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Remembering Hyde Park Square.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. REPEAT IF REQUIRED.

My post AAARGH recounts the tale of three disastrous weeks as a tenant in Hyde Park Square, part of the prestigious Hyde Park Estate. According to Wikipedia ‘it is an affluent area, characterised by a layout of squares and crescents, and is home to several embassies, prestigious businesses and celebrities’ of which I was not destined to become a member. It ‘was developed in the nineteenth century on land owned by the Bishop of London and was originally known as the Paddington Estate. Ownership then passed to the Church Commissioners who remain the primary freeholders of the estate.

‘These Streets of London colour slides made in November 2004 portray the neighbourhood in which I had hoped to settle. I scanned them today.

Norfolk Square W2 11.04

Norfolk Square W2 lies between Praed Street and Sussex Gardens. Hertha Ayrton, Physicist lived there at the turn of the twentieth century. There would have been no plastic bags hanging from trees in her day.

Bathurst Mews W2 11.04

Sussex Place lies at the end of Bathurst Mews running alongside Sussex Gardens. Two bedroomed houses here are priced at one and three quarter million pounds sterling. There are, of course no gardens. The only Mews still operating as a working stables, this street is unique due to its continuing equine usage in the form of Hyde Park Stables at number 63.

Gloucester Square W2 11.04

Lady Violet Bonham-Carter, Politician & Writer; and the engineer, Robert Stephenson, were both past residents of Gloucester Square, on a bench in which this small family took their rest after wandering up

Hyde Park Garden Mews W2 11.04

Hyde Park Garden Mews through the entrance arch of which a horse and rider had apparently previously passed. It seems as if the person responsible for the signage was short of an S

Hyde Park Gardens Mews W2 11.04

as displayed in this second picture. This street was home to Quentin Wilson, Top Gear motoring journalist.

Strathearn Place W2 11.04

Strathearn Place joins one end of Hyde Park Square. The Victoria was my local pub for the very brief period mentioned above. I think I enjoyed a Thai meal there one Sunday lunchtime.

Clarendon Mews W2 11.04

In March 2015 The Daily Mail reported that  ‘a conwoman has admitted trying to sell a mews house in an exclusive area of London for £1 million – right under its real owner’s nose. Monika Brzezinska, 28, used false identity documents to pretend to be the lawful owner of a home in Clarendon Mews, in Bayswater, west London, in November last year.’ The address was in Clarendon Mews.

Clarendon Close W2 11.04

It was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, whose plaque, appears on this house on the corner of Clarendon Close, who designed the dying iconic red telephone box that has often featured in my posts.

Cumberland Gate W1 11.04

Wikipedia tells us that ‘Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble faced triumphal arch and London landmark. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour d’honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today the three-bayed, central projection of the palace containing the well known balcony.[1] In 1851 it was relocated and following the widening of Park Lane in the early 1960s is now sited, incongruently isolated, on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane and Edgware Road.’ Here it is alongside Cumberland Gate W1, on the corner of Hyde Park.

 

Culross Street W1 1 11.04Culross Streeet W1 2 11.04

Off Park Lane lies Culross Street,

Brook Gate W1 11.04

almost opposite Brook Gate, location of

The Animals In War Memorial

A major monument designed for London.

This monument is a powerful and moving tribute to all the animals that served, suffered and died alongside the British, Commonwealth and Allied forces in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century.

The trustees of The Animals in War Memorial Fund obtained planning consent from Westminster City Council to erect the memorial at Brook Gate, Park Lane, (map here)on the edge of Hyde Park. It was unveiled by HRH The Princess Royal in November 2004, the 90th anniversary of the start of World War I.

The £2 million needed to build the monument on such a superb Central London site came from a national appeal and the generosity of many individual donors, charities and companies, with substantial support from the Estate of the late Paul Mellon in the USA, The Duke of Westminster KG OBE TD DL, and lead contractors, Sir Robert McAlpine. Other major gifts were generously given by The Rt Hon The Earl of Cadogan DL, Rt Hon The Lord Ballyedmond OBE and John Spurling OBE.

 

derrickjknight

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57 responses to “Remembering Hyde Park Square.”

  2. I have spent only the one day in England, but I walked through Hyde Park. A lack of plaque commemorating my walk, and your failure to mention it, once again relegates me to the dusty shelf of obscurity. (I must admit however, that your walk through Hyde Park was a lot more informative and interesting).

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  4. Interesting stuff, all.
    A silly place for Marble Arch to be stuck in. It deserves a position of prominence for triumphal processions — in the hopes Britain continues to have things to be triumphant about.

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  11. A fascinating post, Derrick. I have a particular interest in this part of London as I lived for almost a year in nearby Sussex Square in a large house which was then the Joint Services School For Linguists. Much changed since those days, but I enjoyed your photographs which took me back to somewhere I hadn’t visited for many years.

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  12. A fascinating post, Derrick. I have a particular interest in this part of London as I lived for almost a year in nearby Sussex Square in a large house which was then the Joint Services School For Linguists. Much changed since those days, but I enjoyed your photographs which took me back to somewhere I hadn’t visited for many years.

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  15. I would take a miracle to be able to buy into anywhere in London these days. Or in Melbourne. I don’t know how people do it. I love the Horse memorial. (A prompt for a new post for me.)

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  21. I enjoyed the tour, Derick, especially the Animals in War memorial. The animals do not start these wars, and do not question why they are dragged into them to suffer and die along with the soldiers. It is good to see them recognized.

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  23. I give up;
    “It seems as if the person responsible for the signage was short of an S”
    where should the missing S be?
    The only thing I could think of was before the W to make it SouWest, which is obviously incorrect because everything is just W

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  24. I believe that The Duke of Westminster KG OBE TD DL is worth some £9.5 Billion; and he made a contribution towards the £2 million cost; wonder he could afford that, probably left him a bit short of the readies.
    Sir Robert McAlpine are not short of a bob or two either.
    They don’t deserve a mention IMNSHO! 👿

    Reply

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