 The
Streets
Piccadilly
Piccadilly follows the line of one of the ancient highways leading west
out of the city. The other is Oxford Street. The name comes from a successful
tailor who made picadils, a kind of stiff collar. In 1612
he built a house in the area, of Great Windmill Street, which was nicknamed
Piccadilly Hall. After the restoration Piccadilly was given the name Portugal
Street, in honour of Charles 2 wife Catherine of Braganza, but it did
not stick. From 1760 onwards
the area became built up, with elegant houses. Some of the more well know
residence include, Sir William and his wife Emma Hamilton, who was Nelsons
mistress live at 99 from 1800-1803,
Byron lived at 139 in 1815, Nathan
Rothschild live at 126 from 1825
onward. Dorothy Sayers, gave her hero Lord Peter Wimsey a flat at 110A.
Nowadays the street is full of shops and hotels including the Ritz
 From
the Piccadilly Circus
end, heading west. On the north side runs Sackville Street which
was laid out in 1670, has many
Georgian houses. Dr. John Snow, who discovered that cholera is water born,
lived here. Further along Piccadilly comes Albany, the house was built
in 1770. In 1802
it was converted to bachelor chambers, among the residents were George
Canning, Byron, Palmerstone, Huxley, Fox Talbot, Rattigan, Armstrong-Jones,
Muggeridge, Edith Evans, Priestly, Greene, Lord Clark, Heath, Isaiah Berlin,
Stamp, and Gladstone.
 Next
door is Burlington House, the home of the Royal Academy of Arts. This
is the only survivor of the great houses that used to stand along the
street. The house was first built in 1664,
but it is much changed since. On entering through the archway, the building
on the north side is Old Burlington House, which dates from 1715.
 Further
along is Burlington Arcade. This was the first such shopping arcade in
England. It was built in 1819.
The original reason for the building was to prevent people from throwing
oyster shells into the gardens of the house. It is patrolled by Beadles
who are all ex-members of the 10th Hussars.
 Further
along is Old Bond Street.
This is one of London's finest shopping streets. Some of the more famous
residents of the street include Pitt the elder, and at 147 Nelson. Old
Bond Street leads onto Bond Street. Behind Bond Street there are a series
of attractive yards. One of the prettiest is Horse Shoe Yard leading off
Brook Street.
Dover Street
leads onto Grafton Street
. In Dover street there are some houses dating from the 1770's, while
15a in Grafton Street was the home of Henry Irving.
At number 94 in Piccadilly, Lord Palmerstone used to live from 1855
until his death in 1865.
 The
street ends at Wellington Place, more commonly know as Hyde Park Corner.
When Knightsbridges was still a small village this used to be the site
of the toll gate for entry into London. In 1820
the Constitution Arch was built, it is better known as Wellington Arch.
By the arch are memorials to the Duke of Wellington, the Machine Gun Corps
and the Royal Artillery.
On the north side of Wellington Place is Apsley House, number 1 London.
This was the home of the Duke of Wellington. The house was built in 1771-8
by Robert Adam. Next to the house is a screen built in 1828
by Decimus Burton. It was bought by the Duke of Wellington in 1817.
The building now houses the Wellington Museum.
 Park
Lane
Park Lane runs from Hyde Park Corner up to Marble Arch. Until the mid
18th century it was a narrow street with a high brick wall on one side
enclosing the park.
 The
Hyde Park Corner area used to the site of a toll gate marking the western
entry into London. In 1883 as
part of the Buckingham Palace rebuilding, Constitution Arch was built.
The arch was originally build near Apsley House, with a status of Wellington
on top of it. It was known as Wellington Arch and later Green Park Arch.
In 1883 the arch was moved to
its present site at the top of Constitution Hill and the status on top
was replaced with one of the "Quadriga". It's official named
was changed to Constitution Arch, but most Londoners still refer to it
as Wellington Arch. Opposite Apsley House is the Wellington Memorial.
Further along Park Lane is the London Hilton. It is 300 feet high, and
was the cause of much controversy when it was built in 1963,
as from the top you could see into the grounds of Buckingham Palace. There
are a series of grand hotels along this street. Number 93 used to be the
home of Disraeli.
 Curzon
Street lead to Berkeley Square. For a long time this was the most fashionable
street in London, but now it is mainly commercial, but some old houses
remain. At 19 Disraeli died. Crew house was built in 1735.
Somerset Maugham live at number 6 Chesterfield Street. In Charles Street
there are some fine old houses. To the south of Curzon Street is Shepherds
Market, a "village" of narrow streets and alleys.
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is nowadays the busiest shopping street in London. The
street runs from Marble Arch to St. Giles Circus, but in reality it is
just part of the major east west connection crossing London, which probably
predates Roman times.
Marble Arch was was built in 1828
by John Nash. It's original site was outside Buckingham Palace, but the
story goes that the central gate was not wide enough for the royal coach.
In 1851 it was moved to it's
current location. In 1960 the
site became an traffic island. Just inside Hyde Park is Speaker Corner,
by tradition anybody may talk about anything, provided it is not obscene
or blasphemous or constitutes an incitement to a breach of the peace.
 Towards
the Marble Arch end of the street at the junction of Edgware Road and
Bayswater Road is the site of the Tyburn Gallows. A stone in a traffic
island marks the spot. This was the principle place of execution from
1388 to 1783.
On the north side of Oxford street stands Selfridges, the largest department
store in London. The store was founded in 1909
by H Gordon Selfrigde, an American businessman.
Regent Street
Regent St is one of the most famous shopping streets in the world. It
was laid out in 1813-25 by John
Nash, as part of the scheme to connect the Prince Regent's houses on the
Mall and Regents Park. A secondary aim of the scheme was to increase the
value of property in the area around the street, most of which was and
is owned by the crowd, by improving access. The street runs from Waterloo
Place, at the junction with Pall Mall, up to Piccadilly Circus, this section
is Lower Regent Street. At Piccadilly the road turns sharp left and arches
up to Oxford Circus where it crosses Oxford Street and continues up to
Langham Place. Nash's original buildings had a sweep of colonnades of
cast iron, none of the these buildings remain.
 Vigo
Street, which is named after the navel victory in Vigo bay, leads on to
the junction of Savile Row, Burlington Gardens and the rear entrance to
the Albany. Savile Row is now famous for its tailors, but until the mid
19 century it was mainly a residential street. Many of the original buildings
are still standing. The street was originally laid out in 1730.
The dramatist Sheridan lived at 14, and Dr Livingstone was laid in state
at number 1. In Clifford Street there are some very nice houses from 1720.
Savile Row ends at Conduit Street. Number 9 dates from 1799
and has one of the earliest stucco fronts in London.
The Squares
Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square was laid out in 1739-47,
it was named after Berkeley House that used to stand on the site. It used
to be one of the most aristocratic place in London, but it is now mainly
office blocks. There are still some very fine old houses in the south
west corner. Queen Elizabeth 2 was born here Clive of India killed himself
in 45 in 1774 and Canning lived
at 50.
 Grosvenor
Square
This square was laid out in 1725-31.
As with the rest of the area most of the original houses have been replaced
by office blocks. At number 9 the future US president, John Adams used
to live. Other former residence include, Marquise of Rochingham (Prime
Minister), Lady Cunard, Henry Addington (Prime Minister), John Pierpont
Morgan Jnr, and the Duke of Grafton (Prime Minister).
 On
South Audley Street stands Grosvenor Chapel, which was built 1730.
Behind it is St. George's Garden, a pretty green area surrounded by buildings.
Hanover Square
The square was laid out in 1717,
but as with the other little of the original remains. At the south end
of the square stands a statue of William Pitt the Younger.
Further south on St. Georges Street is the church of St. George Hanover
Square. It was built in 1713-24
by a follower of Wren. The church has seen many celebrity weddings, including
Emma Hamilton, Disraeli, J. W. Cross, Mary Ann Evans ("George Eliot"),
Theodore Roosevelt, Asquith, and Shelley
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