| Belgravia | |
|---|---|
 Chester Square, Belgravia, in March 2009 | |
  Belgravia Location withinGreater London | |
| OS grid reference | TQ275795 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | SW1X, SW1W |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°29′53″N0°09′16″W / 51.49795°N 0.15453°W /51.49795; -0.15453 | |
Belgravia (/bɛlˈɡreɪviə/)[1] is adistrict inCentral London,[2] covering parts of the areas of theCity of Westminster and theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during theTudor Period, and became a dangerous place due tohighwaymen and robberies. It was developed in the early 19th century byRichard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster under the direction ofThomas Cubitt, focusing on numerous grand terraces centred onBelgrave Square andEaton Square. Much of Belgravia, known as theGrosvenor Estate, is still owned by a family property company, the Duke of Westminster'sGrosvenor Group, although owing to theLeasehold Reform Act 1967, the estate has been forced to sell manyfreeholds to its former tenants.
The part of Belgravia that lies in theCity of Westminster is a district ofWestminster.
Belgravia is near the former course of theRiver Westbourne, a tributary of theRiver Thames.[3] The area is mostly in theCity of Westminster, with a small part of the western section in theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.[4]
The district lies mostly to the south-west ofBuckingham Palace, and is bounded notionally by Knightsbridge (the road) to the north,Grosvenor Place and Buckingham Palace Road to the east,Pimlico Road to the south,[5] andSloane Street to the west. To the north isHyde Park, to the northeast isMayfair andGreen Park and to the east isWestminster.[6]
The area is mostly residential, the particular exceptions beingBelgrave Square in the centre,Eaton Square to the south, andBuckingham Palace Gardens to the east.[7]
The nearestLondon Underground stations areHyde Park Corner,Knightsbridge andSloane Square.Victoria station, a majorNational Rail, tube and coach interchange, is to the east of the district. Frequent bus services run to all areas of Central London from Grosvenor Place.[8] TheA4, a major road through West London, and theLondon Inner Ring Road run along the boundaries of Belgravia.[6]
The area takes its name from the village ofBelgrave, Cheshire, two miles (3 km) from the Grosvenor family's main country seat ofEaton Hall.[3] One of theDuke of Westminster's subsidiary titles is Viscount Belgrave.[9]
During theMiddle Ages, the area was known as the Five Fields and was a series of fields used for grazing, intersected by footpaths.[3] The Westbourne was crossed by Bloody Bridge, probably called so as it was frequented by robbers and highwaymen, and it was unsafe to cross the fields at night. In 1728, a man's body was discovered by the bridge with half his face and five fingers removed. In 1749, amuffin man was robbed and left blind. Five Fields' distance from London also made it a popular spot forduelling.[10][11]
Despite its reputation for crime and violence, Five Fields was a pleasant area during the daytime, and various market gardens were established. The area began to be built up afterGeorge III moved toBuckingham House and constructed a row of houses on what is nowGrosvenor Place. In 1826,Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster received rights from Parliament to build on land that was to become Belgravia, and came into agreement withThomas Cubitt to design an estate.[11] The construction of the stucco grand terraces took place between 1830 and 1847.[11] Belgravia is characterised by grand terraces of whitestucco houses, and is focused onBelgrave Square andEaton Square. It was one of London's most fashionable residential districts from its beginnings.[12] Towards the late 19th century, Belgravia ranked among other fashionable areas in London such asTyburnia and Mayfair.[13]
AfterWorld War II, some of the largest houses ceased to be used as residences, ortownhouses for the country gentry and aristocracy, and were increasingly occupied by embassies, charity headquarters, professional institutions and other businesses. Belgravia has become a relatively quiet district in the heart of London, contrasting with neighbouring districts, which have far more busy shops, large modern office buildings, hotels and entertainment venues. Many embassies are located in the area, especially inBelgrave Square.[3]
In the early 21st century, some houses are being reconverted to residential use, because offices in old houses are no longer as desirable as they were in the post-war decades, while the number ofsuper-rich in London is at a high level not seen since at least 1939. The average house price in Belgravia, as of March 2010, was £6.6 million,[14] although many houses in Belgravia are among the most expensive anywhere in the world, costing up to £100 million, £4,761 per square foot (£51,000 per m2) as of 2009.[15]
As of 2013, many residential properties in Belgravia were owned by wealthy foreigners who may have other luxury residences in exclusive locations worldwide, so many are temporarily unoccupied as their owners are elsewhere. The increase in land value has been in sharp contrast to the UK average and has left the area empty and isolated.[16]
Belgrave Square, one of the grandest and largest 19th-century squares, is the centrepiece of Belgravia. It was laid out by the property contractorThomas Cubitt for the2nd Earl Grosvenor, later to be the 1st Marquess of Westminster, beginning in 1826. Building was largely complete by the 1840s.[17]
The original scheme consisted of four terraces, each made up of eleven grand white stuccoed houses, apart from the south-east terrace, which had twelve; detached mansions were in three of the corners and there was a private central garden.[3] The numbering is anti-clockwise from the north: NW terrace Nos. 1 to 11, west corner mansion No. 12, SW terrace 13–23, south corner mansion No. 24, SE terrace Nos. 25–36, east corner mansion No. 37, NE terrace Nos. 38–48.[18]
There is also a slightly later detached house at the northern corner, No. 49, which was built by Cubitt forSidney Herbert in 1847.[3] The terraces were designed byGeorge Basevi (cousin ofBenjamin Disraeli). The largest of the corner mansions,Seaford House in the east corner, was designed byPhilip Hardwick, and the one in the west corner was designed byRobert Smirke, completedcirca 1830.[3]
The square contains statues ofChristopher Columbus,Simón Bolívar,José de San Martín,Prince Henry the Navigator, the 1st Marquess of Westminster, a bust of Basevi and a sculpture entitled "Homage to Leonardo, the Vitruvian Man", by Italian sculptorEnzo Plazzotta.[19]
Eaton Square is one of three garden squares built by the Grosvenor family, and is named afterEaton Hall, Cheshire, the family's principal seat. It is longer but less grand than Belgrave Square, and is an elongated rectangle. The first block was laid out by Cubitt in 1826, but the square was not completed until 1855, the year of his death. The long construction period is reflected in the variety of architecture along the square.[20]
The houses in Eaton Square are large, predominantly three bay wide buildings, joined in regular terraces in a classical style, with four or five main storeys, plus attic and basement and amews house behind. The square is one of London's largest and is divided into six compartments by the upper end ofKing's Road (northeast ofSloane Square), a main road, now busy with traffic, that occupies its long axis, and two smaller cross streets.[21]
Although not as fashionable as some of the other squares in London, Eaton Square was home to several key figures.George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster, the illegitimate son ofWilliam IV, lived at No. 13, whileStanley Baldwin andNeville Chamberlain lived at No 93 and No. 37 respectively. Since World War II, Eaton Square has become less residential; the Bolivian Embassy is at No. 106 while the Belgian Embassy is at No. 103.[20]
At the east end of the square isSt Peter's Church. It was designed byHenry Hakewill and built between 1824 and 1827 during the first development of Eaton Square. The first church was destroyed by fire in 1836 and rebuilt by Hakewill, and again in 1987, when it was restored by the Braithwaite Partnership.[21][22] It is aGrade II* listed building, in aGreek revival style featuring a six-columnedIonic portico and a clock tower.[23][22]
Eaton Place is an extension to the square, developed by Cubitt between 1826 and 1845. The scientistWilliam Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin lived here, as did theIrish UnionistEdward Carson.Sir Henry Wilson, 1st Baronet was assassinated by Irish Republicans in 1922 as he was leaving No. 36.[20]
Upper Belgrave Street was constructed in the 1840s to connect King's Road with Belgrave Square.[24] It is a wide one-way residential street with grand white stuccoed buildings. It stretches from the south-east corner of Belgrave Square to the north-east corner of Eaton Square. Most of the houses have now been divided into flats and achieve sale prices as high as £3,500 per square foot. Many of the buildings were constructed by Cubitt in the 1820s and 1830s.[citation needed]
Walter Bagehot, a writer, banker and economist, lived at No. 12 during the 1860s.Alfred, Lord Tennyson lived at No 9 in 1880–1881.John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan lived at No. 46, and disappeared without trace from there in 1974 after his children's nanny was found murdered.[24]
Hope Portocarrero, the wife ofAnastasio Somoza, a Nicaraguan dictator, lived at number 35.[25]
Chester Square is a smaller, residential garden square, the last of the three garden squares built by the Grosvenor family. It is named after the city ofChester, near Eaton Hall. Members of the family also served asMembers of Parliament (MPs) forChester.[26] The garden, just under 1.5 acres (6,100 m2) in size, is planted with shrubs and herbaceous borders. It was refurbished in 1997, to the layout that appears in theOrdnance Survey map of 1867. Past residents include the poetMatthew Arnold (1822–88) at No. 2,Mary Shelley (1797–1851) at No. 24,John Liddell (1794–1868) at No. 72,Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) at No. 73, and QueenWilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880–1962) resided at No. 77 from 1940 until 1945.[27][28]
Wilton Crescent was created byThomas Cundy II, theGrosvenor family estate surveyor, and was drawn up with the original 1821 Wyatt plan for Belgravia.[29] It is named after the 2ndEarl of Wilton, second son of the 1st Marquess of Westminster. The street was built in 1827 by William Howard Seth-Smith.[30]
In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was home to many prominent British politicians, ambassadors and civil servants.Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma lived at No. 2 for many years andAlfonso López Pumarejo, twicePresident of Colombia, lived and died at No. 33 (which is marked by ablue plaque).[30][31]
Like much of Belgravia, Wilton Crescent has grand terraces with lavish white houses which are built in a crescent shape, many of them with stuccoed balconies, particularly in the southern part of the crescent. The houses to the north of the crescent are stone clad, and five storeys high, and were refaced between 1908 and 1912. Most of the houses had originally been built in the stucco style, but such houses became stone clad during this renovation period. Other houses today have black iron balconies.
Wilton Crescent lies east ofLowndes Square and Lowndes Street, to the northwest ofBelgrave Square. It is accessed viaWilton Place, constructed in 1825 to connect it toKnightsbridge.[30] It is adjacent toGrosvenor Crescent to the east, which contains the Indonesian Embassy. Further to the east liesBuckingham Palace. The playMajor Barbara is partly set at Lady Britomart's house in Wilton Crescent. In 2007, Wilton Garden, in the middle of the crescent, was awarded a bronze medal by the London Gardens Society.
Lowndes Square is named after theSecretary to the TreasuryWilliam Lowndes.[32] Like much of Belgravia, it has grand terraces with white stucco houses. To the east lie Wilton Crescent and Belgrave Square. The square runs parallel withSloane Street to the east, east of theHarvey Nichols department store andKnightsbridge Underground station. It has some of the most expensive properties in the world. Russian businessmanRoman Abramovich bought two stucco houses in Lowndes Square in 2008. The merged houses, with a total of eight bedrooms, are expected to be worth £150 million, which exceeds the value of the previous most expensive house in London.[33]
George Basevi designed many of the houses in the square.Mick Jagger andJames Fox once filmed inLeonard Plugge's house in Lowndes Square. The square was used as a setting for theEdward Frederic Benson novelThe Countess of Lowndes Square.[34]
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The novels ofAnthony Trollope (1815–1882):The Way We Live Now,Phineas Finn,Phineas Redux,The Prime Minister, andThe Duke's Children all give accurate descriptions of 19th-century Belgravia.
Flunkeyania or Belgravian Morals, written under the pseudonym "Chawles", was one of the novels serialised inThe Pearl, an allegedly pornographicVictorian magazine.[35]
A 1967 episode of the television seriesBatman is set in Belgravia.[36]
In the popular British television seriesUpstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975), the scene is set in the household of Richard Bellamy (later 1st Viscount Bellamy of Haversham) at 165 Eaton Place, Belgravia (65 Eaton Place was used for exterior shots; a "1" was painted in front of the house number).[37] It depicts the lives of the Bellamys and their staff ofdomestic servants in the years 1903–1930, as they experience the tumultuous events of theEdwardian era, World War I and the postwar 1920s, culminating with thestock market crash of 1929, which ends the world they had known. In 2010, filming began on a mini-series intended to pick up the story of one of the main characters,Rose Buck, in 1936, as she returns to 165 Eaton Place to serve as the Holland family'shousekeeper.
The first episode of the second series of the television programmeSherlock is "A Scandal in Belgravia", loosely based on theArthur Conan Doyle short story "A Scandal in Bohemia".[38] Moreover, Conan Doyle's friend and literary collaborator,Bertram Fletcher Robinson, died in Belgravia in 1907.
The Princess Switch, a 2018 Netflix original movie starringVanessa Hudgens, takes place largely in the fictional kingdom of Belgravia.[39]
Belgravia is a period television series, broadcast in 2020, based on a novel of the same name byJulian Fellowes, published in 2016, which Fellowes himself adapted for the series.
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