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Hanover Square is agreen square inMayfair,Westminster, south west ofOxford Circus whereOxford Street meetsRegent Street. Six streets converge on the square which include Harewood Place with links toOxford Street, Princes Street, Hanover Street, Saint George Street,Brook Street and Tenderden Street, linking toBond Street and Oxford Street.[1]
Development of the land that would become Hanover Square began shortly after the accession of theElector of Hanover asKing George I in 1714. The land was owned byRichard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, who was a soldier and statesman best known for his role in theGlorious Revolution. He sold off numerous plots for the building of upmarket town houses and villas.
In honour of the coronation of the new English king, the area was named Hanover Square.[1] This reflected the century-long Whig Ascendancy because its name echoed the staunch and predominant support among the British Establishment towards theHanoverian succession of 1714, and theAct of Settlement 1701 that permanently codified the exclusion of Catholics from the English throne. "Early Hanover Square was decidedlyWhig and most decidedly military", commented architectural historian SirJohn Summerson.
Some early residents of Hanover Square included GeneralsEarl Cadogan,Sir Charles Wills, Stewart, Evans,Lord Carpenter,Hamish Smith and John Pepper, "names conspicuously associated with episodes inMarlborough’s war and the 'Fifteen'."[2][3]
Theparish church ofSt George's, Hanover Square, is 100 metres south of the square (co-fronting Saint George and Maddox Streets), built on land given byWilliam Steuart. In 1759James Abercrombie, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America during theFrench and Indian War, resided in St George Street.[4] Merged or subdivided buildings in many cases, their numbering scheme remains since the early 19th century and is Nos. 1 to 25, consecutively.
In 1831, astatue ofWilliam Pitt the Younger was erected at the southern end of the square.
While a few of the 18th-century houses remain largely intact, most houses have been replacements of later periods. It is now predominantly occupied by offices, including the London office ofVogue.
In the 2010s, the north west corner of the square was removed and rebuilt as part of theCrossrail project. A newBond Street entrance for theElizabeth line was built, with commercial office space in a new building above.[5]
This was among the prestigious streets of the socialite elite of the capital in the 19th century, and increasingly national institutions and corporate headquarters. These included:
Media related toHanover Square, London at Wikimedia Commons51°30′50″N0°8′39″W / 51.51389°N 0.14417°W /51.51389; -0.14417
