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The delights of Tavistock Square



It never ceases to amaze me how you can be walking down a busy street in London, turn a corner and suddenly happen upon an unexpected slice of green tranquility. Such was the case when I stumbled upon Tavistock Square which is not far from Russell Square and the British Museum in London. A noticeboard gives some history to the park and surrounding buildings - there is a lot!

  • A flowering cherry tree was planted in 1967 to honour victims of Hiroshima, the first city to be devastated by atomic power in 1945.
  • There is a Conscientious Objectors Stone which was placed in the park in 1994
  • A statue of Mahatma Ghandi has pride of place and brings visitors from around the world. It is an English Heritage grade II listed monument. 
 
  • The headquarters of the British Medical Association are located in the north-east corner of the square in a building that was designed by Edward Lutyens.
  • There is a grade II listed memorial in honour of the first British woman to qualify as a surgeon, Louisa Aldrich-Blake (1865-1925) .
  • Charles Dickens lived at Tavistock House 1851-1860 during which time he wrote 'Bleak House' .
  • Virginia Woolf lived nearby with her husband Leonard and there is a tribute to her in the park

It certainly was a lovely park to sit in and enjoy my coffee!

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