The conservation area lies along the course of the former Westbourne Green Lane, which linked the Uxbridge (now Bayswater) Road with the village of Westbourne Green. A series of name changes saw the route become first Black Lion Lane, then Queens Road, and finally Queensway. At the start of the nineteenth century the area was …
November 2018 archive
Regent Street, W1
Regent Street is one of the most important examples of town planning in the country. It was first laid out by John Nash in the early 19th century to create a new processional route from Regent’s Park in the north to Carlton House in the south (the present site of CarIton House Terrace). The route …
The Royal Parks
The history of the Royal Parks is intimately linked to the possession of the land by the Crown. Hyde Park, named after the ancient manor of Hyde, was originally Abbey land which was seized and enclosed as a deer park at the time of Henry VIII. In the 16th century the park was used for …
St James
There are records of a lepers’ hospital within the area as early as the 11th century. It appears that this was later converted to a convent. In 1532, the convent was purchased by Henry VIII to provide a site for a palace and in the next 300 years a court complex grew around St. James’s …
St James’s Park
The earliest surviving development on the site dates back to the early 18th century. The area includes a large proportion of turn-of-the century buildings. The former burial ground of Christ Church, Broadway (badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War and subsequently demolished together with the vicarage) is now known as Christchurch Gardens and …
Marylebone
Marylebone is an area in the City of Westminster North of Oxford Street and South of Regents Park. Edgware Road forms the western boundary and Portland Place forms the eastern boundary with the area known as Fitzrovia. Marylebone gets its name from a church, called St Mary’s, that was built on the bank of a …
Savoy
The Strand developed as a link between the settlements of the City of London and Westminster/Thorney Island. By the 12th century it was a street of large houses with gardens running down to the Thames. Within the Savoy Conservation Area are the sites of the Savoy Palace, Salisbury House and Worcester House. The Savoy Palace, …
Strand, WC2
It is likely that the area was originally settled by the Saxons, forming part of the town of Lundenwic (7th to 9th centuries AD), outside the walls of the Roman City. The Strand has been a thoroughfare linking the City and Thorney Island, (later Westminster) since this time, originally running along the river bank. By …
Trafalgar Square, WC2
Trafalgar Square was laid-out in the 1820s as a result of John Nash’s plans to remodel extensive swathes of the West End. Before the Square was laid out, the area formed the junction of Charing Cross and the Strand (the major link to the City) and included the Great Mews and Crown Stables to the …
Victoria
Dolphin Square Dolphin Square was designed by the architect Gordon Jeeves and built between 1937-38. At the time it was built it was the largest block of flats in Europe. It was built on a 7.5 acre site and also provided recreation land on the river frontage side of Grosvenor Road. It was planned as …