November 2018 archive

Belgravia

The development known as Belgravia was laid out in the 1820s by Thomas Cubitt and Thomas Cundy. Cubitt saw the possibilities of developing the land to the west of Buckingham Palace as a fashionable residential area and leased the land from the Grosvenor Estate. Many of the streets surrounding Cubitt’s development are of an even …

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Covent Garden

Covent Garden comprises the area on the north side of the Strand which developed as the link between the settlements of the City of London and Westminster/Thorney Island. In medieval times the Strand was lined with large houses and palaces set in substantial gardens. The history of settlement in the area can be traced to …

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Fitzrovia

Fitzrovia lies partly in the City of Westminster (in the west), and partly in the London Borough of Camden (in the east); north of Oxford Street and Soho between Bloomsbury and Marylebone. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail, education and healthcare, with no single activity dominating. The historically bohemian area was …

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Harley Street, W1

Harley Street, the centre of private medical practices in London, was named after Thomas Harley who was Lord Mayor of London in 1767. Most of the land belonged to the Portland Estate and its successor, the Howard de Walden Estate and around 1716, a street called Chandos Street was begun. Nearby was a street called …

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Haymarket, SW1

The area was originally developed in the 17th century. In 1640 there were a few buildings on the west side of Haymarket but by 1680 the street was fully developed, providing a link between Piccadilly and Charing Cross. Residential side streets, such as Oxendon, Panton, Orange (formerly James) and Norris Streets, developed at the same …

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Knightsbridge

The conservation area is defined by three distinct developments. First, the eastern part around Trevor Square, Montpelier Square and Place dated early 19th century. Secondly, the central part developed during the mid-19th century, consisting of large stucco houses detailed in a classical manner including Princes Gate, Rutland Gate, Queens Gate, and part of Ennismore Gardens. …

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Leicester Square, WC2

Between 1630 and 1648, Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester, acquired land from Henry VIII, and built Leicester House on a site between the existing Square and Lisle Street, with a formal garden on the site of the Swiss Centre. The area south of the House became known as Leicester Fields and was laid out …

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Lisson Grove, NW8

The area originated as a Saxon and medieval settlement in the manor of Lillestone close to the Roman Watling Street. It was described as a hamlet in the Domesday book of 1086, centred around Bell Lane (now Bell Street). Part of the area was developed by the Portman Estate after they acquired the land in …

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Mayfair

Mayfair derives its name from a fair held in May in fields around the site of today’s Shepherd Market. In the 1660s three large mansions, including Burlington House (now the Royal Academy) were erected on the north side of Piccadilly. These were followed by smaller scale high quality, speculative residential development. Early development was slow …

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Pimlico

Pimlico is the triangular area of land bounded by Vauxhall Bridge Road, the Thames and the railway into Victoria Station. The first recorded use of the name was in 1626 when it referred to a group of mean cottages called Neat Houses around Ranelagh Gardens. When the nearby Buckingham House had been sold to George …

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