Ormond Mews - also Ormond Yard - was made up of two extensive rows of mews and was situated just south of Great Ormond Street.
Its primary entrance was directly across from the entrance to the world-renowned children’s hospital and is still recognisable today. The mews was first documented on the 1746 Roque map, with Queen Square, located nearby, having been established two decades prior. The area north of Queen Square was still considered open countryside at the time.
Access to the mews was available via today’s Barbon Close to the north and Ormond Close to the west. At the time when it was called Ormond Mews, Ormond Yard was situated slightly to the east and had its own exit onto Great Ormond Street. It appears that Orchard Yard was renamed to Ormond Place by 1819 and, ten years later, it was renamed again to Little Ormond Yard. Around the same time, Ormond Mews was renamed Great Ormond Yard.
Great Ormond Yard was renamed Ormond Yard after 1885. Lansdowne Mews became Ormond Mews in 1937. Ormond Close was also the name for a while - naming is very confusing here!
The Crown, a local pub, was situated in the yard, which was surrounded by numerous galleried structures. As London expanded northwards, the area became densely populated and was significantly impacted by enemy bombing during the Second World War.
Although several authentic Georgian homes still exist in the neighbourhood, much of the local surroundings, including Great Ormond Yard, were consumed by The Tybalds Close Estate, which was built after extensive Luftwaffe attacks.
After 1937, the new name for Lansdowne Mews was Ormond Mews, WC1.
TIP: This website features a series of maps from the 1750s until the 1950s. You can see how London grows over the decades by accessing the different maps (use the widget at the top right of the map). |
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence