, is a central square with terraced houses built for the upper classes. Brunswick Square in Melbourne, Australia, is a suburb located 5 km north of Melbourne's Central Business District.

Brunswick Square, London: a 3-acre public garden

Brunswick Square in Bloomsbury, London, is a 3-acre public garden with a fascinating history. The square was first developed in 1790 when the Governors of the Foundling Hospital, a home for abandoned children, lost their government funding. They sold the land for housing development to raise money for the hospital. The exceptional builder James Burton was commissioned to create a garden surrounded by townhouses, with the square named after Queen Caroline of Brunswick, wife of King George IV.

The square has always been respectable and fashionable, with notable former residents including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, and J.M. Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan while living in a house on the square's southwest corner. Over time, the original Georgian houses have been replaced by modern buildings, including university facilities, a cinema, apartments, shops, and restaurants.

The garden underwent extensive refurbishment in 2002-2003, including the restoration of traditional iron railings. The garden features a diverse range of flora, including a venerable London plane tree believed to be the second oldest in London. It was recognised as one of the Great Trees of Britain in 2009.

Today, Brunswick Square is maintained by Camden Council and is open to the public during daylight hours. The Friends of Brunswick Square, formed in 2008, actively promote biodiversity and have successfully encouraged the installation of bird boxes, bat boxes, and wildlife planting.

The square is easily accessible, located within walking distance of Russell Square Tube station and offering access to many of London's popular attractions. Visitors can enjoy a peaceful stroll or relax on the benches amidst the greenery.

Brunswick Square, Hove: a residential area

Brunswick Square is a residential area in Hove, in the city of Brighton and Hove, England. It is best known for its Regency architecture, which dates back to the early 19th century when the area was developed as a collaborative project between architect Charles Busby and landowner Reverend Thomas Scutt. The terraced houses in the square were designed as "first-class" housing for the upper classes, with elegant neo-classical facades and sophisticated interiors.

The focal point of the town, Brunswick Square was designed to be a prestigious and refined space, comparable to the distinguished Nash developments in London. Busby intended for the development to be an independent economic unit or "mini-town", catering to the wealthy upper and middle classes. The square was designed to emphasise the harmony of man and nature, with the facades of the houses decorated in a popular neo-classical style that changed with the different roof levels. The interiors of the houses incorporated new technologies, with large windows and luxury services such as piped water supplies and internal flushable water closets.

In the late 1940s, Brunswick Square had fallen into disrepair, and the Council considered demolishing and redeveloping it with modern housing. However, these plans were opposed by the local community, particularly through the founding of the Regency Society, which successfully fought against the proposals. In the late 1990s, the top of the square was closed to motor traffic, transforming it from a through route into a residential area.

Today, Brunswick Square remains a sought-after location, with properties boasting stunning views of the sea and the town. The square is also home to the annual Brunswick Festival and the Old Market, a theatre built in 1828 to serve Brunswick Town. Many of the buildings in the area, including those on the east and west sides of the square, are listed by Historic England at the highest grade, Grade I.

Brunswick Square, literature: mentioned in Jane Austen's Emma

Brunswick Square is mentioned in Jane Austen's Emma. It is the neighbourhood where Emma's sister Isabella and her family live. Emma describes the neighbourhood as "so very superior to most others".

History: the square was built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries

There are two places called Brunswick Square:

Brunswick Square, London

Brunswick Square in Bloomsbury, London, was built between 1795 and 1802 by James Burton. The square was originally part of the grounds of the Foundling Hospital and was leased for housebuilding to raise funds for the hospital in 1790. The square is named after Caroline of Brunswick, the wife of George III. None of the original houses remain.

Brunswick Square, Brighton and Hove

Brunswick Square in Brighton and Hove was built in the 1820s as part of the larger development of Brunswick Town, a speculative project designed by the architect Charles Augustin Busby. The square was designed to be the focal point of the town, providing prestigious and sophisticated housing for the wealthy upper and middle classes. The houses were decorated in the popular neo-classical style, with Busby insisting that all the facades follow his unified design. The interiors of the houses incorporated new technologies, including large windows and new 'luxury' services such as piped water supplies and internal flushable water closets.

Notable residents: John Ruskin was born in Brunswick Square in 1819

John Ruskin, born in 1819, was one of the leading visionaries and thinkers of the Victorian era. Ruskin was born at 54 Hunter Street, Brunswick Square, London, in 1819. Brunswick Square is a 3-acre public garden in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden.

Ruskin was an English writer, philosopher, art historian, art critic, and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on a wide range of subjects, including geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany, and political economy. Ruskin's writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. He wrote essays, treatises, poetry, lectures, travel guides, manuals, and even a fairy tale. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, architectural structures, and ornamentation.

Ruskin was born to John James Ruskin, a sherry and wine importer, and Margaret Cock, the daughter of a publican in Croydon. Ruskin was an only child and was educated by his parents and private tutors until the age of fourteen. Ruskin's father encouraged a love of Lord Byron and William Wordsworth, while his mother was a devout Christian who made him read from the Bible and learn passages by heart.

Ruskin's childhood was spent from 1823 at 28 Herne Hill, near the village of Camberwell in South London. He had few friends his own age and was described as having a friendless and toyless experience in his autobiography, Praeterita (1885–1889). Ruskin was greatly influenced by the extensive and privileged travels he enjoyed in his childhood, which helped establish his taste and augment his education.

Ruskin's first publication was the poem "On Skiddaw and Derwent Water" in 1829. In 1837, Ruskin's The Poetry of Architecture was serialised in Loudon's Architectural Magazine under the pen name "Kata Phusin" (Greek for "According to Nature"). In 1839, Ruskin won the prestigious Newdigate Prize for poetry at Oxford University.

Ruskin was a great admirer of the work of J.M.W. Turner and began purchasing his work. In 1843, Ruskin published the first volume of Modern Painters: their Superiority in the Art of Landscape Painting to the Ancient Masters, in which he boldly proclaimed "the superiority of the modern painters to the old ones" and praised the work of Turner.

Ruskin married Effie Gray in 1848, but the marriage was annulled in 1854 on the grounds of non-consummation. Ruskin later proposed to nineteen-year-old Rose La Touche in 1866, but she broke off their relationship in 1871. Ruskin suffered several bouts of mental illness throughout his life and died of influenza in 1900.

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