Part 14 - Marble Arch to Hyde Park Corner - (2.6 Km) - Across London Visual Marathon
- philip carey
- Jan 26, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: May 28, 2024
Start at Baker Street Station
Finish at Marble Arch Street Station
THE EXPERIENCE
A Trip Around West Mayfair From Top to Bottom.
This route travels across Mayfair from Marble Arch, on Oxford Street, to Hyde Park Corner at the end of Piccadilly. Mayfair is famous for its affluent residents, luxury and high-end shopping streets, Georgian and Victorian architecture, great restaurants and bars, art galleries, garden squares and exclusive members-only clubs. On its western edge is central London’s largest Royal Park - Hype Park, on its eastern side the luxury shops of Bond Street and Regent Street, and to its South Green Park and Buckingham Palace.
Great for history, iconic sights, parks and gardens, squares, luxury shops, casinos, hotels, private clubs, parks and gardens, war memorials, and places to eat, drink and be merry.
MUST SEE PLACES
What to See List
1 Marble Arch
2 Animals in War Memorial
3 Mayfair – Mount Street
4 Park Lane and the Dorchester Hotel
5 Berkeley Square
6 Shepherd Market
7 Green Park
8 Buckingham Palace
9 Hyde Park Corner
10 Belgravia
11 Hyde Park – Rose Garden & Serpentine
Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Although several places to eat and drink are available along this route, the main centres are Mount Street, south of Berkeley Square, Shepherd Market, and around Hamilton Place by Hyde Park Corner.
BEST TIME
Morning - This will be fairly quiet along most of the route but the roads may be busy. The best time is early morning when the lighting is at its best, and few people are around.
Day - This route will get busier during the day, especially around Shepherd Market
Evenings - Generally quieter in most places but fairly busy on Mount Street and Shepherd Market.
ROUTE OVERVIEW
This 2.6 Km route (the final part of the Across London Visual Marathon) takes you from Marble Arch to Hyde Park Corner via Mayfair. It starts outside Marble Arch and heads into Hyde Park for a short distance before turning left across Park Lane past the thought-provoking Animals in War Memorial. It turns right down Park Lane with its luxury hotels before turning off into the heart of Mayfair via Mount Street and its luxury shops and restaurants. It then makes it way down Berkeley Square and along Chester Street before diving into Shepherds Market with its many restaurants and pubs before popping out on Piccadilly. The final section crosses over into Green Park and makes its way towards the centre of Hyde Park Corner, through Wellington Arch and finishing up by the war memorials.
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DESCRIPTIVE PHOTO GALLERY
This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Use the Google Map above to find their location. Double-click to see the image in full size.
HISTORY & INTERESTING FACTS
Around Park Lane
Speakers Corner
In 1872, an act of parliament set aside the small area on the north-eastern side of Hyde Park, by Park Lane (Marble Arch end), for public speaking.
Historical figures such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and George Orwell often used the area to demonstrate their right to free speech.
Even today, on a Sunday morning, it's not unusual to find crowds gathering at Speakers' Corner to listen to enthusiasts expounding their views. Anyone can turn up unannounced to speak on any subject as long as the police consider their speeches lawful.
Animals in War Memorial
The Animals in War Memorial on Park Lane commemorates the countless animals that have served and died under British military command throughout history. It was designed by English sculptor David Backhouse and unveiled in 2004 by Anne, Princess Royal. It consists of a curved Portland stone wall with images of various struggling animals, two heavily laden bronze mules progressing up the monument's stairs, and a bronze horse and bronze dog looking into the distance.
JW Marriott Grosvenor House
The JW Marriott Grosvenor House seen here was initially named the Grosvenor House Hotel when it opened as a luxury hotel in 1929 on Park Lane. Its five-star Great Room and Ballrooms are one of the largest in Europe and can accommodate up to 2,000 delegates. The Great Room was originally built as an ice rink, and in 1933, Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II, learnt to skate at the hotel when she was seven years old. It was also used for international ice hockey matches.
Park Lane
Park Lane is about 1.1 km long and runs north from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch, along the eastern flank of Hyde Park.
In the 18th century, a simple country lane called Tyburn Lane was on the boundary of Hyde Park, separated by a brick wall. Aristocratic properties appeared during the late 18th century, including Breadal-bane House, Somerset House, and Londonderry House. The road grew in popularity during the 19th century after improvements to Hyde Park Corner and more affordable views of the park, which attracted the nouveau richer to the street and made it one of the most fashionable roads to live on in London.
Marble Arch
This triumphal arch with marble facing resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and the Arch of Constantine in Rome. It was designed in 1827 for Buckingham Palace and was initially positioned where the palace balcony is today. It was moved to its current location when Buckingham Palace was redesigned in 1851. It has been in its gardens since 1964 and contains three small rooms, which were initially built as police stations.
Central Mayfair
South Audley Street takes its name from Hugh Audley, who built up the area. Property started to appear in 1720. In general, the smaller buildings were built to the north and the larger ones to the south. One of which was Chesterfield House, which was built in 1752 by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, a statesman and man of letters. Chesterfield House was demolished in 1937.
Leconfield House is at the corner of South Audley Street and Curzon Street and is best known for being the former headquarters of MI5 until it moved Thames House by Lambeth Bridge in 1969.
The church shown opposite is Grosvenor Chapel. It dates from 1730, and its famous organ dates from 1730. Its proximity to the old American Embassy in Grosvenor Square meant that the men and women of the American armed forces used it for Sunday services during the Second World War.
Thomas Goode is known for its tableware, and Thomas Goode holds three Royal Warrants. If you look in the windows of this shop, you'll see two giant ele-phants that are over seven feet tall. These date back to the Paris Exhibition in 1889 where Thomas Goode displayed them.
James Purdey and Sons specialises in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles. They, too, hold three Royal Warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal families. Queen Victoria is recorded as having bought a pair of Purdey pistols in 1838
Mount Street in Mayfair is one of London’s most luxurious shopping destinations for designer fashion and boutiques. There is also the Connaught Hotel, Mount Street Gardens and plenty of places to dine in style. At the western end by South Audley Street, there is The Audley, a traditional neighbourhood pub, and across the road, the British gunmaker James Purdey & Sons, who specialise in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles. Queen Victoria is recorded as having bought a pair of Purdey pistols in 1838.
The Connaught is a five-star hotel that was built in 1897 in the heart of Mayfair. It was initially called the Prince of Saxe Coburg Hotel, but in 1917, because of the war with Germany, they decided to rename it after Queen Victoria's third son, Prince Arthur the first Duke of Connaught – Connaught, now spelt Connacht, being one of the four provinces of Ireland. The Hotel's proximity to the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square meant that it was popular with American visitors, as well as being a favourite rendezvous for Edward VII as well as Alec Guinness. The hotel is owned by the Mak Group, which also owns Claridge's. The hotel is on Mount Street, which stretches from Berkeley Square to the Grosvenor Hotel near Hyde Park.
Mount Street Gardens, designed by Ernest George and Harold Peto, was laid out in 1889 with plants, paths, and a small fountain. It was initially named Mount Field, after the English Civil War fortifications called Oliver's Mount that were set up here.
The garden features a bronze-topped fountain from the 19th century, gate piers made of Portland stone, trees from north and southeast China, and a host of nesting birds. There are two churches, the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception and the neighbouring Grosvenor Chapel. There are also around 90 sponsored benches lining the paths, almost all of which were donated by Americans due to the proximity of the US Embassy.
Berkeley Square
We have John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton. to thank for Berkeley Square. The square was originally at the bottom of his large garden within Berkeley House on Piccadilly, and he loved the view. In 1696, when John Berkeley sold the house to the Duke of Devonshire, he stipulated that no buildings were to be built that would obscure the view from the newly named Devonshire House all the way up to Mount Street – a ruling that lasted for over 200 years.
Today, the left-hand side of the square still preserves the old townhouses, but unfortunately, there's only one which is still residential. On the right, the original buildings have been replaced and turned into offices, restaurants and a big Bentley car showroom, but it is still a very pleasant street to walk down.
The 30 enormous London Plane trees you see here were planted in the late 18th century.
Around Shepherd Market
Shepherd Market and Mayfair
Mayfair is named after the fifteen-day fair that took place on the site where Shepherd Market stands today. Edward Shepherd first built the market in 1746 to help gentrify the area.
During the 1920s, Shepherd Market was an ultra-fashionable address for some of London’s most refined inhabitants. In the 1980’s it was known for high-class prostitution, and today, it is known as a great place to eat and drink.
The Ye Grape pub was built later in 1882 and has experienced many changes over the years.
Hertford Street
Hertford Street runs between Old Park Lane at its western end to Curzon Street at its north-east end. This is its junction with Shepherd Street.
In 1880, the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers was established at 38 Hertford Street to promote original etching as a creative art form. This building was later used as the London studios of Radio Luxembourg from 1952 until 1990.
Notable businesses include 5 Hertford Street, a private members' club described in 2017 as London's most secretive club. The club has attracted visits from Harry Styles, Margot Robbie, Mick Jagger, George and Amal Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Princess Eugenie.
The Embassy of Thailand has its Commercial Attaché at 11 Hertford Street, the Embassy of Qatar has its Cultural and Military Section at 21 Hertford Street, and the Embassy of Panama is at 40 Hertford Street.
Around Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
During the second half of the 1820s, the Commissioners of Woods and Forests and the King resolved that Hyde Park and the area around it must be renovated so that they resemble rival European capital cities and complement the triumphal approach to Buckingham Palace, which had recently been completed.
Decimus Burton was chosen as the architect, and his design included the neo-classical Constitution Arch, ‘England’s answer to the Arc de Triomphe’. However, it is somewhat smaller than its Parisian counterpart.
Wellington Arch
The Wellington Arch and Marble Arch were planned in 1825 by George IV to commemorate Britain’s victories in the Napoleonic Wars and would be sited in front of Buckingham Palace. However, with the planned redesign of Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park Corner becoming the unofficial western entrance to Lond
on, Wellington Arch was re-sited and positioned as a grand triumphal archway into London. It is crowned by the largest bronze sculpture in Europe, ‘Quadriga’ – The Angel of Peace descending on a four-horsed chariot of War ridden by the Goddess of Victory, Nile.
Number One London – Apsley House
The house was built on the south side of Hyde Park in 1778 for Lord Apsley. As the house was the first one on the north side of Piccadilly, it became known as ‘Number 1, London’ because, at the time, it was the first house you came to once you entered London from the west. Apsley House became the home of the first Duke of Wellington in 1817 and has changed very little since then. It has one of the finest private art collections in London, which includes paintings by Rubens and a wonderful collection of silver and porcelain.
The Commonwealth Memorial Gates
The Commonwealth Memorial Gates are located at the Hyde Park Corner at the end of Constitution Hill. It commemorated the British Empire's armed forces on the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), Africa, and the Caribbean, which served Britain in the First and Second World Wars. The memorial was inaugurated in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II. It also records those who were awarded the George Cross or Victoria Cross in the two World Wars. The 74 names are listed on the ceiling of the small domed pavilion.
Royal Artillery Memorial
This is a First World War memorial located on Hyde Park Corner. It was designed by Charles Sargeant Jagger and was unveiled in 1925. Jagger was himself an ex-soldier who had been wounded in the war. The memorial commemorates the 49,076 soldiers from the Royal Artillery killed in the First World War. At the end of each arm of the cross is a sculpture of a soldier—an officer at the front (south side), a shell carrier on the east side, a driver on the west side, and a dead soldier at the rear (north).
VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA
Click on the picture below to go on a 360 virtual tour of the shopping areas and look around.
Use the route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.
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