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In 1724 Mayfair became part of the new parish of [[St George Hanover Square]], which stretched to Bond Street in the south part of Mayfair and almost to Regent Street north of Conduit Street. The northern boundary was Oxford Street and the southern boundary fell short of Piccadilly. The parish continued west of Mayfair into Hyde Park and then south to include Belgravia and other areas. In the 19th century the [[Rothschild family]] bought up large areas of Mayfair. The [[fee simple|freehold]] of a large section of Mayfair also belongs to the [[Crown Estate]].{{cn|date=September 2016}} |
In 1724 Mayfair became part of the new parish of [[St George Hanover Square]], which stretched to Bond Street in the south part of Mayfair and almost to Regent Street north of Conduit Street. The northern boundary was Oxford Street and the southern boundary fell short of Piccadilly. The parish continued west of Mayfair into Hyde Park and then south to include Belgravia and other areas. In the 19th century the [[Rothschild family]] bought up large areas of Mayfair. The [[fee simple|freehold]] of a large section of Mayfair also belongs to the [[Crown Estate]].{{cn|date=September 2016}} |
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The expansion of Mayfair moved [[upper class]] Londoners away from areas such as [[Covent Garden]] and [[Soho]], which were already in declined by the 18th century. Part of its success was because of its proximity to the Court of St James and the parks, and because of the well-designed layout. This led to it sustaining its popularity into the 21st century. The requirements of the aristocracy led to various stables, coach houses and servants' accommodation being established along the mews running parallel to the streets. Some of the stables have since been converted into garages and offices.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=536}} |
The expansion of Mayfair moved [[upper class]] Londoners away from areas such as [[Covent Garden]] and [[Soho]], which were already in declined by the 18th century. Part of its success was because of its proximity to the Court of St James and the parks, and because of the well-designed layout. This led to it sustaining its popularity into the 21st century. The requirements of the aristocracy led to various stables, coach houses and servants' accommodation being established along the mews running parallel to the streets. Some of the stables have since been converted into garages and offices.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=536}} [[Oscar Wilde]] lived in Grosvenor Square between 1883 and 1884 and referred to it in his works.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/614969941|title=The complete works of Oscar Wilde 3. 3.|last=Wilde|first=Oscar|last2=Bristow|first2=Joseph|date=2005-01-01|publisher=Oxford Univ. Press|isbn=0198187726|location=Oxford|pages=419|language=English|via=}}</ref> |
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Mayfair has had a long association with the [[United States]]. [[Pocahontas]] is believed to have visited the area in the early 17th century. In 1786, [[John Adams]] established the US Embassy on Grosvenor Square. [[Theodore Roosevelt]] was married in Hanover Square, while [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] honeymooned in Berkeley Square.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=288}} There is a small memorial park in [[Mount Street Gardens]] with a collection of benches engraved with the names of former American residents and visitors to Mayfair.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=289}} |
Mayfair has had a long association with the [[United States]]. [[Pocahontas]] is believed to have visited the area in the early 17th century. In 1786, [[John Adams]] established the US Embassy on Grosvenor Square. [[Theodore Roosevelt]] was married in Hanover Square, while [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] honeymooned in Berkeley Square.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=288}} There is a small memorial park in [[Mount Street Gardens]] with a collection of benches engraved with the names of former American residents and visitors to Mayfair.{{sfn|Moore|2003|p=289}} |
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Revision as of 19:51, 23 March 2017
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the east edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster. The district is mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporate headquarters, embassies, as well as hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of luxury residential property, numerous upmarket shops and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world and its prestigious status has been commemorated by being the most expensive property square on the London Monopoly board.
Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long "May Fair" that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is now Shepherd Market.
Geography
The Mayfair area mainly consists of the historical estate of Grosvenor, along with the estates of Albemarle, Berkeley, Burlington, and Curzon.[1] It is bordered on the west by Park Lane, north by Oxford Street, east by Regent Street, and the south by Piccadilly.[2]
Mayfair is surrounded by parkland; both Hyde Park and Green Park run along its boundary.[1] Grosvenor Square is roughly in the centre of Mayfair, and is the centrepiece of the area, containing numerous expensive and desirable properties.[3]
History
Early history
There has been speculation that the Romans settled in the area before establishing Londinium.[4] A theory has been proposed since the 1950s that Aulus Plautius set up a fort near the junction of Park Street and Oxford Street during the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43 while waiting for Claudius;[5] the theory was more fully developed in 1993, with a proposal that around the fort a Roman town formed, which was later abandoned as being too far from the Thames.[6] The proposal has been disputed due to lack of archaeological evidence.[7][8] If there was a fort, it is believed the perimeter would have been where the modern roads Green Street, North Audley Street, Upper Grosvenor Street and Park Lane now are, and that Park Street would have been the main road through the centre.[5]
Mayfair was mainly open fields until development started in the Shepherd Market area around 1686-8 to accommodate the May Fair that had moved from Haymarket in St James's because of overcrowding.[2] There were some buildings before 1686 – a cottage in Stanhope Row, dating from 1618, which was destroyed in the Blitz in late 1940,[9] though there is no evidence of meaningful habitation or building before 1686.[citation needed]
The May Fair was held every year at Great Brookfield (which is now part of Curzon Street and Shepherd Market) from 1 – 14 May inclusive.[2] It was established during the reign of Edward I, where the area beyond St. James was open fields. It was recorded as "Saint James's fayer by Westminster " in 1560. It was postponed briefly in 1603 because of plague, but otherwise continued throughout the 17th century. By the 18th, it had attracted various showmen, jugglers and fencers and numerous fairground attractions.[10] By the reign of George I, the May Fair had fallen into disrepute and was regarded as a public scandal. The 6th of Earl of Coventry, who lived on Piccadilly, considered the fair to be a nuisance and led a public campaign against it along with local residents. It was abolished in 1764.[10][2] One of the reasons for Mayfair's subsequent boom in property development was to keep out lower class activities.[11]
Grosvenor family and estates
Building on what is now Mayfair began in the 1660s, initially on the corner of Piccadilly, and progressed along the north side of that street.[2] Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet married Mary Davis, heiress to part of the Manor of Ebury, in 1677; the Grosvenor family gained 40 hectares (100 acres) of land.[12]
In 1721, the London Journal reported "the ground upon which the May Fair formerly was held is marked out for a large square, and several fine streets and houses are to be built upon it".[10] Buildings were constructed here in quick succession, and by the mid-18th century it was covered in houses. Much of the land was based around seven estates – Burlington, Millfield, Conduit Mead, Albemarle Ground, the Berkeley, the Curzon and, most importantly, the Grosvenor. Of the original properties constructed in Mayfair, only the Grosvenor estate survives intact and owned by the same family, [1] who subsequently became the Dukes of Westminster in 1874.[citation needed]
In 1724 Mayfair became part of the new parish of St George Hanover Square, which stretched to Bond Street in the south part of Mayfair and almost to Regent Street north of Conduit Street. The northern boundary was Oxford Street and the southern boundary fell short of Piccadilly. The parish continued west of Mayfair into Hyde Park and then south to include Belgravia and other areas. In the 19th century the Rothschild family bought up large areas of Mayfair. The freehold of a large section of Mayfair also belongs to the Crown Estate.[citation needed]
The expansion of Mayfair moved upper class Londoners away from areas such as Covent Garden and Soho, which were already in declined by the 18th century. Part of its success was because of its proximity to the Court of St James and the parks, and because of the well-designed layout. This led to it sustaining its popularity into the 21st century. The requirements of the aristocracy led to various stables, coach houses and servants' accommodation being established along the mews running parallel to the streets. Some of the stables have since been converted into garages and offices.[1] Oscar Wilde lived in Grosvenor Square between 1883 and 1884 and referred to it in his works.[13]
Mayfair has had a long association with the United States. Pocahontas is believed to have visited the area in the early 17th century. In 1786, John Adams established the US Embassy on Grosvenor Square. Theodore Roosevelt was married in Hanover Square, while Franklin D. Roosevelt honeymooned in Berkeley Square.[14] There is a small memorial park in Mount Street Gardens with a collection of benches engraved with the names of former American residents and visitors to Mayfair.[15]
Modern history
Following World War I, the British upper class was in decline as the reduced workforce meant servants were less in supply and demanded higher salaries. The grandest houses in Mayfair became more expensive to service and consequently many were converted to foreign embassies. The 2nd Duke of Westminster decided to demolish Grosvenor House and build Bourdon House in its place. Mayfair attracted commercial development after much of the City of London was destroyed during the Blitz, and many corporate headquarters were established in the area.[1]
The district is now mainly commercial, with many offices in converted houses and new buildings, including major corporate headquarters, a concentration of hedge funds, real estate businesses and many different embassy offices, namely the large US consulate taking up all the west side of Grosvenor Square.[16] Rents are among the highest in London and the world. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and London's largest concentration of luxury hotels and many restaurants. Buildings in Mayfair include the United States embassy and the former Canadian High Commission in Grosvenor Square, the Italian Embassy, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Handel House Museum, the Grosvenor House Hotel, Claridge's and The Dorchester.
In 1975, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombed the Scott's restaurant twice, killing one and injuring 15.[17]
Properties
The head office for the Star Hotel Collection Limited is in Mayfair. The Egyptian Education Bureau is in Chesterfield Gardens. EasyGroup's head office is in Mayfair.[18]
Cadbury's head office was formerly in Mayfair. In 2007, Cadbury Schweppes announced that it was moving to Uxbridge, London Borough of Hillingdon, to cut costs.[19]
Mayfair includes a range of exclusive shops, hotels, restaurants and clubs. Just alongside Burlington House is one of London's most luxurious shopping areas, the Burlington Arcade, which has housed shops under its glass-roofed promenade since 1819.[20]
The quarter—especially the Bond Street area—is also the home of numerous commercial art galleries, as well as international auction houses such as Bonhams, Christies and Sothebys.
At one time All Nippon Airways operated a sales office in the ANA House on Old Bond Street.[21]
Transport
While there are no London Underground stations inside Mayfair, there are several on the boundaries. Marble Arch, Bond Street and Oxford Circus along Oxford Street are on the northern boundary, whilst Piccadilly Circus and Green Park are along Piccadilly on the southern boundary, with Hyde Park Corner close by in Knightsbridge.
Down Street tube station opened in 1907 as "Down Street (Mayfair)".[22] It closed in 1932;[23] it was used during the Second World War by the Emergency Railway Committee, and briefly by Churchill and the war cabinet while waiting for the War Rooms to be ready.[24] While there is only one bus route in Mayfair itself, the 24-hour route C2,[25] there are many bus routes along the perimeter roads, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly, and Park Lane.[26]
Museums and galleries
Mayfair is home to many museums and galleries, including the Handel House Museum,[27] Faraday Museum,[28][29] the Fine Art Society gallery,[30] and Halcyon Gallery.[31]
Cultural references
 Chance |
Park Lane £350 |
Super Tax Pay £100 |
Mayfair £400 |
Collect £200 Salary As You Pass GO 
|
Mayfair is the most expensive property on the London Monopoly board at £400. It commands the highest rents out of all properties; landing on Mayfair with a hotel costs £2,000.[32] The price is a reference to the high property values in the area. At the time the board was being designed in the 1930s, Mayfair still had a significant upper-class residential population.[33]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Weinreb et al. 2008, p. 536.
- ^ a b c d e Weinreb et al. 2008, p. 535.
- ^ "From swamps to shopping centres: How the Grosvenor family came to own some of the UK's most desirable property". The Daily Telegraph. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- ^ "Mayfair". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ a b "Roman Mayfair". Whitaker's Almanack. Joseph Whitaker. 1994. p. 1118.
- ^ Bill Sole (1992). "Metropolis in Mayfair?". The London Archaeologist. 7 (5): 122–6.
- ^ John Clark, Harvey Sheldon (30 November 2008). Londinium and Beyond: Essays on Roman london. David Brown Book Company. p. 104.
- ^ Nicholas Fuentes (1992). "The Plautian invasion base". The London Archaeologist. 7: 238.
- ^ City of Westminster green plaques Archived 16 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Walford, Edward (1878). Mayfair. Vol. 4. London. pp. 345–359. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Moore 2003, p. 285.
- ^ "grosvenor plc web-site" (PDF). Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ Wilde, Oscar; Bristow, Joseph (1 January 2005). The complete works of Oscar Wilde 3. 3. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. p. 419. ISBN 0198187726.
- ^ Moore 2003, p. 288.
- ^ Moore 2003, p. 289.
- ^ U.S. Embassy, London
- ^ Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1975". cain.ulst.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ "About Us." EasyGroup. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- ^ Muspratt, Caroline. "Cadbury swaps Mayfair for Uxbridge." The Daily Telegraph. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "About Mayfair." Mayfair-London.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
- ^ "ANA Directory" (Archived 8 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine). All Nippon Airways. 1998. Retrieved on July 9, 2016. "London ANA House, 2nd Floor 6–8 Old Bond Street London, W1X 3TA, U.K."
- ^ Moore 2003, pp. 285–6.
- ^ James Leasor (1 January 2001). War at the Top. House of Stratus. p. 35.
- ^ Richard Holmes (2 June 2011). Churchill's Bunker. Profile Books. pp. 55–56.
- ^ "Route C2". Transport for London.
- ^ "Westminster bus route maps". Transport for London.
- ^ Kennedy, Maev (16 May 2010). "Jimi Hendrix and Handel: Housemates separated by time" – via The Guardian.
- ^ "Royal Institution may sell Mayfair building – Museums Association".
- ^ "How To Make The Most Of The Royal Institution". 9 June 2016.
- ^ "Art Sales: can The Fine Art Society survive in Mayfair?".
- ^ "Halcyon Gallery".
- ^ Moore 2003, p. 283.
- ^ Moore 2003, p. 287.
Sources
- Moore, Tim (2003). Do Not Pass Go. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-099-43386-6.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher; Keay, John; Keay, Julia (2008). The London Encyclopaedia (2nd ed.). Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-405-04924-5.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
- Further reading
External links
Official website of the business directory
Neighbouring areas of London | |
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