It commemorates the life and work of British artist and sculptor Frank Owen Dobson.

The square was constructed by the London County Council in 1963, the year of Dobson’s death, at the junction of Cambridge Heath Road and Cephas Street.

The centrepiece of the square was the ‘Woman and Fish’ fountain, a sculpture designed and completed by Dobson in 1951.

In December 2006, the artist Antonio Lopez Reche was given a grant by the Tower Hamlets Council Art Department to reproduce the 'Woman and Fish' statue, following Dobson’s original design.

[2] Today, Frank Dobson Square stands empty, Reche's 'Woman and Fish' having been installed in Millwall Park, Tower Hamlets.