On the east side of Lisson Grove were three squares: Blandford Square, Harewood Square and Dorset Square.
Blandford Square was built at the northern point of the Portman Estate and was named after family property near Blandford Forum, Dorset. Though it was laid out around 1828, it took around thirty years to be completed.
The area remained intact throughout the Victorian years until the Great Central Railway built its London extension in 1894. The line cut through to the east side of Blandford Square which was demolished to build Marylebone Station.
In Blandford Square, the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy could be found – this was established in 1844 and for a few years carried on works of charity.
From 1860 to 1865 Mary Anne Evans (the novelist George Eliot) lived at 16 Blandford Square. Wilkie Collins lived at no.38 with his mother and brother from 1848 to 1850.
The area never achieved the social standing of the more prestigious Portman developments to the south.
