Editing Leicester Square (section)

===Gardens square===
[[File:Shakespeare Statue in Leicester Square.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[Statue of William Shakespeare, Leicester Square|Shakespeare fountain and statue]]]]
In the middle of the square is a small park that was originally available for common use on [[Lammas Day]] (12 August), such as washing clothes and herding cattle. The Earl of Leicester was obliged to preserve these grounds, which were separated from the rest of the square with railings. In 1808, the garden was sold by the Leicester Estate to Charles Elmes for £210 ({{inflation|GBP|210|1808|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}), who neglected to maintain it.{{efn|On Elmes' death, his executors were sued for neglect.}} Ownership changed hands a number of times during the first half of the 19th century, including Robert Barren following Elmes' death in 1822, John Inderwick in 1834, and Hyam Hyams and [[Edward Moxhay]] in 1839. Little maintenance was done and the garden deteriorated to the point of severe dilapidation.<ref name=lsqle>{{cite journal|title=Leicester Square Area: Leicester Estate|journal=Survey of London|volume=33–34, St Anne Soho|editor=F H W Sheppard|location=London|year=1966|pages=416–440|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/pp416-440|access-date=4 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111081639/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/pp416-440|archive-date=11 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Weinreb et al|2008|p=480}}

In 1848, the land was subject to the significant legal case of ''[[Tulk v Moxhay]]''. The plot's previous owner, Moxhay, had agreed upon a covenant not to erect buildings but the law would not allow buyers who were not "privy" to the initial contract to be bound by subsequent promises. The judge, [[Charles Pepys, 1st Earl of Cottenham|Lord Cottenham]], decided that future owners of land could be bound by promises to abstain from activity, subject to the doctrine of notice (actual or constructive). Otherwise, a buyer could (re-)sell land to himself to undermine an initial promise.<ref name=lsqle/><ref>''Tulk v. Moxhay'' (1848) 41 ER 1143 (Court Rolls)</ref> [[James Wyld]] bought the assets of the garden from the Tulk and Moxhay's death estates in 1849 to erect the Great Globe,<ref name=lsqle/> though buried the statue of George I under 12&nbsp;feet of earth with the globe stuck on top. The statue was uncovered following the globe's demise, but by 1866 it had deteriorated due to vandalism and was sold for £16.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=89}} Arguments continued about the fate of the garden, with [[Charles Augustus Tulk]]'s heirs erecting a wooden hoarding around the property in 1873. These were quickly removed after the [[Master of the Rolls]] ordered that the land must be preserved for its original purpose.{{sfn|Weinreb et al|2008|p=480}}

[[File:Charlie Chaplin-Leicester Square-London.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charlie Chaplin]] statue]]
The garden was saved by the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) [[Albert Grant (company promoter)|Albert Grant]], who purchased the park in 1874 for £11,060 and donated it to the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]].{{sfn|Weinreb et al|2008|p=481}} The title deed for the square passed to the succeeding public bodies and is now in the ownership of the City of Westminster.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41119|title=Leicester Square Area: Leicester Estate|journal=Survey of London|volume=33–34 : St Anne Soho|year=1966|pages=416–440|access-date=2 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102045244/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41119|archive-date=2 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> After the purchase, the architect [[James Thomas Knowles (1831–1908)|James Knowles]] redesigned the park. A [[Statue of William Shakespeare, Leicester Square|statue]] of [[William Shakespeare]] surrounded by [[dolphin]]s was constructed in the centre. The four corner gates of the park had one bust each of famous former residents in the square: the scientist Sir [[Isaac Newton]] designed by [[William Calder Marshall]]; Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]], the first President of the [[Royal Academy of Arts|Royal Academy]] by [[Henry Weekes]]; [[John Hunter (surgeon)|John Hunter]], a pioneer of surgery, by [[Thomas Woolner]]; and [[William Hogarth]], the painter, by [[Joseph Durham]].{{efn|The statues were designed to represent former residents in Leicester Square, but Newton actually lived in St. Martin's Street.}}{{sfn|Weinreb et al|2008|p=481}} Ownership transferred to [[Westminster City Council]] in 1933.<ref name=lsqle/> The most recent addition was a bronze statue of film star and director Sir [[Charlie Chaplin]], designed by sculptor [[John Doubleday (sculptor)|John Doubleday]] in 1981.{{sfn|Piper|Jervis|2000|p=53}} On the pavement were inscribed the distances in miles to several [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries, including Canada, Kenya and Jamaica.{{sfn|Fullman|2008|p=72}} After the Great Outdoors refurbishment of the square, only the statue of Shakespeare still remains.