Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

History

Mayfair was mainly open fields until development started in the Shepherd Market area around 1686 to accommodate the May Fair that had moved from Haymarket, London in St James's. There were some buildings prior to 1686 – a cottage in Stanhope Row, dating from 1618, was destroyed in the Blitz in late 1940, [http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/leisureandculture/greenplaques/ City of Westminster green plaques] though there is no evidence of meaningful habitation or building prior to 1686. There has been speculation that the Romans settled in the area before establishing Londinium. A theory has been proposed since the 1950s that Aulus Plautius set up a fort near the junction of Park Street and Oxford Street during the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43 while waiting for Claudius; the theory was more fully developed in 1993, with a proposal that around the fort a Roman town formed, which was later abandoned as being too far from the Thames. The proposal has been disputed due to lack of archaeological evidence. If there was a fort, it is believed the perimeter would have been where the modern roads Green Street, North Audley Street, Upper Grosvenor Street and Park Lane, London now are, and that Park Street would have been the main road through the centre.

Mayfair was part of the parish of St Martin in the Fields (parish). It is named after the annual fortnight-long ''May Fair'' that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market. The fair was previously held in Haymarket (London); it moved in 1764 to Fair Field in Bow, London in the East End of London, after complaints from the residents.

Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet married Mary Davis, heiress to part of the Manor of Ebury, in 1677; the Grosvenor family gained 40 hectares (100 acres) of Mayfair.{{cite web|title=grosvenor plc web-site
|url=http://www.grosvenorlondon.com/Documents/Walking_in_Mayfair.pdf|accessdate=22 July 2012}} Most of the Mayfair area was built during the mid 17th century to mid 18th century as a fashionable residential district, by a number of landlords, the most important of them being the Grosvenor family, which in 1874 became the Duke of Westminster. In 1724 Mayfair became part of the new parish of St George Hanover Square, which stretched to Bond Street in the south part of Mayfair and almost to Regent Street north of Conduit Street. The northern boundary was Oxford Street and the southern boundary fell short of Piccadilly. The parish continued west of Mayfair into Hyde Park and then south to include Belgravia and other areas.
http://www.londontourguide.org.uk/walking-tours.htm In the 19th century the Rothschild family bought up large areas of Mayfair. The fee simple of a large section of Mayfair also belongs to the Crown Estate.

The district is now mainly commercial, with many offices in converted houses and new buildings, including major corporate headquarters, a concentration of hedge funds, real estate businesses and many different embassy offices, namely the large US consulate taking up all the west side of Grosvenor Square.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Embassy,_London Rents are among the highest in London and the world. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and London's largest concentration of luxury Hotels in London and many restaurants. Buildings in Mayfair include both the Canadian High Commission and the United States embassy in Grosvenor Square, the Royal Academy of Arts, The Handel House Museum, the Grosvenor House Hotel, Claridge's and The Dorchester. Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

Economy

The Egyptian Education Bureau is in Chesterfield Gardens. EasyGroup's head office is in Mayfair."[http://www.easy.com/about-us.html About Us]." EasyGroup. Retrieved 10 March 2010.

Cadbury plc's head office was formerly in Mayfair. In 2007, Cadbury Schweppes announced that it was moving to Uxbridge, London Borough of Hillingdon, to cut costs.Muspratt, Caroline. "[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2809823/Cadbury-swaps-Mayfair-for-Uxbridge.html Cadbury swaps Mayfair for Uxbridge]." ''The Daily Telegraph''. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.

Mayfair includes a range of exclusive shops, hotels, restaurants and clubs. Just alongside Burlington House is one of London's most luxurious shopping areas, the Burlington Arcade, which has housed shops under its glass-roofed promenade since 1819."[http://www.mayfair-london.co.uk/about_myfair.php]." Mayfair-London.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2010. Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

Geography

The Mayfair area mainly consists of the historical estate of Grosvenor Group, along with the estates of Albemarle Street, Berkeley Square, Burlington Estate, and Curzon Street; it is bordered on the west by Park Lane, London, north by Oxford Street, east by Regent Street, and the south by Piccadilly.

{{Geographic Location
|title = '''Neighbouring areas of London'''
|Northwest = Paddington
|North = Marylebone
|Northeast = Fitzrovia
|West = Hyde Park, London
|Centre = Mayfair
|East = Soho
|Southwest = Knightsbridge
|South = St James's, London
|Southeast = Chinatown, London
}} Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

Transport

While there are no London Underground stations inside Mayfair, there are several on the boundary: Marble Arch tube station, Bond Street tube station and Oxford Circus tube station along Oxford Street on the northern boundary; Piccadilly Circus tube station and Green Park tube station along Piccadilly on the southern boundary, with Hyde Park Corner tube station close by in Knightsbridge. Down Street tube station is in the area, but was closed in 1932; it was used during the Second World War by the Emergency Railway Committee, and briefly by Winston Churchill and the war cabinet while waiting for the Churchill War Rooms to be ready. While there is only one bus route in Mayfair itself, the 24 hour route London Buses route C2, there are many bus routes along the perimeter roads, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly, and Park Lane. Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

Museums

*Handel House Museum Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

See also

*A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
*Mount Street Gardens
*The Punch Bowl, Mayfair
*Allens of Mayfair Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

References

Mayfair is an area of central London, by the east edge of Hyde Park, London, in the City of Westminster. The district is now mainly commercial, with many former homes converted into offices for major corporations headquarters, embassy, and also hedge funds and real estate businesses. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and restaurants, as well as London's largest concentration of five star hotels. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that, from 1686 to 1764, took place on the site that is Shepherd Market.

External links

*[http://www.mayfair-london.co.uk Business directory], mayfair-london.co.uk




Category:Mayfair
Category:Districts of the City of Westminster