HISTORY
Chester Square was originally laid out between 1828 and 1840 by Earl Grosvenor and his surveyor and architect, Thomas Cundy II, as part of the Grosvenor Estate. (St Michael's Church [1844] on the west side was designed by Thomas Cundy.)
Rope edging tiles and some original trees have survived. The garden is planted with shrubs and herbaceous borders. Just under 1.5 acres in size, it was refurbished in 1997 to the Ordnance Survey map of 1867. In 2007 the square won a Certificate of Excellence in the Garden Squares Competition and in 2009 improved to a Commended in the same competition.
Past residents include the poet Matthew Arnold (1822–88), at No. 2, and Mary Shelley (1797–1851) author of Frankenstein, at No. 24.