’
Playground of the rich and famous, this historic and regal pocket of London, once home to the first Duke of Wellington, today boasts five-star hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and shopping
emporia Harvey Nichols and Harrods
WORDS PAT MOORE
misty marshland, his neighbours footpads, fishermen and ducks. However, in 1826 Lord Grosvenor got permission to drain the site, raise the level and put in a firm base of gravel. He hired the great building entrepreneur Thomas Cubitt to transform it and, by 1831, Belgravia – Grosvenor was also Viscount Belgrave – was one of London’s smart new suburbs, rivalling St James’s to the east and Mayfair north of (the now) Buckingham Palace. The footpads – and the ducks – fled to unfenced and insalubrious Hyde Park just across the road. Undaunted by the park’s proximity, the beau
monde moved in, eager to be near the palace and live in one of Cubitt’s beautiful classical style houses. As the houses were built of ugly, grey brick
h en George IV decided to rebuild Buckingham House as his official residence in 1824, the
countryside westwards was
made from the drained clay, the architect had the bright idea of coating them with stucco. The whole area became a symphony in cream, with elegant tree-filled squares adding colour. Matching mews were built for servants’ quarters and stables. Little pubs and shops sprang up. Foreigners came “to see how the English manage to be so rich and comfort- able.” “The streets smell of perfume and cigars,” wrote an inhabitant. With a hint of horse, perhaps? Today’s Belgravia is elegant, its inhabitants
Left: The Wellington Arch
commemorates Britain's victories in the Napoleonic Wars. Above: Luxury shop, Rococo Chocolates
everyone from foreign ambassadors to dukes, dowagers and the plain wealthy. Even the tiny mews houses over former stables are much sought after. It’s a joy to wander round the area, peering under arches to find tubs of flowers on the cobbles next to the Bentley and geraniums cascading down façades. One of my favourite mews is narrow, winding Wilton Row, a five-minute walk from Hyde Park Corner and once the site of
BRITAIN 49
PHOTO: ENGLISH HERITAGE PHOTO LIBRARY
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