Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray was based here, and Oscar Wilde, a member of the Albemarle Club, where an insult he received led to his suing for libel and to his eventual imprisonment. It is also known for its art galleries and the Brown's Hotel is located at 33 Albemarle Street.
Albemarle Street was built by a syndicate of developers headed by Sir Thomas Bond. The syndicate purchased a Piccadilly mansion called Clarendon House from Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle in 1684, which had fallen into ruin due to neglect caused by the dissolute duke's spendthrift ways. It was sold for £20,000, a fifth less than the duke had paid for it only nine years previously despite the land values in the area increasing in the intervening period. The house was demolished and the syndicate proceeded to develop the area. At that time the house backed onto open fields and the development of the various estates in Mayfair was just getting underway. The syndicate also built Old Bond Street, Dover Street and Stafford Street. [1]
Albemarle Street was the first one-way street created for the purpose of better traffic flow in London. The decision was taken after a series of lectures by Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution caused long traffic jams in the capital because of the horrendous queues formed by horsedrawn carriages bringing in the eager audience. Albemarle Street was made a one-way street to avoid further incidents of such congestion.
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Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (1661–1724), a leading minister of Queen Anne, had a house in Albemarle Street where he died in 1724.
Victor Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill (1864–1934), a Page of Honour to Queen Victoria and British peer, was born at 32 Albemarle Street.
Anne Lister (1791–1840), a notable early 19th-century lesbian, stayed at 29 Albemarle Street in rooms owned by Hawkins, who also had premises in Dover Street. In June 1834 Anne Lister stayed at number 13 with her wife Ann Walker (1803–1854). [2]
The Albemarle Club was originally in Albemarle Street and relocated to Dover Street nearby before its closure. Oscar Wilde was a member. In 1895, the Marquess of Queensberry left his calling card for Wilde with the infamous note "For Oscar Wilde, posing as a somdomite" [sic]. This led to Wilde's failed libel action and subsequent criminal prosecution.
The publisher John Murray was located at 50 Albemarle Street during the 19th and 20th centuries. Lord Byron's memoirs were destroyed in the fireplace on the first floor after his death. Sir John Betjeman, the poet and broadcaster was another Murray author. Murray also published Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species in 1859.
Captain O.M.WATTS, at 49 Albemarle Street was once the large showroom and mail order department of O. M. Watts a master mariner and nautical author who founded and ran his ship chandlers and yacht brokerage until his death in 1985.
Frenchman Alexander Grillion opened Grillion's Hotel at No. 7 in 1803. Louis XVIII stayed here in 1814, before his return to France. [3] It was also the meeting place of Grillion's dining club. The Royal Thames Yacht Club was later based here.
The Royal Institution is at 21 Albemarle Street and forms an imposing backdrop on the street with its row of classical columns on its frontage. The building has been greatly enlarged and redeveloped since 1799 when the Institution was founded, and is now a Grade I listed building. Because of the Institution's popularity (through its scientific lectures), Albemarle Street became London's first one-way street to avoid traffic problems. [4]
The naturalist Thomas Huxley founded the X Club as a dining club meeting for the first time on 3 November 1864 at St George's Hotel, Albemarle Street, with a select membership of nine proponents of the evolutionary "new reformation" in naturalism who supported the ideas of Charles Darwin and became increasingly influential in late 19th century science.
Rev. William Webb Ellis (1806–1872) was an Anglican clergyman who is famous for allegedly being the inventor of Rugby football whilst a pupil at Rugby School. He graduated from Oxford with a BA in 1829 and received his MA in 1831. He entered the Church and became chaplain of St George's Chapel, Albemarle Street, London (c. 1800–1903). Here he published his Sermons: Preached in St. George's Chapel, Albemarle Street; to Which Is Added, an Essay On the Prophecies Relative to Christ. The Chapel was built on instructions of Lord Suffield who lived on Albemarle Street and leased land at number 27 on which at some time between 1800 and 1811 a proprietary chapel, St George's, was built (demolished in the early twentieth century). [5]
The Beaux-Arts building, the Mellier, at 26b Albemarle Street originally the home and showroom of Charles Mellier & Co. Mellier was born in France and became a successful high quality cabinet maker and decorator; one of his most famous commissions was for the liner RMS Mauretania.
In 1921 Lendrum Motors moved to Mayfair, taking the recently vacated ground floor and basement premises of the Mellier building, creating a fashionable and stylish motor showroom, renamed it ‘Buick House’ and from 1923 known as Lendrum & Hartman Limited. It was a major London importer, and sole UK concessionaires of Buick and Cadillac cars from North America between 1919 and 1968. It became the most prestigious car dealership in the country, having sold a Buick to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII in 1935. Today the building is renamed the Mellier again, has been transformed by architect Eric Parry from commercial use into apartments.
In the 1950s, Ernő Goldfinger's design for two office buildings at 45–46 Albemarle Street was praised for its sensitivity to the surrounding Georgian architecture. [6]
The private member's club Oswald's is based in a town house at 25 Albemarle Street. [7]
The street is host to a number of art galleries. These include:
To the south-east, the street adjoins Piccadilly. Running parallel with Albemarle Street to the south-west is Dover Street and to the north-east are New Bond Street and Old Bond Street. The nearest tube station is Green Park.
The West End of London is a district of Central London, London, England, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings and entertainment venues, including West End theatres, are concentrated.
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world.
Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from Mayfair to the east. The road has a number of historically important properties and hotels and has been one of the most sought after streets in London, despite being a major traffic thoroughfare.
Piccadilly is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, Heathrow Airport and the M4 motorway westward. St James's is to the south of the eastern section, while the western section is built up only on the northern side. Piccadilly is just under 1 mile (1.6 km) in length, and it is one of the widest and straightest streets in central London.
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place in St James's at the southern end, through Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus, to All Souls Church. From there Langham Place and Portland Place continue the route to Regent's Park.
Down Street, also known as Down Street (Mayfair), is a disused station on the London Underground, located in Mayfair, west London. The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opened it in 1907. It was latterly served by the Piccadilly line and was situated between Dover Street (now named Green Park) and Hyde Park Corner stations.
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the longer northern section New Bond Street—a distinction not generally made in everyday usage.
St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace. During the Restoration in the 17th century, the area was developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the development of their gentlemen's clubs. Once part of the parish of St Martin in the Fields, much of it formed the parish of St James from 1685 to 1922. Since the Second World War the area has transitioned from residential to commercial use.
The Albemarle Club was a private members' club at 13 Albemarle Street, London, founded in 1874 and open to both men and women. It closed in 1941.
Clarendon House was a town mansion which stood on Piccadilly in London, England, from the 1660s to the 1680s. It was built for the powerful politician Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, and was the grandest private London residence of its era.
Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It also hosts a number of contemporary art galleries. An equestrian sculpture by Elisabeth Frink stands on the junction of Dover Street and Piccadilly, opposite the Ritz Hotel.
Dover Street Market is a unique multi-brand retailer that combines the elements of a department store and an exhibition space. Originally located on Dover Street, in Mayfair, London. and has since expanded to multiple locations around the world, including New York City, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, and Los Angeles.
Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries, and was previously associated with the tailoring industry.
Westminster St James was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish followed the building of the Church of St James, Piccadilly, in 1684. After several failed attempts, the parish was formed in 1685 from part of the ancient parish of St Martin in the Fields in the Liberty of Westminster and county of Middlesex. It included part of the West End of London, taking in sections of Soho, Mayfair and St James's. Civil parish administration was in the hands of a select vestry until the parish adopted the Vestries Act 1831. The vestry was reformed again in 1855 by the Metropolis Management Act. In 1889 the parish became part of the County of London and the vestry was abolished in 1900, replaced by Westminster City Council. The parish continued to have nominal existence until 1922.
Mallett is furniture and works of art agent and dealer based in London and New York. For most of the second half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, it occupied a position at the forefront of the English furniture trade, profiting from the growth in interest in the style of British and European 18th and 19th century furniture and works of art.
Clifford Street is a street in central London, built in the early 18th century, on land that once formed part of the Burlington Estate. It is named after the Clifford family, Earls of Cumberland. The daughter and heiress of the last holder of that title was the mother of the first Lord Burlington.
Albemarle Gallery was an art gallery located in Mayfair, London. The gallery opened in 1986 and featured figurative to hyper-realist artwork by local and international contemporary painters and sculptors. This gallery closed in 1993.
Horse and Rider is a 1974 bronze equestrian sculpture by Elisabeth Frink. The work was commissioned for a site in Mayfair; another cast is in Winchester. It was described by Frink as "an ageless symbol of man and horse".
Lendrum & Hartman Ltd was a major London importer, the sole UK concessionaires of Buick and Cadillac cars from North America between 1919 and 1968. It became the most prestigious car dealership in the country, having sold a Buick in 1935 to the Prince of Wales, who became King Edward VIII the following year.