Berkeley Square - Past and Present from Londons Bathecary

Berkeley Square - Past and Present

History of Berkeley Square, London: Past and Present

A brief history of the square

Berkeley Square was named after John Berkeley, first Lord of Berkeley of Stratton, who took possession of the land to the north of his newly acquired house in Piccadilly in 1675. The 4th Lord Berkeley and his son John entered into an agreement with two carpenters (Edward Cook and Francis Hilliard) for a building lease of about six and half acres of the Berkeley Fields for the development of their estate.

The bricks for the new buildings were made on the spot from the earth dug in Berkeley Fields. The first houses to define the square were constructed around 1738 on the East side. The West side was finished by 1745. and a few of the original houses still survive, most notably Number 44.

Although Berkeley Square became the height of fashion for a town residence, there were also various shops and business houses. There was Hemley's coffee house, bought and converted before 1744 to become Gwynn's Tavern. A carpenter, wax chandler, woollen draper, undertaker, distiller, hosier, tailor and apothecary were all based in Berkeley Square.

Lansdowne House was designed by Robert Adam in about 1762 for the third Earl of Bute and stood on the South side. It later went on to be regularly used as a venue for cabinet meetings, enhancing the square's reputation as a political centre of the time.

Gordon Selfridge (founder of the department store on Oxford Street) lived in Lansdowne House for eight years until 1929. Other notable residents include Horace Walpole (1717�1797), Colley Cibber (1671�1757), Henry Flitcroft, Robert Lord Clive and George Canning (1770�1827).

"When true lovers meet in Mayfair so the legends tell...and a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square"

Present day landmarks
1. Jack Barclay - Established in 1927, Jack Barclay is the world's oldest and largest Bentley dealership with a rich heritage laid down by the company's founder. Jack Barclay was passionate about motor racing and achieved no fewer than eight world records in the international 3 litre racing class.

2. Lansdowne Club - Lansdowne House is a building to the south west of Berkeley Square. It was designed by Robert Adam as a private house and for most of it's time as a residence it belonged to the Petty family, Marquesses of Lansdowne and Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder of the Selfridges department store. Since 1935 it has been the home of the Lansdowne Club.

3. Maggs - For hundreds of years 50 Berkeley Square was said to be the most haunted house in London. The house, in which Prime Minister George Canning died in 1827, is currently occupied by the antiquarian and rare booksellers, Maggs Bros. The house has well documented sightings of ghosts which have included a little girl and a young woman. A grotesque man with a gaping mouth is also said to have haunted this building for many years.

4. Pump House - Standing on the site originally occupied by an equestrian sculpture of George III, by Beaupre 1772, it was removed in 1827 as the legs buckled under the weight of its rider and was replaced by the Pump House Gazebo. Every September to the north of the pump house there is a huge marquee for the ultra glamorous Berkeley Square Ball in aid of the Princes Trust

5. Statue - In 1858 Henry, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne commisioned the figure of the nymph holding an overflowing vase as a drinking fountain. It was carved by Alexander Munro in white Carrera marble. It was restored to working order in 1994 with a bequest from Jack Barclay.

6. Famous Tree - Plane trees are amoungst the oldest in London and were planted in the square by Edward Bouverie who lived at No13. The tree pictured opposite Berkeley House is London's highest valued tree estimated to be worth �750,000 in a new 2008 study that takes into account age and contribution to the local environment.

7. Berkeley Street - Home of famous hotels such as the Mayfair and running from Berkeley Square to Piccadilly and The Ritz this was the fictitious street where Bertie Wooster lived in the P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves & Wooster novels.

NIGHTINGALE - If you are lucky to see one, as immortilised in "A Nightingale Singing in Berkeley Square", by Sherwin & Eric Maschwit 1940.

The full range of fragrances:

Rose Petal
White Tea
Fig & Cherry
Lime & Clarysage
White Amber
White Bergamot
and White Muguet

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