An interesting guide around Mayfair ...

Andrew Davies

On a fair May day, we met friend of TASHL, Andrew Davies, to guide us through Mayfair.

The name, he tells us originates from the fair held in those parts in the month of May. The noisy, smelly fair was kicked out when the area was gentrified. The upmarket original West Enders, the Grosvenor family, kept the name “Mayfair” to replace the original place moniker of Tyburn Swamps. The river Tyburn runs under Green Park and of course the infamous Tyburn gallows were at the present Marble Arch.

Grosvenor Chapel

White stucco house

The Audley

We set off from Green Park, stopping at the Christian Science Church and then following the wide streets of terra cotta apartments and white stucco mansion houses.  The atmosphere is of discreet activity and as we pass mews passages and pillared entrances, it’s impossible not to get a whiff of money both past and present.

Those affluent early residents needed beautiful churches in which to worship, notably “Farm Street Church” or Church of the Immaculate Conception. Our visit coincided with Ascension Day and we rested a while there as they prepared for a service in this most glorious place.

Later we would stop by Grosvenor Chapel, equally enchanting, in it’s quiet and simple beauty.

The Audleycharm pubs still sit amongst the high-end shops and apartments. A pub to note for us was “I am the Only Running Footman” a tribute to the footman who would run ahead to pay tolls and make a clear and pleasant route for his master.

Also, The Coach and Horses pub sitting close to the many mews houses which would have been stables in the days of carriages. It’s thought the word “mews” comes from “moult” as falcons were kept in these locations

when moulting.

We travellers on foot lunched at The Audley pub, an elegant Victorian building with an original interior.

Onwards from there through the most pleasing of roads and avenues, mostly tree lined and fringed with quality abodes, hotels and shops. It was window shopping only sadly.

US Embassyhe architecture is anchored in those early Georgian developments but liberally interspersed with a wide variety of styles spanning the centuries and our recent decades. Famously the American Embassy (as was) in elegant Grosvenor Square is a prime example.

The rather mundane Hilton Hotel towers over one end of Park Lane but we were more interested in stone memorial sited on the central reservation. This is the “Animals at War” memorial and it is dedicated to animals who suffered and gave their lives in human conflicts. It’s a sobering and reflective space as the traffic roars by.

Andrew tells us that this was the idea of the late Jilly Cooper. The engravings tell us that it has been widely supported by a huge range of people and organisations. The monument is beautifully carved and one to be walked through and around, taking in the skill of the sculptor, David Backhouse.

Animals at war

Animals at war

A meander took us to Berkley Square, home to the famous Annabels nightclub and the Clermont Club Casino, discreetly housed within the Georgian houses bordering one side the square. At the far end the relentless renewing of Mayfair continues, attracting new money from around the globe

Returning to Green Park station we had experienced something of Mayfair today and learned about it’s interesting past.

Arty road

Window shopping

Terracotta buildings

Police box