Lincoln's Inn Fields is the
largest public square in
London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir
Nikolaus Pevsner observes. The original plan for "laying out and planting" these fields, drawn by the hand of
Inigo Jones, was said still to be seen in Lord Pembroke's collection at
Wilton House in the 19th century, but is untraced. The grounds, which had remained private property, were acquired by
London County Council in 1895. It is today managed by the
London Borough of Camden and forms part of the southern boundary of that borough with the
City of Westminster.