Mayfair

Mayfair
OS grid reference	TQ285805
London borough	Westminster
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	W1
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Cities of London and Westminster
London Assembly	West Central
European Parliament	London
List of places: UK • England • London

Coordinates: 51°′″N 0°′″W / 51.508755, -0.14743

Mayfair is an area of central London in the City of Westminster.

History

Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place there from 1686 until it was banned in that location in 1764. Until 1686, the May Fair was held in Haymarket, and after 1764, it moved to Fair Field in Bow.

Mayfair is roughly bordered by Hyde Park to the west, Oxford Street to the north, Piccadilly and Green Park to the south and Regent Street to the east. Most of the area was first developed between the mid 17th century and the mid 18th century as a fashionable residential district, by a number of landlords, the most important of them the Grosvenor family. The freehold 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, and real estate businesses. 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 and many restaurants. Buildings in Mayfair include the United States embassy in Grosvenor Square, the Royal Academy of Arts, The Handel House Museum, the Grosvenor House Hotel and Claridge's.

Education

For education in Mayfair see the main City of Westminster article.

Mayfair itself is named after the infamous fifteen-day fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today, and which was banned in 1708 due to the fair’s revellers’ relentless boisterousness and disorder. A local architect and developer (Edward Shepherd), was commissioned to develop the site after the banning of the fair, and it was completed in the mid 18th century, with paved alleys, a duck pond, and a two-storey market, topped with a theatre. The theatre was opened in the month of May, and attracted a much higher class of visitor than the noisy, unruly fair beforehand.

Streets and squares

Savile Row

The Royal Arcade in Old Bond Street

• Berkeley Square
• Bond Street
• Brook Street
• Dover Street
• Curzon Street
• Grosvenor Square
• Hanover Square
• Hill Street, London
• Hyde Park Corner - road junction at the south east corner
• Marble Arch - road junction/plaza at the north west corner
• Oxford Street - northern boundary
• Park Lane - western boundary
• Piccadilly - southern boundary
• Piccadilly Circus - road junction/plaza at the south east corner of Mayfair
• Regent Street - eastern boundary
• Savile Row
• Shepherd Market

Transport and locale

Nearest places

• Marylebone - north
• Soho - east
• St James's and Green Park - south
• Hyde Park - west

The north side of Grosvenor Square in the 18th or early 19th century. The three houses at the far left form a unified group, but the others on this side are individually designed. Most later London squares would be more uniform.

Nearest tube stations

• Bond Street tube station
• Green Park tube station
• Hyde Park Corner tube station
• Marble Arch tube station
• Oxford Circus tube station

• Also Down Street tube station - no longer in use

Nearest railway station

• Victoria station

Museums

• Handel House Museum
• Wallace Collection

Notable Local Residents

Famous past residents have included:

• Queen Elizabeth II
• John Adams, 2nd American president (1735–1826)
• Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th American president (1890–1969)
• Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, surgeon and mayor (1836–1917)
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (1806–1861)
• Robert Clive, soldier & administrator (1725–1774)
• George Frideric Handel, composer (1695–1759)
• Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister (1804–1881)
• Sir Robert Peel, prime minister (1788–1850)
• Sir Henry Pelham, prime minister (1695–1754)
• Charles James Fox, British statesman (1749–1806)
• Jimi Hendrix, guitarist & songwriter (1942–1970)
• William Somerset Maugham, novelist (1874–1965)
• Richard Brinsley Sheridan, dramatist (1751–1816)

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Mayfair is the most expensive property on a British Monopoly set.
• Queen Elizabeth II was born in Bruton Street and lived in Mayfair during her infant years.
• English folk singer Nick Drake recorded the song "Mayfair".

See also

• A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
• Mount Street Gardens

External links

• About Mayfair
• Mayfair London
• Map showing the original boundaries of the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair
• BBC News story: Reviving the Mayfair May Fair
• The mayhem that marred May Day

City of Westminster
Districts	Bayswater · Belgravia · Covent Garden · Fitzrovia · Holborn · Hyde Park · Knightsbridge · Lisson Grove · Maida Vale (including Little Venice) · Mayfair · Marylebone · Millbank · Paddington · Pimlico · Queen's Park · St. James's · St. John's Wood · Soho (including Chinatown) · Victoria · Westbourne Green · Westminster
Attractions	West End theatre · Westminster Abbey · Buckingham Palace · National Gallery · Tate Britain · Trafalgar Square · Horse Guards · Other locations and landmarks in Westminster
Royal Parks	Green Park · Hyde Park · Kensington Gardens · Regent's Park · St James's Park
Constituencies	Regent's Park and Kensington North · Cities of London and Westminster
Parks and open spaces in Westminster

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