WILTON PLACE AND NEARBY
WILTON PLACE [ON THE NORTH BANK OF THE GRAND CANAL]
Wilton Square has three sides rather than four sides [Wilton Terrace and Wilton Place which forms two sides of the triangle]. Back in 1982 when I was employed by a small start-up hi-tech company based at Wilton Place the area had two personalities. During the day it was an up market office area and at night it was a very active red light area. In fact nearly all staff were unwilling to be in the area after 7pm and this was especially true for female members of staff. We moved to a horrible industrial estate.
The central feature is a small park which was intended to be part of a larger scheme, devised c. 1830 by Arthur Neville, for a broad crescent framing a semi-circular park overlooking the canal. Delayed and then revised due to failed negotiations over land acquisition, six townhouses, Nos. 1-6 Wilton Place, were finally built in 1841, at which time the park was also laid out. The water for the fountain was originally supplied from the nearby canal.
Nearby there was a large building, Fitzwilton House, which was home to the IDA and the Australian Embassy. It was constructed in the early 1960s and should have been 16 floors rather than 13 but in my opinion it ruined the local Georgian landscape. The building and others have recently been demolished and as a result the whole area is effectively a massive construction site in suspension since March 2020.
Wilton Square has three sides rather than four sides [Wilton Terrace and Wilton Place which forms two sides of the triangle]. Back in 1982 when I was employed by a small start-up hi-tech company based at Wilton Place the area had two personalities. During the day it was an up market office area and at night it was a very active red light area. In fact nearly all staff were unwilling to be in the area after 7pm and this was especially true for female members of staff. We moved to a horrible industrial estate.
The central feature is a small park which was intended to be part of a larger scheme, devised c. 1830 by Arthur Neville, for a broad crescent framing a semi-circular park overlooking the canal. Delayed and then revised due to failed negotiations over land acquisition, six townhouses, Nos. 1-6 Wilton Place, were finally built in 1841, at which time the park was also laid out. The water for the fountain was originally supplied from the nearby canal.
Nearby there was a large building, Fitzwilton House, which was home to the IDA and the Australian Embassy. It was constructed in the early 1960s and should have been 16 floors rather than 13 but in my opinion it ruined the local Georgian landscape. The building and others have recently been demolished and as a result the whole area is effectively a massive construction site in suspension since March 2020.
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