In 1906, the Duke of Westminster demanded that a community garden was built on top of an active electrical substation in Mayfair

Brown Hart Gardens, a paved garden laid on the roof of a working electricity substation just off Duke Street, has been open to the public for 120 years, yet many Londoners have never noticed it.

The site was once Duke Street Gardens, a communal green for neighbouring homes. It was cleared in 1902 for the Duke Street substation, the work of Charles Stanley Peach, the architect later behind Wimbledon's Centre Court.

Residents were unhappy to lose their garden, so the Duke of Westminster, who then controlled the area, required a replacement to be built on the substation's roof. The Italian-style garden, about 10,000 sq ft, opened in 1906.

It closed in the 1980s under the London Electricity Board and stayed shut for some 20 years before reopening in 2007. A further refurbishment in 2013 brought a new deck, better drainage, a water feature and a café.

The substation is still in use and is now Grade II listed. The garden is free to visit and open daily from 8am to 8pm.

Source: Secret London, 29 October 2026