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51°30′32″N0°08′34″W / 51.50889°N 0.14278°W
Namesake | Henry Jermyn, 1st Baron Dover |
---|---|
Length | 0.1 mi (0.16 km) [1] |
Location | Mayfair, London |
Postal code | W1 |
Nearest Tube station | Green Park |
south end | Piccadilly 51°30′27″N0°08′29″W / 51.5075°N 0.1414°W |
north end | Grafton Street 51°30′33″N0°08′35″W / 51.5093°N 0.1431°W |
Construction | |
Construction start | 1683 |
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.
The street lies in the south of Mayfair in the West End. To the south-east, the street adjoins the major thoroughfare of Piccadilly. To the north-west, it runs up past Stafford Street to the junction with Hay Hill, then continues as Grafton Street. To the north-east is Albemarle Street, running parallel with Dover Street and the location of the Royal Institution. South-west is Berkeley Street (adjoining Berkeley Square to the north), also running in parallel.
The nearest tube station is Green Park.
Dover 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 1683 and proceeded to demolish the house and 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 Bond Street and Albemarle Street. The street is named after Henry Jermyn, 1st Baron Dover, one of the partners in the syndicate. [2]
In June 1797 John Nash moved into 28 Dover Street, a building of his own design; he built an even bigger house next door at 29 into which he moved the following year. [3] Edward Moxon moved from premises he had established in 1830 in New Bond Street to 44 Dover Street. He published Wordsworth from 1835 onwards and in 1839 issued the first complete edition of Shelley's poems. In 1841, he was found guilty of blasphemy for passages in Shelley's Queen Mab . Anne Lister (1791–1840), a notable Victorian landowner and diarist, liked to stay at Hawkins, located at 26 Dover Street. [4]
Brown's Hotel (then termed a "genteel inn") was established in 1837 by James Brown, Lord Byron's valet, who took a lease on 23 Dover Street to cater for those who were in town "for the Season". He ran it with his wife, Sarah Willis, the personal maid of Lady Byron, who gave financial support. The hotel was later enlarged and joined with backing premises on Albemarle Street. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call in Britain from the hotel. In 1890, The International Niagara Commission met in the hotel and their decision on distributing "Niagara power" subsequently led to the adoption of the alternating current worldwide. Other guests have included Napoleon III, Theodore Roosevelt (at the time of his marriage), Rudyard Kipling and Agatha Christie (her book At Bertram's Hotel is based on Brown's).
Oliver Wendell Holmes in Our Hundred Days in Europe records staying at Mackellar's Hotel, 17 Dover Street, where "we found ourselves comfortably lodged and well cared for during the whole time we were in London".
Frédéric Chopin took lodgings in Dover Street in 1848 and performed a number of piano recitals in London and undertook piano lessons.
In the 1920s many notable photographers were based in Dover Street including Paul Tanqueray, Hugh Cecil and Alexander Bassano. [5] Marcus Adams, Yvonne Gregory and Bertram Park, the "Three Photographers", were based at 43 Dover Street. [6]
Green Park Underground station was originally known as Dover Street station. The original Leslie Green-designed building was located in Dover Street, but, following refurbishment in the 1930s to install escalators, the entrance was moved to Piccadilly and the station was renamed. [7]
The street is historically and currently the location of a number of well-known London clubs, although the oldest and most fashionable London clubs are located in St James's and Pall Mall:
The original clubhouse was at 32 Dover Street, such was the rush to join that within 12 months a new site had to be found on which to erect a building worthy of the large and influential membership which represented nearly every known family of distinction.
The site found was at No. 35, almost next door, and by 1901 the Empress Club was installed in a most impressive and palatial building with another entrance in Berkley Street. It boasted12 Reception Rooms, handsomely decorated, and one hundred bedrooms for which the lowest charge was 4/- a night- and this included Lights, Boots, Bath, and attendance. Coal fires, it is true, were 1/6 extra but Ladies’ Maids could be accommodated for 7/6 per day!
Members wishing to interview servants at the club had to give two clear days’ notice to the Secretary and then conduct the interview before 12 noon. Ladies could keep their cycles at the club, but dogs were not allowed and Gentlemen guests only as far as the Dining and Drawing Rooms. An orchestra played during afternoon tea (1/-) and smoking was permitted.
It also played in the Grand Dining Hall during dinner, after which smoking was again allowed. Luncheon was 2/6 and dinner 3/6! During the great war over £50,000 was raised by members in aid to the Forces, and again £16,000 in World War II. The Club withstood many near misses from bombs and suffered considerable damage from a fire in 1941
After the war the Club never quite recovered its former glory and some years later it was sold. Most of the building was turned into offices and the Grand Dining Hall became a Night Club.
In 1961 this was acquired by the Caprice - A l’Ecu de France group, where it became the Empress Restaurant. The property is currently occupied by Christian Louboutin.
And a fictional one:
Art galleries in the street include:
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.
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.
Green Park is a London Underground station located on the edge of Green Park, with entrances on both sides of Piccadilly. It is served by the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. On the Jubilee line it is between Bond Street and Westminster; on the Piccadilly line it is between Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park Corner and on the Victoria line it is between Victoria and Oxford Circus. It is in fare zone 1.
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.
The London Pavilion is a building on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of Piccadilly Circus in London. It is currently a shopping arcade and part of the Trocadero Centre.
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.
Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earls of Burlington and was expanded in the mid-19th century after being purchased by the British government. Today, the Royal Academy and five learned societies occupy much of the building.
Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club at 143 Old Church Street in Chelsea, London with a membership of over 3,800, including artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. The club was established on 21 March 1891, as a rival to the older Arts Club in Mayfair, on the instigation of the artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler, who had been a member of the older club.
The Arts Club is a London private members' club in Dover Street, Mayfair, founded in 1863 by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and Lord Leighton among others. It remains a meeting place for men and women involved in the creative arts either professionally or as patrons.
The Naval and Military Club, known informally as The In & Out, is a private members' club located in St James's Square, London. It was founded in 1862 for officers of the Navy and Army. It now also accepts female members, and members who have not served in the armed forces, but continues to observe service traditions.
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.
St James's Street is the principal street in the district of St James's, central London. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall. The main gatehouse of the Palace is at the southern end of the road; in the 17th century, Clarendon House faced down the street across Piccadilly from the site of what is now Albemarle Street.
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.
Brown's Hotel is a 5-star hotel in Mayfair, London, established in 1837 and owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 3 July 2003. It is considered one of London's oldest existing hotels.
The Bath Club was a sports-themed London gentlemen's club in the 20th century. It was established in 1894 at 34 Dover Street. Its swimming pool was a noted feature, and it is thought that the swimming pool of the fictional Drones Club was based on this. It is also where Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II learned to swim. It was one of the few gentleman's clubs that admitted women. Sir Henry "Chips" Channon was a member. Mark Twain stayed here when he visited London. Guglielmo Marconi stayed here as well when he visited London.
Peter Marlow was a British photographer and photojournalist, and member of Magnum Photos.
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".