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1AmericanMayfairMichael Strachan

2Copyright © heritagewalks.london 2019 75 West Street, Harrow on the Hill, London HA1 3EL info@walkingthepast.co.uk First published in the UK in 2012 Text and images copyright © Michael Strachan Michael Strachan has asserted his rights to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. (The cover illustration shows Shepherd Market).

American MayfairMichael Strachan

INTRODUCTION From Oxford Street to Piccadilly this walk takes you through one of London's richest areas with beautiful architecture, luxuri-ous shops and restaurants, museums and galleries. Wherever you look you’ll see American connections. Mayfair developed from a Spring cattle market that started in the late 1600s in Trebeck. The fair and market were suppressed in the reign of George III because of the notorious goings-on of the ‘lazy rascals’ and ‘sluttish strumpets’ who thronged there. By 1800, it was London’s most fashionable area for diplomats and the very rich, with shops, restaurants and hotels developed to cater for their every need. The American connection to May-fair dates back to the 1780’s, when John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers and later the second U.S. president, resided here as the American Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s. The financial crisis that followed the First World War saw many Rich families sell their grand houses here and move out of Lon-don, to be replaced by embassies, banks, hotels, clubs and the offices of prestigious companies. During the Second World War, when the U.S. Chancery was on one side and General Eisenhower's headquarters on another, Grosvenor Square became popularly known as "Little America." Many American D-Day planners worshipped at the Farm Street Jesuit Church or the Grosvenor Chapel. 4Grosvenor Square today Grosvenor Square 1750Atkinson’s Carillon

In 1960, the U.S. Embassy was set up here and was the focus of violent anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. Several U.S. Presid-ents have been commemorated in the pleasant gardens and there is a memorial to the American volunteers of the RAF’s Eagle Squadrons during the early part of World War 2. You’ll walk through some of London's most prestigious shop-ping areas including the Burlington and Royal Arcades. You'll see where Queen Elizabeth II was born and see many examples of Georgian architecture including the beautiful Grosvenor Chapel and the splendid town houses of the rich and famous. Since the Second World War this area has been increasingly popular with Americans, with many upmarket shops and exclus-ive shopping arcades. It is a sophisticated area of the city where, more than anywhere else in London perhaps, Americans can experience the British upper classes at work and play. To hear this Introduction please click this icon To find out more about ‘What3Words’ please click this information icon 5If you would like to donate an amount which will help us cover our costs and continue to work on new publications please scan the QR link below:

Planning Your Walk 1. If possible, walk with a friend. 2. Tel l s ome one wh ere you are go ing . 3. Tak e c are whe n w alk ing at ni ght . 4. Wear sensible clothes and footwear. 5. Always take a bottle of water to avoid de-hydration. 6. Don't try to do too much in one visit. 7. Check the opening times of all Museums and Galleries online. 8. Tak e y our ca mer a o r c ame ra pho ne wit h batter ie s f ull y charged. 9. If you are printing out this do staple these!pages!together!. 10. Don’t forget to download your free Quiz and Plaque scoresheets by using the URL links on the next page… Start at Bond Street Tube station. (Central and Jubilee lines) End at Green Park Underground station. (Piccadilly, Victoria & Jubilee lines) Use the Transport for London (TFL) planner to plan your journey. 65 km 3 miles 2.5 hrsIf printing out,! do staple these! pages!together! for ease of use.

To make your walk more interesting… …we have created an on-line, interactive map which you can find by clicking the link below, or by scanning the green QR code opposite. This will only work if you are reading this guide on a smart device like an iPad: Plot-a-Route map We have also added some fun challenges - the first is a picture quiz. So you need to look out for interesting ob-jects such as ‘street furniture’, statues and architectural features shown in the I-Spy Challenge scoresheet. Click the link below, or scan the pink QR code opposite, to access a download for this scoresheet. It can then be printed or saved: I-Spy Challenge The second challenge is to ‘bag’ all the plaques along this walk. These are listed on a ‘Pastwalkers’ scoresheet along with their ‘what3words’ loca-tions. (Click the information icon op-posite for more about how ‘What3-Words’ works). The plaque scores are based on age and quality rather than the importance of the person or event commemorated. Download by clicking on the link below, or by scanning the blue QR code opposite: Plaque Challenge 7Tick them off when you find them

An American Walk in Mayfair Leave Bond Street station via main exit through the Shopping Centre onto Oxford Street… Turn left, westwards, and walk along Oxford Street… You are now on one of Europe’s busiest shopping streets. Behind you the road leads into the City of London. Ahead, Oxford Street leads towards Marble Arch, the site of the old Tyburn gallows, and then becomes the Bayswater Road, built over the route of a Roman road to the city of Bath. (See cover view). On your right, across the road, stands the magnificent Art Deco building housing Selfridge’s department store. This is where, in the 1910s, the American retailer, Gordon Sel-fridge, changed the British shopping experience with his novel ideas. It is still one of London’s premier stores. The Art Deco design of the building was by Daniel Burnham and the attractive sculpture above the Oxford Street entrance was by Gil-bert Bayes. Opposite the main store en-trance turn left into Balderton Street. Cross over Brown Hart Gardens and take the steps immediately on your left leading up past the ‘Pavilion’ to the deck above… Scan or Tap 8Daniel Burnham

Notice the Clarendon Flats (1871-1872), built by the ‘Im-proved Industrial Dwellings Company’ for workers em-ployed in servicing the great houses of the area, some working as out-servants. Others served in the shops and small businesses in and around Oxford Street. These flats are now named ‘Balderton Flats’. The white Art Deco building behind you, with a garage at street level, used to be Macy’s Garage. Built in 1925–1926, it was one of London’s first multi-storey car parks. Principally used by shoppers at Selfridges, it was based on an American design. The deck began life as the Duke Street Gardens where a fine communal garden was laid out for working-class dwellings nearby. The street-level gardens were removed in 1902-1905 when the Duke Street Electricity Substation was built here in a Baroque style from Portland stone. It featured a pavilion and steps at either end, a balustrade and Diocletian windows along the sides to light the galleries of the en-gine rooms, and deep basements. In order to compensate local residents for the loss of the old communal garden, the Duke of Westminster then insisted that a paved Italian garden featuring trees in tubs be placed on top of the substation. The church in front of you, dating from 1891, is King’s Weigh House Chapel, now a cathedral of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. 9

Descend from the deck and turn right southwards down Duke Street past the Barley Mow pub to the junction with Grosvenor Square… A little ahead, on your left, are some fine Georgian houses. Our route will bring you back here shortly to look at these in more detail. Turn right along the North side of Grosvenor Square… Grosvenor Square is, after Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the second largest square in London. It was laid out between 1725 and 1731 but only the houses at No.9 and No.38 are original. Most buildings date from the 1920s. Former res-idents of the square include John Pierpoint Morgan Jnr. and Lady Nancy Cunard. The building on your right is a large hotel but look out for the plaque commemorating one of Britain’s pioneer aircraft manufactur-ers Sir Frederick Handley Page, (shown opposite.) Before his company folded in the late 1960s, it was an important supplier to the United States of short-haul regional air-craft. As you reach the corner do have a look at the police - call box. These were placed for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police. They were used throughout the 20th century from the early 1920s. Unlike an ordinary callbox, its tele-phone was located behind a hinged door so it could be used from the outside, and the interior of the box was, in 10Sir Frederick Handley-Page

effect, a miniature police station for use by police officers to read and fill in reports, take meal breaks and even temporarily hold detainees until the arrival of transport. A little farther along the north side of the square are imposing buildings that were U.S. General Eisenhower’s planning headquarters during the Second World War, so look out for his plaque. During World War II Grosvenor Square was nicknamed ‘Eisenhower Platz’ or ‘Little America’. Cross the road to the entrance into Grosvenor Square gardens… Here is a statue of General Eisenhower that was a gift from his home state of Kansas. It was unveiled in 1989 by Prime Minister Mar-garet Thatcher. Behind Eisenhower’s statue looms the former U.S. Em-bassy, designed by the Finnish-American Eero Saarinen and completed in 1959. In 2016 the Embassy (or Chan-cery) moved to Nine Elms, Wandsworth, just south of the River Thames. Walk along the west side of the square past the en- trance to the former US Embassy building… In June 2011 a statue of President Ronald Reagan was erected in the south-west corner together with an inter-esting display incorporating a fragment of the Berlin Wall. Walk into the gardens by the nearest entrance… 11General Eisenhower

An imposing statue of Franklin Delano Roosevelt is situated here, unveiled by his widow in 1948. The cost of the statue was raised by public subscrip-tion in the UK in a matter of a few days. His sup-port of Churchill and Great Britain during World War II saved us from Nazi tyrrany. Opposite FDR stands an obelisk surmounted by an American eagle. It commemorates the men of the American Eagle squadrons who flew with the RAF from the outbreak of war in September 1939 until they were integrated with the USAF in September 1942. On the east side of the square is a memorial garden for those who died in the appalling 11 September 2001 ter-rorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. The inscription reads; ‘Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is etern-ity.' Written by Henry Van Dyke . Leave the gardens by the south-east corner… At the junction of Grosvenor Square and Carlos Place is 48 Grosvenor Square - the home of architect Charles Peczenic marked by a plaque. Working with U.S. archi-tects in the 1930s, he was responsible for the imposing building at Nos. 1–3, which was a former U.S. Embassy and is now occupied by the Canadian High Commission. Walk along the east side of Grosvenor Square… 12President Roosevelt

Number 7 was the former residence of Walter Hines Page, U.S. Ambassador during the First World War, and a great friend to Britain during this period. His residence here is marked with a special plaque. Pause at the junction with Duke Street before you turn right into Brook Street… The fine Georgian building at Number 9 Grosvenor Square bears a plaque marking it as the very first U.S. Embassy. It was occu-pied by John Adams for three years from 1785, before he became the second U.S. President. Although the building is much altered, it still shows many fine Georgian features including large sash-windows with small panes of glass, bricked-up windows, iron railings, basement, balconies and fine entrance and doorway. A second plaque here marks the many subsequent years of peace between the USA and the United Kingdom. Enter Brook Street… This street is said to take its name from the Tyburn, one of London's ‘lost’ brooks or streams, which cuts across it underground following the line of South Molton Street. Immediately to your right, at No. 75 is the office of the British and American Chamber of Commerce, established in 1916. At that 13John Adams

time the establishment of this organisation was a signific-ant gesture of confidence during the darkest days of the First World War, and owed much to the influence of U.S. Ambassador Walter Hines Page, (see note above). His wartime support of Britain was recognised by a plaque in Westminster Cathedral. The Tyburn river rises at Shepherd’s Well in Hampstead and flows through Regent’s Park and the West End to the Thames. There is one place where, it is claimed, the Tyburn can still be seen and that is beneath the basement of Grays Mews, in Davies Street, where it has become a popular tourist at-traction. Number 76, opposite, was the home of… architect Colen Campbell (1676–1729), an ambitious Scot who migrated to London after the Acts of Union between England and Scotland in 1707. His influential treatise Vitruvius Britannicus was the source for wealthypatrons, in the United States as much as in Britain, who wanted the Palladi-an style for their new houses and civic build-ings. Number 74 used to be the home of… …Sir William Gull, a noted Victorian physi-cian. He is remembered for a number of significant contributions to medical science, including advancing the understanding of myxoedema, Bright's disease, paraplegia and anorexia nervosa (for which he first 14Colen CampbellSir William Gull

established the name). He also publicly supported the right of women to enter the medical profession. Since the 1970s, Gull has often been linked to the un-solved 1888 Whitechapel murders (Jack the Ripper) case. He was named as the murderer during the evolution of the widely discredited Masonic/royal conspiracy theory outlined in such books as Jack the Ripper: The Final Solu-tion and in films such as ‘From Hell’ starring Johnny Depp. Considering his public support for women he seems an unlikely candidate for the role of a serial killer! At Nos. 69–71 is the Saville Club... Now a private club, set up in 1898 for distinguished writers and artists of the time, the 1720s houses were ex-tensively refurbished in the 1890s by the brother-in-law of American financier John Pierpoint Morgan. The over-hanging room at No. 71 is a fine ballroom. At No. 68, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), wartime forerunner of the CIA, had its headquarters… 15

One of its agents was the major League Baseball player Moe Berg, recruited in 1943 because of his language skills, and assigned to the Secret Intelligence branch. He took part in missions in the Caribbean, South America, France, England, Norway, Italy, and the Balkans. Later, he was briefed in nuclear physics, and sent to Zürich, Switzer-land posing as a Swiss physics student, to investigate Germany's top nuclear scientist, Werner Heisenberg. His orders were to kill the scientist if the Germans were nearing the building of an atomic weapon. Luckily for Heisenberg he found that the scientist was not a threat. Number 67 was the former London home of… …the pop group the Bee Gees, famous for such songs as Massachusetts and the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. The group has sold over 220 million!records worldwide, making them one of the best selling artists of all time. 16

Turn left (northwards) briefly into Davies Street walk-ing past the junction with Davies Mews… On your right at number 56 is an imposing stone-faced building, the Davies Street Drill Hall. This imposing building is associated with the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. This unit, originally raised for service in America, grew into ‘The Rifles’ – one of the British Army’s most famous regimental groups. At the be-ginning of the Second World War many Americans volunteered to serve with The Rifles. Return to Brook Street and turn left… The impressive red-brick, balconied build-ing on the corner opposite is Claridge’s Hotel. Designed in 1895 by the man who was also responsible for Harrod's depart-ment store, it is London's most exclusive hotel where royalty and presidents often stay for a few days after a state visit. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald stayed here in 1921 and were entertained by Sir Winston Churchill's American mother, Jennie, who lived at No. 72 Davies Street. She gave them "strawberries as big as tomatoes." During the Second World War, William J. Donovan, head of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, lived at Claridge’s, and so did Harry Hopkins when he came secretly in Janu-ary 1941 as FDR's personal envoy. Hopkins initiated the Lend-Lease Program, which he was to administer, deliver- 17Rifleman of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps

ing vital armaments to Britain. Later occupants included Generals Eisenhower, Clark, and Marshall. No. 39 was once the home of… ...Sir Jeffry Wyatville (1766–1840), who turned Windsor into a Gothic castle for George IV. Wyatt was born in Bur-ton upon Trent, Staffordshire. He started in the office of his uncle James but later went into partnership with John Armstrong, a prominent carpenter and building contract-or. Most of his work consisted of additions and improve-ments to existing properties for a distinguished clientele, including such great houses as Longleat in Wiltshire, Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire and Chatsworth in Derbyshire. He was celebrated for his major alterations to Windsor Castle for which he was knighted, and, as a mark of the regard in which he was held, he was buried in St. George's Chapel, in a corner behind the altar. Number 25 was for 36 years the home of… …musician George Handel (1685–1759) composed ‘The Messiah’ in just three weeks. Handel had acquired 25 Brook Street in the summer of 1723, following his appointment by George II as composer to the Chapel Royal, for which he was paid £400 per annum. The layout of the rooms followed the con-ventions for a modest Georgian town-house: the basement contained the kitchens; on each of the three floors above, there was a front room and a 18George Frideric Handel

smaller back room with an adjacent closet; under the roof were garrets for servants. The larger front first room was used for rehearsals of operas and oratorios. At the rear of the house was Handel's composing room and probably contained Handel's clavichord, built in 1726 by the Italian in-strument maker Annibale Traeri. Handel used his house not only for entertainment, composition and rehearsals, but also for business: in the late 1730s copies of his works were sold directly from here. This house also contained his extensive art collection, and by the end of his life he possessed over 80 paintings and prints, including works by Watteau, Teniers and Poussin. After Handel's death in 1759, his musical instru-ments passed to John Christopher Smith and his son of the same name. The building now houses a mu-seum. In the house next door, the amazing rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix lived for a short time before his tragic and untimely death from an overdose. 19Jimi Hendrix

The English Heritage blue plaque that identifies his former residence at 23 Brook Street was the first the or-ganization ever granted to a pop star. As you walk on towards Bond Street notice the careful right-angle layout of streets is cut across by the diagonal of South Molton Street, following the line of the Tyburn stream. Divert left into New Bond Street… Bond Street and New Bond Street are two of London's most expensive shopping thor-oughfares. Naval hero Admiral Lord Nelson lived at No. 103 (private plaque) for a while in 1798. Emma, his beautiful mistress is shown opposite, in a portrait by George Romney… Return to Brook Street and turn left… On the corner you will see another of Lon-don’s upmarket department stores - Fenwicks. In 1882 an ambitious young shop assistant, John James Fenwick, began a new kind of retail store in Newcastle selling mantles, silk goods, dresses, fabrics and trimmings. In 1891 J.J Fenwick bought 63 New Bond Street, which is still part of the London site. He introduced a new retailing concept from Paris – the de-partment store – combining different kinds of goods in clearly defined departments, all under the same roof. The business never looked back. 20Admiral Nelson

Continue eastwards along Brook Street… On a fine building at the eastern end of Brook Street, at 21 Hanover Square, a plaque marks the former resid-ence of the great political survivor and arch-cynic Prince Talleyrand, who managed to serve every French regime from the revolu-tionary 1790s through to the royalist 1830s. (Motto: ‘Mistrust first impulses, they are nearly always good’). Enter Hanover Square and turn right down St George’s Street… A statue of British statesman and politician William Pitt stands on the edge of Hanover Square looking south down St George’s Street. This street, too, was laid out in the early 1720s. The modern block on the eastern side of the square is said to occupy the site of the historic concert rooms where J. C. Bach, Liszt and Wagner all once per-formed. 21Hanover Square Music Rooms early 19th century printPrince Talleyrand

The finest remaining house is at No. 15. In 1839, on the site of No. 10, U.S. Senator Daniel Webster stayed at the Brunswick House Hotel when his daughter, Julia, was married in St. George's Church, on the corner of Maddox Street. St. George's, the parish church for Mayfair, was built in 1724. Handel had a per-sonal pew here and there is an altar painting of The Last Supper, probably by English artist William Kent. Teddy Roosevelt, Benjamin Disraeli, George Eliot, worshipped here, as did Prime Minister Asquith, with four other past or future premiers in the congregation. At No.8 in 1860, during an Anglo-French war scare, the socially exclusive Artists' Rifles was established as a volunteer militia. Turn left into Conduit Street and right into Savile Row… Before you continue, behind you and to the right on 14/15 Conduit Street is a red-brick corner building that was the home of Charles Rolls, one of the founding partners in Rolls-Royce, maker of luxury automobiles and the famous Merlin engine that powered the Spitfire in World War 2. Today the company manufactures aircraft engines for BAe, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. On 12 July 1910, at the age of 32, Rolls was killed in an air crash at 22St George’s 1757

Hengistbury Airfield, Southbourne, Bournemouth when the tail of his Wright Flyer broke off during a flying display. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aero-nautical accident with a powered aircraft, and the eleventh person internationally. Savile Row was originally a fashionable res-idential street, and many of the houses on the east side retain some of the 1730s ori-ginal features. For the past 150 years, this famous street has been synonymous with top-class English gentlemen’s tailoring. Famous clients have included Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, Clark Gable, Harry S. Truman, Michael Jackson and Will Smith. You'll also find several more plaques as you walk along: • George Basevi (1794 - 1845) was a celebrated archi-tect who lived at 17 Savile Row • Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751 - 1816) was a popu-lar dramatist who lived at number 14. (He is also commemorated in the Harrow on the Hill walk.) • George Grote (1794-1871), an English political radic-al and classical historian, best known for his major work, the voluminous History of Greece, lived at number 12 • Richard Bright (1789 - 1858) was an English physician and early pioneer in the research of kidney disease who lived at number 11. 23Charles Rolls

In the 1960s, The Beatles’ Apple Corps, headed by American musical entrepreneur Allen Klein, had its headquarters at number 3, and the group gave its last live performance here on the rooftop on 30 January 1969. At the junction with Burlington Gardens look left across the road into Vigo Street. Note the slate-grey plaque dedicated to Allen Lane the charismatic founder of Penguin Books. Turn right along Burlington Gardens… The fine Georgian building at number 8 is Ede & Ravenscroft, London’s oldest tailor and robe-maker, dating from 1689. Note the royal crests outside. number 7 opposite is a building of 1721–1723 – the London flag-ship store of U.S. fashion retailer Abercrom-bie & Fitch. You are now walking along the rear of the Royal Academy of Arts... Farther along you pass the entrance to Burl-ington Arcade with its upmarket shops and the uniformed beadles, who maintain decorum in the precinct. This fore-runner of the modern shopping mall runs down to Picca-dilly and was opened in 1819. At the end of Burlington Gardens, on your left, is the 1924 Art Deco building that was once the home of Atkin-son’s store. At the top is a spire with a carillon – a musical instrument consisting of 23 cast bronze bells. 24Allen Lane

Opposite is the flagship store of U.S. design house Tiffany & Co. Turn right into Old Bond Street… Before heading north, pause to look to your left, at num-ber 28, to the imposing entrance to The Royal Arcade. Built in 1879, this exclusive shopping precinct leads through to Albemarle Street. The fine decoration shown here is worth a look. Old Bond Street to your left dates from 1680 to 1700 and to your right, New Bond Street leading up to Oxford Street, dates from 1720 onwards, but few 18th-century properties or features remain. From the earliest times, Bond Street has been a fash-ionable shopping area and today it is home to expensive shops, boutiques, auction houses, galleries and the UK headquarters of companies such as Time Life. Turn up into New Bond Street, and do window-gaze and shop or visit one of the auction rooms… Look for an unusual bench on New Bond Street… Why not have your photograph taken here sitting between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill? This bronze statue is called 'Allies' and was a gift from the Bond Street Association to the City of Westminster to commemorate 50 years of peace. It was created by Lawrence Holofcener, a sculptor with dual 25

US-UK nationality and was unveiled in 1995 by Princess Margaret. At Bruton Street turn left… On your left, at the junction with Bruton Lane, stands the Coach and Horses pub. The original building was demolished and replaced by the present mock-Tudor build-ing in 1933. This street is famous for its art dealers and fashion houses. Across the street you will see the fashion house of Sir Norman Hartnell at number 26. Hartnell was appointed official dressmaker to the Royal Family in 1938, designing outfits for formal engagements, as well as lavish gowns for great royal occasions. At number 17 a plaque marks where HM Queen Eliza-beth II was born on April 21, 1926 in the London home of her maternal grandfather, the Earl of Strathmore. At the time her father, George VI, was not expected to be-come king. At the end of Bruton Street turn left into Berkeley Square… The square dates from the 1730s and was originally laid out before rows of huge town houses. Apart from num-bers 42–46 and 49–52, very little of the original build-ings are left and it is now filled mostly with showrooms, banks and office buildings. The huge, handsome plane trees date from the late 18th century. Berkeley Square House on the east side of the square housed the first of-fices of SOE (Special Operations Executive), the sabotage 26

organisation created by Churchill during the Second World War to "set Europe ablaze." The Readers Digest magazine also had offices here. Walk around the Square to the junction with Fitzmaurice Place. A little way down Fitzmaurice Place, on the right, is the Lansdowne Club where there are two plaques. This was the site of Lans-downe House, built by Robert Adam in 1762, that became the home of the second Earl of Shelburne; Prime Minister in 1783–1783 and supporter of American Independ-ence. Later owner-residents include Waldorf Astor and, after him, Gordon Selfridge, founder of Selfridge’s store. The dining room from Lansdowne House is now in the Metropolit-an Museum, New York, and the drawing room is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Turn back to Berkeley Square and walk up its western side… Number 50 - now a rare books shop - used to be the home of George Canning, the statesman, who was pre-pared to settle his differences with colleagues, such as Lord Castlereagh, at the point of a pistol. When number 45 was newly built it was occupied by the fabulously wealthy, but melancholic Robert Clive, who played a major part in the British conquest of India but committed suicide here. ‘Clive's actions on behalf of the 27Gordon Selfridge

EIC have made him one of Britain's most controversial colonial figures. His achieve-ments included checking French imperialist ambitions on the Coromandel Coast and establishing EIC control over Bengal, thereby furthering the establishment of the British Raj, though he worked only as an agent of the East India Company, not of the British government. Vilified by his political rivals in Britain, he went on trial (1772 and 1773) before Parliament, where he was ab-solved from every charge.’ The house at number 44 has been described as ‘the finest (Georgian) terraced house in London.’ Built between 1742 and 1747, it was once the home of the Clermont Club where, in 1974, Lord Lucan was due to arrive but then disappeared after the death of his family’s nanny. It then became Annabel’s, a fashionable club that was often visited by younger members of the Royal Fam-ily. At number 42 is Pasley-Tyler’s, a very private club for politicians and business executives from around the world. It is particularly aimed at American businessmen. Number 40 was where, during the Second World War, many OSS agents were briefed before going on opera-tions. The building was later used by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. Leave Berkeley Square by the north-west corner to enter Mount Street… 28Lord Clive

Although the street was first built in the 18th century, it was completely rebuilt between 1880 and 1900 in red-brick Queen Anne style. On your right, leading north, is Carlos Place… In one of the houses in Carlos Place Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) stayed following his year-long visit to the United States. He wrote about his experiences in “Impressions of America” (1883). On the opposite side of the road is the lux-urious and discrete Connaught Hotel. Until the First World War it was called ‘The Coburg’ but that sounded too German, so in 1917 it was changed to The Connaught. U.S. novelist and screenwriter Raymond Chandler was once thrown out of here (for having a woman in his room) and President Nixon was also a guest. Turn left and go through the gates into Mount Street Gardens… The Church of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1844, is home to the Jesuits. The altar inside, by architect and designer Au-gustus Pugin, is a superb example of his work. In this quiet garden haven, look closely at the benches and you will see that many have been donated by Americans and Canadians who loved its calm atmosphere during their service time here. Leave Mount Street Gardens to enter South Audley Street… 29

On your right is a grand Victorian library building and on your left the Grosvenor Chapel dating from 1730. This was the American forces' chapel during the Second World War. The former Poet Laureate John Betjeman called it ‘a little piece of New England in warm old Lon-don brick.’ Its fashionable congregation included the rad-ical English politician and journalist, John Wilkes, who supported the Americans in the War of Independence. In Aldford Street opposite the church John Gilbert Winant (1889–1947), United States Ambassador during the Second War World and a great humanist and friend of Britain, lived at No. 7 (marked by a plaque). He replaced Joseph P Kennedy and was a better friend to Great Britain. His in-spiring philosophy is quoted below… "Doing the day's work day by day, doing a little, adding a little, broadening our bases wanting not only for ourselves but for others also, a fairer chance for all people everywhere. Forever moving forward, always remembering that it is the things of the spirit that in the end prevail. That caring counts and that where there is no vision the people perish. That hope and faith count and that without charity, there can be nothing good. That having dared to live danger-ously, and in believing in the inherent goodness of man, we can stride forward into the unknown with growing confidence.” At Nos.17-22 South Audley Street is a beautiful Queen Anne style building that houses Thomas Goode’s china and glass shop. At South Street turn left… 30John Gilbert Winant

Note the fine tile decoration on the side of T.Goode & Co’s building and the grand houses on either side of the street. Former inhabitants include Lord Ashfield, who returned to England after a successful transport career in America to manage the London Under-ground Electric Railway Company (marked with a plaque at number 43); Florence Nightingale; and the 2nd Earl Cornwallis who led the British forces at the surrender of Yorktown in 1781, prompting the end of the American Revolutionary War. Continue along South Street until you reach the Punchbowl pub… This Georgian pub is the second oldest in Mayfair, dating from 1750 and has many period features inside. In 2008, it was bought by Madonna and her then husband Guy Ritchie, and is often visited by celebrities. Turn right down Chesterfield Hill, crossing over Hill Street and Hay’s Mews… As you pass Hay’s Mews, note the entrances and doors that are legacies of the stables and coach houses of the grand homes built in the area when it was originally laid out in the 1740s and 1750s. Turn right into Charles Street… At number 20 you will see a plaque commemorating Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery who was born here. He became a famous racehorse owner, Prime 31Lord Ashfield

Minister and first Chairman of the London County Council. Rosebery was widely known as a brilliant orator, an outstanding sports-man and marksman, a writer and historian, connoisseur and collector. All of these activ-ities attracted him more than politics, which grew boring and unattractive. Furthermore, he drifted to the right of the Liberal party and became a bitter critic of its policies. …and then left into Chesterfield Street… Like most of the streets here, it was laid out more than 280 years ago but, exceptionally, almost all the houses are little altered. Chesterfield Street is probably the most original in all Mayfair. The novelist William Somerset Maugham once lived at number 6. Maugham himself, was modest about his status. He said that lacking any great powers of imagination he wrote about what he saw, and that although he could see more than most people could, "the greatest writers can see through a brick wall – my vision is not so penetrating". Marking Maugham's eightieth birthday The New York Times commented: ”Best sellers that appeal to the mass reader are seldom good literature, but there are exceptions. Of Human Bondage is certainly one; Cakes and Ale probably; The Moon and Sixpence possibly. Some of the short stories will undoubtedly prove immortal”. 32Earl of Rosebery

T h e d a n d y ' B e a u Brummell' lived at number 4. Brummell was an im-portant figure in Regency England, and for many years he was the arbiter of British men's fashion. He was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George! IV, but after the two quarrelled and Brummell got into debt, he had to take refuge in France. Eventually, he died shabby and insane in Caen. Brummell was remembered afterwards as the pre-emin-ent example of the dandy, and a whole literature was founded upon his manner and witty sayings, which have persisted until today. There is another plaque here commemorat-ing the British Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden. As a young Conservative member of Parliament, he became foreign secretary aged 38, before resigning in protest at Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy towards Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy. He again held that position for most of the Second World War. Having been deputy to Winston Churchill for almost 15 years, Eden succeeded him as the leader of the Conser-vative Party and prime minister in 1955, and a month later won a general election. 33‘Beau’ BrummellSir Anthony Eden

Turn left into Curzon Street... Pause to admire Crewe House on your left, built around 1730 and refaced and extended in 1813. It is the sole survivor of the grand, detached residences characteristic of Mayfair's early development and is now the well-guarded Saudi Arabian Embassy. [Photography is prohib-ited]. Lord Northcliffe, the media tycoon, worked here during the First World War, directing the British propa-ganda using the arrival of the U.S. Army in 1917–1918 to undermine German confid-ence. Continue along Curzon Street… Many of the buildings are modern apart-ment or office blocks but houses such as 28, 29, 30, 47 and 48 date back to 1770s. Nancy Mitford, the celebrated author, worked at Heywood Hill’s bookshop, num-ber 10 Curzon Street, during the Second World War. This part of Mayfair was the setting for many of P. G. Wodehouse's stories of Ber-tie Wooster and his inestim-able manservant Jeeves.! Wooster’s flat was supposed to be in Half Moon Street and the Drones Club was based, in part, on Buck’s Club in nearby Dover Street. 34Nancy Mitford

Note the imposing Church of Christ, Scientist, that dates from 1910 –1912. It is a branch of the Mother Church, First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts. Turn into Half Moon Street… Charles Ives, the twentieth - century Amer-ican classical composer stayed at No. 17, where there is a private plaque. Turn left at the end of this street and walk along Piccadilly to Green Park Sta-tion… The walk ends at Green Park Station but you may wish to continue along Pic-cadilly to see many fine shops, depart-ment stores and the Royal Academy (main entrance). 35Charles IvesPiccadilly & Green Park c1901

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