Cork Street

Last updated

Cork Street
Cork Street W1 - geograph.org.uk - 1458080.jpg
View north along Cork Street
Namesake Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington and 2nd Earl of Cork
Length420 ft (130 m) [1]
LocationMayfair, London
Postal code W1
Nearest Tube station Underground no-text.svg Green Park
south endBurlington Gardens
51°30′35″N0°08′28″W / 51.5098°N 0.1410°W / 51.5098; -0.1410
north endClifford Street
51°30′39″N0°08′31″W / 51.5108°N 0.1420°W / 51.5108; -0.1420

Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England, with many contemporary art galleries, [2] and was previously associated with the tailoring industry.

Contents

Location

The street runs approximately north-west from the junction of Burlington Arcade with Burlington Gardens, and is close to Burlington House, which houses the Royal Academy of Arts. It is parallel to, and immediately to the east of, New Bond Street. The nearest tube station is Green Park.

History

Burlington House in the 1690s. The line of Cork Street runs away from the back of the house on the left side. Burlington House 1698-99.jpg
Burlington House in the 1690s. The line of Cork Street runs away from the back of the house on the left side.

Cork Street is part of the Burlington Estate, [3] which was developed from the 18th century.[ citation needed ] The first Earl of Burlington was Richard Boyle (1612–1698), 2nd Earl of Cork; the street is named for that city.

The street in particular and the area in general was associated with tailors. In particular, the leading Regency London tailors Schweitzer and Davidson were located in Cork Street. [4] Beau Brummell (1778–1840), who introduced the flamboyant form of gentleman's fashion that became known as dandyism, patronised Schweitzer and Davidson in Cork Street. [5] Savile Row, not far from Cork Street to the east, is today the street most associated with high-quality gentleman's tailors.

In the early 20th century, the street became associated with the art world, [6] [7] and is considered to be one of the United Kingdom's "most important art hubs", [7] owing in part to its proximity to the Royal Academy. [8] Its galleries have launched the careers of many major modern artists in Britain; the Mayor Gallery was the venue for the first London exhibitions of Francis Bacon, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, and Joan Miró, and Peggy Guggenheim opened her own gallery at number 30 in 1938. As of 2012 there were 22 galleries in the street. [9]

The art dealer Lillian Browse was nicknamed "The Duchess of Cork Street", and used that name as the title of her autobiography. [10]

Attack on Cork Street

In 1985 the Grey Organisation, a radical arts collective, launched an attack on Cork Street covering some of the galleries in grey paint. [11] In a press release, GO justified the attacks on Cork Street, describing the galleries established there as "boring and lifeless", stating that the attacks were "intended to liven up their lives a bit!". The attack took place on Tuesday 21 May 1985, somewhere between midnight and 6am. Members of the Grey Organisation were later arrested, released on bail and banned from central London, but when prosecuted at Well Street Magistrates' court, pleaded "not guilty," and were released without charge. [12]

Campaign

In 2012 the Save Cork Street campaign was created to protect the area as a contemporary arts district in the face of mooted regeneration plans. With 13,000 supporters, including David Hockney and Sir Peter Blake, the Save Cork Street campaign attracted major press interest. Chaired by artist and curator Simon Tarrant, the Save Cork Street committee petitioned Westminster Council to stipulate gallery usage for future Cork Street developments. [13] [14] [15]

Galleries based along Cork Street

Galleries formerly based along Cork Street

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington</span> British architect and noble

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, was a British architect and noble often called the "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork, Burlington never took more than a passing interest in politics despite his position as a Privy Counsellor and a member of both the British House of Lords and the Irish House of Lords. His great interests in life were architecture and landscaping, and he is remembered for being a builder and a patron of architects, craftsmen and landscapers, Indeed, he is credited with bringing Palladian architecture to Britain and Ireland. His major projects include Burlington House, Westminster School, Chiswick House and Northwick Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayfair</span> Area of central London, England

Mayfair is an area of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savile Row</span> Street in Mayfair, London, England

Savile Row is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society at 1 Savile Row, where significant British explorations to Africa and the South Pole were planned; and more recently, the Apple office of the Beatles at 3 Savile Row, where the band's final live performance was held on the roof of the building.

Gieves & Hawkes is a bespoke men's tailor and menswear retailer located at 1 Savile Row in London, England. The business was founded in 1771. It was acquired in 2012 by the Hong Kong conglomerate Trinity Ltd., which was in turn purchased by Shandong Ruyi in 2017. After Trinity was subject to a winding-up petition for debt in September 2021, Gieves & Hawkes was acquired in November 2022 by Frasers Group, owner of Sports Direct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Miro Gallery</span> Contemporary art gallery in London, England

The Victoria Miro Gallery is a British contemporary art gallery in London, run by Victoria Miro. Miro opened her first gallery in 1985 in Cork Street, before moving to larger premises in Islington in 2000 and later opening a second space in St George Street, Mayfair.

Sadie Coles HQ is a contemporary art gallery in London, owned and directed by Sadie Coles. The gallery focuses on presenting the work of established and emerging international artists. It was at the forefront of the Young British Artists movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlington Estate</span>

The Burlington Estate is an area in Mayfair to the north of Piccadilly in the West End of London, England. It was developed in the 18th century and owned by the Anglo-Irish Boyle dynasty, Earls of Burlington, in particular Richard, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork (1694–1753).

Victoria Marion Miro is a British art dealer, "one of the grandes dames of the Britart scene" and founder of the Victoria Miro Galleries in London and Venice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7 Burlington Gardens</span>

7 Burlington Gardens is a Grade II* building in Mayfair, London. Formerly known as Queensberry House, it was later called Uxbridge House. The building was a bank for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, and was later for a time home to the London flagship store of the American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlington Fine Arts Club</span>

The Burlington Fine Arts Club was a London gentlemen's club based at 17 Savile Row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillian Browse</span> British art dealer

Lillian Gertrude Browse was a British art dealer and art historian. She was a partner in two London galleries, first Roland, Browse and Delbanco and then Browse & Darby. During the Second World War she organised exhibitions at the National Gallery, whose collections had been removed to the country for safety. She wrote a number of monographs on twentieth-century artists, including important works on Walter Sickert and Sir William Nicholson. She was nicknamed "The Duchess of Cork Street", and used that name as the title of her autobiography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savile Row tailoring</span> Noted bespoke tailoring in Mayfair, London

Savile Row tailoring is men and women's bespoke tailoring that takes place on Savile Row and neighbouring streets in Mayfair, Central London. In 1846, Henry Poole, credited as being the "Founder of Savile Row", opened an entrance to his tailoring premises at No. 32 Savile Row. The term bespoke is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers. The short street has been termed the "golden mile of tailoring", where customers have included Charles III, Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson, Napoleon III, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Laurence Olivier and Duke Ellington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Burlington Street</span> Street in the City of Westminster, London

Old Burlington Street is a street in central London that is on land that was once part of the Burlington Estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifford Street</span> Street in the City of Westminster, London

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.

George Squibb was a British auctioneer, succeeding his father James, who founded the auction house of Squibb & Son, and working from public rooms in Boyle Street, facing down Savile Row, London, where the elder Squibb had set up in 1778. The grand rooms had been built in the 1730s, at the time Lord Burlington was developing the second phase of his real estate venture at the end of Burlington House gardens; they were extended by Squibb with a top-lit auction room. In 1813 he sold the collection of paintings of the late Duke of San Pietro. Among the country house auctions that fell under his hammer was that of the contents of Streatham Park, sold for Hester Thrale Piozzi in May 1816. Among those associated with Squibb was Michael Bryan, the connoisseur and author of the Dictionary of Painters

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Boyle, Countess of Burlington</span> British artist (1699–1758)

Dorothy Boyle, Countess of Burlington and Countess of Cork was a British noble and court official, as well as a caricaturist and portrait painter. Several of her studies and paintings were made of her daughters. Through her daughter Charlotte, who married the 4th Duke of Devonshire. A collection of 24 of her works of art descended to the Duke of Devonshire and kept at Chatsworth House.

George Ponsonby O'Callaghan, 2nd Viscount Lismore was an Irish peer and British Army officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waddington Custot</span> Art gallery in London, England

Waddington Custot is a London-based art gallery specialising in modern and contemporary art. Formerly known as Waddington Galleries, it has been situated on Mayfair's Cork Street since 1958.

The New Burlington Galleries was an art gallery at 5 Burlington Gardens, Mayfair, London.

References

  1. ↑ "Driving directions to Cork St". Google Maps. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "Cork Street". www.londontown.com. LondonTown.com. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Cork Street and Savile Row Area Burlington Estate Lease Tables, Survey of London, volumes 31 and 32: St James Westminster, Part 2, pp. 546–65, 1963. British History Online , English Heritage.
  4. ↑ "Between a Gentleman and His Tailor". www.georgianindex.net. The Georgian Index. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Jesse, William (1844). The life of George Brummell, esq., commonly called Beau Brummell. Vol. 1. Saunders and Otley. p. 64.
  6. ↑ "London Art Galleries". www.britisharts.co.uk. UK: British Arts. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 Batty, David (20 August 2012). "Mayfair's art galleries under threat from developers". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Simon Tarrant – The Royal Academy of Arts Council Statement". art-antiques-design.com. Art, Antiques and Luxury Design Blog. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "A third of Cork Street's galleries to close". Phaidon. 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Browse, Lillian (1999). Duchess of Cork Street: The Autobiography of an Art Dealer . Giles de la Mare. ISBN   978-1900357142.
  11. ↑ "Save the last dance for me?". /www.stewarthomesociety.org. Stewart Home. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Art Line Magazine". Vol. 2, no. 9. International Art News. 1985.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  13. ↑ Paramaguru, Kharunya (12 February 2013). "Saving Cork Street: Is London's Historic Art District Under Threat?". Time. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Cork Street goes pop". Financial Times . 19 October 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Cork Street art dealers oppose development plans". BBC News. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "Mulligans of Mayfair". www.londontown.com. LondonTown.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Cork Street, London at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.