Jump to content

Eaton Square: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 51°29′46″N 0°9′6″W / 51.49611°N 0.15167°W / 51.49611; -0.15167
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Reverted to revision 971979623 by William Avery (talk): Only #87, not a WP:RS
No edit summary
Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit
 
(43 intermediate revisions by 28 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Square in Belgravia, London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{coord|51|29|46|N|0|9|6|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
{{coord|51|29|46|N|0|9|6|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
[[File:Eaton Square, London SW1W - geograph.org.uk - 1109683.jpg|thumb|right|Long, white, porticoed terraces on the north side of the square.]]
[[File:Eaton Square, London SW1W - geograph.org.uk - 1109683.jpg|thumb|right|Long, white, porticoed terraces on the north side of the square.]]


'''Eaton Square''' is a grand, rectangular,{{efn|Its length 4.61 times its width}} residential [[garden square]] in [[London]]'s [[Belgravia]] district. It is the largest [[Squares in London|square in London]]. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning [[Grosvenor family]] when they developed the main part of Belgravia in the 19th century that are named after places in [[Cheshire]] — in this case [[Eaton Hall, Cheshire|Eaton Hall]], the Grosvenor [[country house]]. It is larger but less grand than the central feature of the district, [[Belgrave Square]], and both larger and grander than [[Chester Square]]. The first block was laid out by [[Thomas Cubitt]] from 1827. In 2016 it was named as the "Most Expensive Place to Buy Property in Britain", with a full terraced house costing on average 17 million pounds<ref>{{cite news|title=London's Eaton Square most expensive place to buy home in Britain|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38406995|accessdate=23 December 2016|publisher=BBC|date=23 December 2016}}</ref> — many of such town houses have been converted, within the same, protected structures, into upmarket apartments.
'''Eaton Square''' is a rectangular,{{efn|Its length 4.61 times its width}} residential [[garden square]] in [[London]]'s [[Belgravia]] district. It is the largest [[Squares in London|square in London]]. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning [[Grosvenor family]] when they developed the main part of Belgravia in the 19th century that are named after places in [[Cheshire]] — in this case [[Eaton Hall, Cheshire|Eaton Hall]], the Grosvenor [[country house]]. It is larger but less grand than the central feature of the district, [[Belgrave Square]], and both larger and grander than [[Chester Square]]. The first block was laid out by [[Thomas Cubitt]] from 1827. In 2016 it was named as the "Most Expensive Place to Buy Property in Britain", with a full terraced house costing on average £17 million<ref>{{cite news|title=London's Eaton Square most expensive place to buy home in Britain|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38406995|access-date=23 December 2016|publisher=BBC|date=23 December 2016}}</ref> — many of such town houses have been converted, within the same, protected structures, into upmarket apartments.


The six adjoining, tree-planted, central gardens of Eaton Square are Grade II listed on the [[Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England|Register of Historic Parks and Gardens]].<ref name=NHLEgarden>{{NHLE|num=1000801|desc=The Grosvenor Estate: Eaton Square|accessdate=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}</ref> All of the buildings (№s&nbsp;1–7, 8-12A, 14–23, 24 and 24a to 48, 51–62, 63–66, Eaton House (№&nbsp;66a), 67–71, 72, 73–82, 83–102 and 103–118) are statutorily [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed]], specifically at Grade II* save as to 1 to 7 and 63 to 66a which are in the mainstream, initial category of grade II.<ref>At Grade II: {{NHLE|num=1066886|desc=1–7 Eaton Square, SW1|accessdate=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1066854|desc=63–66 Eaton Square|accessdate=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1356978|desc=Eaton House [66a]|accessdate=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}</ref><ref>At Grade II*:<br>{{NHLE|num=1066852|desc=8-12A, 14–23 Eaton Square|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1357004|desc=24 and 24a to 48|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1066853|desc=51–62|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1066855|desc=63–71|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1211084|desc=72 and 101–105 Eaton Place|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1211084|desc=73–82|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1356981|desc=83–102|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br>{{NHLE|num=1066851|desc=103–118|accessdate=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}</ref> №s&nbsp;103 to 105 are leased and internally converted into the Belgian Embassy, as is № 106 for the Bolivian Embassy.
The six adjoining, tree-planted, central gardens of Eaton Square are Grade II listed on the [[Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England|Register of Historic Parks and Gardens]].<ref name=NHLEgarden>{{NHLE|num=1000801|desc=The Grosvenor Estate: Eaton Square|access-date=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}</ref> All of the buildings (No.s&nbsp;1–7, 8-12A, 14–23, 24 and 24a to 48, 51–62, 63–66, Eaton House (No.&nbsp;66a), 67–71, 72, 73–82, 83–102 and 103–118) are statutorily [[Listed building#England and Wales|listed]], specifically at Grade II* save as to 1 to 7 and 63 to 66a which are in the mainstream, initial category of grade II.<ref>At Grade II: {{NHLE|num=1066886|desc=1–7 Eaton Square, SW1|access-date=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1066854|desc=63–66 Eaton Square|access-date=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1356978|desc=Eaton House [66a]|access-date=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}</ref><ref>At Grade II*:<br />{{NHLE|num=1066852|desc=8-12A, 14–23 Eaton Square|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1357004|desc=24 and 24a to 48|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1066853|desc=51–62|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1066855|desc=63–71|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1211084|desc=72 and 101–105 Eaton Place|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1211084|desc=73–82|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1356981|desc=83–102|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}<br />{{NHLE|num=1066851|desc=103–118|access-date=19 January 2020|mode=cs2}}</ref> No.s&nbsp;103 to 105 are leased and internally converted into the Belgian Embassy, as is No. 106 for the Bolivian Embassy.


The [[Red telephone box#K6|red telephone booth, of the "K6" edition]] outside № 103, is Grade II listed.<ref name=NHLEK6>{{NHLE|num=1357185|desc=k6 telephone kiosk outside flank elevation of 103 Eaton Square|accessdate=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}</ref>
The [[Red telephone box#K6|K6 red telephone box]] outside No. 103 is Grade II listed.<ref name=NHLEK6>{{NHLE|num=1357185|desc=k6 telephone kiosk outside flank elevation of 103 Eaton Square|access-date=20 March 2018|mode=cs2}}</ref>


==Overview==
==Overview==
Line 12: Line 14:
The houses in Eaton Square are large, predominantly three-bay-wide buildings, joined in regular terraces in a classical style, with four or five main storeys, plus attic and basement and a [[mews house]] behind. Most of the houses are faced with white [[stucco]], but some are faced with underlying high-quality brickwork. Sides are set {{convert|350|ft}} apart {{convert|1615|ft}} apart.
The houses in Eaton Square are large, predominantly three-bay-wide buildings, joined in regular terraces in a classical style, with four or five main storeys, plus attic and basement and a [[mews house]] behind. Most of the houses are faced with white [[stucco]], but some are faced with underlying high-quality brickwork. Sides are set {{convert|350|ft}} apart {{convert|1615|ft}} apart.


As to roads: the whole rectangle is divided into six compartments or zones as it is bisected lengthways by the Victoria or Buckingham Palace approach way to the [[King's Road]] which is very diversely and briefly successively named northeast of [[Sloane Square]]). Crossways it is spanned by four less important roads, all of which change name before during and after their transit across the square. All of the roads while in transit across the square assume the name '''Eaton Square''' and most of them are one-way, with no full outer circuit in any one direction permitted or possible.
As to roads: the whole rectangle is divided into six compartments or zones as it is bisected lengthways by the Victoria or [[Buckingham Palace]] approach way to the [[King's Road]] which is very diversely and briefly successively named northeast of [[Sloane Square]]). Crossways, it is spanned by four less important roads, all of which change name before during and after their transit across the square. All of the roads while in transit across the square assume the name '''Eaton Square''' and most of them are one-way, with no full outer circuit in any one direction permitted or possible.


In 1900, the Welsh Industrial Association held an exhibition at 83 Eaton Square, rented by the [[Winifred, Countess of Dundonald]], the event was visited by [[Alexandra, Princess of Wales]]. The person presiding over the refreshment room exhibition was Kathleen, Duchess of Wellington, assisted by Mrs A. J. Warden, with a party of attractive ladies wearing the national costume of Wales accompanied by [[Ivor Herbert, 1st Baron Treowen|Ivor]] and Albertina Herbert of Llanover's Harpist playing for the occasion.<ref>''Western Mail'' (Cardiff, Wales), 9 June 1900.</ref>
⚫
Before [[World War II]] homes on the street ranked as those of the [[upper class]] but was outranked by comparators in [[Belgrave Square]], [[Grosvenor Square]], [[St James's Square]] or [[Park Lane (road)|Park Lane]]. The aftermath of that war saw most of those converted to commercial and institutional uses, leaving the square almost wholly residential, raising its prominence. Some of the houses remain undivided but many have been internally converted into flats or multi-storey instances ([[Apartment#Maisonette|maisonettes]]) by permission or instruction of the [[Grosvenor Estate]]. These are often lateral conversions – that is, they cut across more than one of the original houses – let under typical [[leasehold estate|long leases]] across the uppermost price bracket, their exact price depending on size, lease duration and amenity. The façades of the square remain as imagined and built. Most but not all of the freeholds still belong to the Grosvenor Group. The 7th [[Duke of Westminster]] who came into the title from his father in 2016, uses one as his London home. Until the 1920s his predecessors lived in the mansion forerunner to the [[Grosvenor House Hotel]] facing Hyde Park on Park Lane ([[Grosvenor House]]).


Between 1916 and 1917, building 87 briefly became the "Countess of Dundonald Hospital", treating many of the wounded in the Great War, [[George V]] and Queen Consort [[Mary of Teck]] visited the patients at the hospital, they were greeted by the Staff and Countess of Dundonald herself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/countessofdundonald.html#:~:text=Lost_Hospitals_of_London&text=The%20Countess%20of%20Dundonald's%20Hospital,those%20who%20had%20given%20beds.|title = Lost Hospitals of London {{!}} Countess of Dundonald's Hospital}}</ref><ref>Queenslander (Brisbane, QLD) - 17 February 1917.</ref>
⚫
[[File:St Peter's Eaton Square, Belgravia.jpg|thumb|150px|St Peter's, Eaton Square]]

⚫
Before World War II, homes on the street ranked as those of the [[upper class]] but was outranked by comparators in [[Belgrave Square]], [[Grosvenor Square]], [[St James's Square]] or [[Park Lane (road)|Park Lane]]. The aftermath of that war saw most of those converted to commercial and institutional uses, leaving the square almost wholly residential, raising its prominence. Some of the houses remain undivided but many have been internally converted into flats or multi-storey instances ([[Apartment#Maisonette|maisonettes]]) by permission or instruction of the [[Grosvenor Estate]]. These are often lateral conversions – that is, they cut across more than one of the original houses – let under typical [[leasehold estate|long leases]] across the uppermost price bracket, their exact price depending on size, lease duration and amenity. The façades of the square remain as imagined and built. Most but not all of the freeholds still belong to the Grosvenor Group. [[Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster]], who inherited the [[Duke of Westminster]] title from his father [[Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster|Gerald Grosvenor]] in 2016, uses one as his London home. Until the 1920s, his predecessors lived in [[Grosvenor House]] the mansion forerunner to the [[Grosvenor House Hotel]] on Park Lane facing [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]].

⚫
[[File:St Peter's Eaton Square, Belgravia.jpg|thumb|150px|[[St Peter's Church, Eaton Square]]]]
Co-fronting the north-east end is [[St Peter's Church, Eaton Square|St Peter's]], a 200-feet-long, tree-lined [[Church of England]] church, in a classical style, fronted by a six-columned [[Ionic order|Ionic portico]] behind which is a slender clock tower. It was designed by [[Henry Hakewill]] and built between 1824 and 1827 (during the square's building).
Co-fronting the north-east end is [[St Peter's Church, Eaton Square|St Peter's]], a 200-feet-long, tree-lined [[Church of England]] church, in a classical style, fronted by a six-columned [[Ionic order|Ionic portico]] behind which is a slender clock tower. It was designed by [[Henry Hakewill]] and built between 1824 and 1827 (during the square's building).


Line 24: Line 30:
;Eaton Square
;Eaton Square
*Adam Verver and his wife, the former Charlotte Stant live at the square in the last complete major novel by [[Henry James]], ''[[The Golden Bowl]]''.{{efn|''The Golden Bowl'' begins with Volume One, Book Three, Chapter Four.}}
*Adam Verver and his wife, the former Charlotte Stant live at the square in the last complete major novel by [[Henry James]], ''[[The Golden Bowl]]''.{{efn|''The Golden Bowl'' begins with Volume One, Book Three, Chapter Four.}}
*In the original newspaper piece that was expanded into [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[Trial by Jury]]'', the judge invites the rest of the cast to his house in "Five hundred and eleven, Eaton Square" for the [[wedding breakfast]].<ref>{{cite book|last=[[W.S. Gilbert|Gilbert, W. S.]]|author2=Sullivan, Arthur |authorlink2=Arthur Sullivan |title=The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan|editor=[[Ian Bradley]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford|date=2001|pages=36}}</ref>
*In the original newspaper piece that was expanded into [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[Trial by Jury]]'', the judge invites the rest of the cast to his house in "Five hundred and eleven, Eaton Square" for the [[wedding breakfast]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gilbert, W. S.|author-link=W.S. Gilbert|author2=Sullivan, Arthur |author-link2=Arthur Sullivan |title=The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan|editor=Ian Bradley|editor-link=Ian Bradley|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford|date=2001|pages=36}}</ref>
*In Angela Carter's last novel, ''[[Wise Children]]'', Eaton Square is visited by Peregrine Hazard after returning by cab from the beach.
*In Angela Carter's last novel, ''[[Wise Children]]'', Eaton Square is visited by Peregrine Hazard after returning by cab from the beach.
*In [[Anthony Trollope]]'s novel ''The Bertrams'' Sir Henry Harcourt and his unhappy bride Lady Harcourt (Caroline Waddington) take a house in the square after their marriage.
*In [[Anthony Trollope]]'s novel ''The Bertrams'' Sir Henry Harcourt and his unhappy bride Lady Harcourt (Caroline Waddington) take a house in the square after their marriage.
*In [[Jeffrey Archer]]'s ''[[First Among Equals (novel)|First Among Equals]]'', {{Abbreviation|Hon.|The Honorable}} [[Charles Gurney Seymour]], future cabinet minister and son of the Earl of Bridgwater, and his wife Lady Fiona, daughter of the Duke of Falkirk, live in Eaton Square.
*In [[Jeffrey Archer]]'s ''[[First Among Equals (novel)|First Among Equals]]'', {{Abbreviation|Hon.|The Honorable}} [[Charles Gurney Seymour]], future cabinet minister and son of the Earl of Bridgwater, and his wife Lady Fiona, daughter of the Duke of Falkirk, live in Eaton Square.
*BBC 1938 radio series [[Paul Temple|Send for Paul Temple]] bases him in the street; readers find him at flat "№26A" in novelization ''Paul Temple and the Tyler Mystery''
*BBC 1938 radio series [[Paul Temple|Send for Paul Temple]] bases him in the street; readers find him at flat "№26A" in novelization ''Paul Temple and the Tyler Mystery'' ; also given as 127A in Paul Temple and the Tyler Mystery
*Lady Rosamund Painswick lives at the square in ''[[Downton Abbey]]''.
;Eaton Place
;[[Eaton Place]]
The Bellamy family of ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' lived in "165" ''Eaton Place'', one of the grand approach ways.
The Bellamy family of ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' lived in "165" ''Eaton Place'', one of the grand approach ways.


==Notable residents==
==Notable residents==
*№ 1: [[Robert Boothby|Lord Boothby]] – parliamentarian, political commentator and friend of [[Ronnie Kray]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/5030|title=Robert Boothby blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*No. 1: [[Lewis Pelly]] - British East India Company officer, imperial army and political officer, [[Conservative MP]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed & Official Classes |date=1882 |publisher=Kelly & Co. |page=400 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JdYNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PT400 |language=en}}</ref> [[Robert Boothby|Lord Boothby]] – parliamentarian, political commentator and friend of [[Ronnie Kray]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/5030|title=Robert Boothby blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*№ 2: [[Diana Mitford|Diana Mitford, The Hon. Lady Mosley]]<ref>"1933...Diana left her husband, 'moving with a skeleton staff of nanny, cook, house-parlourmaid and lady's maid to a house at 2 Eaton Square, round the corner from Mosley's flat'..." – Hilary Spurling reviews Diana Mosley by [[Anne de Courcy]], _The Telegraph, 17 Nov 2003 | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3606612/Hitler-was-her-Uncle-Wolf.html</ref>
*No. 2: [[Diana Mitford|Diana Mitford, Lady Mosley]]<ref>[[Hilary Spurling]], [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3606612/Hitler-was-her-Uncle-Wolf.html "Hitler was her Uncle Wolf"], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 17 November 2003, review of ''Diana Mosley'' by [[Anne de Courcy]]: "1933... Diana left her husband, 'moving with a skeleton staff of nanny, cook, house-parlourmaid and lady's maid to a house at 2 Eaton Square, round the corner from Mosley's flat'..."</ref>
*No. 22: One of the childhood homes of [[John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan]], commonly “Lord Lucan”, who was suspected of murdering his children’s Nanny, Sandra Rivett, on 7 November 1974.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Sally |title=Lucan: Not Guilty |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson Limited |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-283-99536-1 |pages=46-48 |language=En}}</ref>
*№ 7: [[Sean Connery]] – actor<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/eaton-mess-for-londons-finest-square-6529720.html|title=Eaton Mess for London's finest Square|date=October 28, 2010|website=Evening Standard}}</ref>
*№ 36: [[Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy]] – long-time confidante of [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]]<ref>Who's Who, 1980 (Adam and Charles Black, London) p. 837</ref>
*No. 36: [[Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy]] – long-time confidante of [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]]<ref>Who's Who, 1980 (Adam and Charles Black, London) p. 837</ref> and grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales
*№ 37: [[Neville Chamberlain]] – British Prime Minister<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/413|title=Neville Chamberlain blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*No. 37: [[Neville Chamberlain]] – British Prime Minister<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/413|title=Neville Chamberlain blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*№ 37: [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] – German Ambassador to London {{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
*No. 37: [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] – German Ambassador to London {{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
*№ 39: [[Cholmondeley_(surname)|Lady Aline Caroline Cholmondeley]], daughter of [[George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley]] and [[Sybil Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley]]. She died on 30 June 2015 at age 98.<ref>Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.</ref>
*No. 39: Lady Aline Caroline Cholmondeley, daughter of [[George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley]] and [[Sybil Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley]]. She died on 30 June 2015 at age 98.<ref>Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.</ref>
*№ 42: [[Peter Thorneycroft]] – British [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*No. 42: [[Peter Thorneycroft]] – British [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*№ 44: [[Prince Metternich]] – Austrian statesman<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/1127|title=Klemens von Metternich blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*No. 44: [[Prince Metternich]] – Austrian statesman<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/1127|title=Klemens von Metternich blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*№ 45: [[George Tryon]] – British Admiral who died in the sinking of HMS ''Victoria'' in 1893{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*No. 45: [[George Tryon]] – British Admiral who died in the sinking of HMS ''Victoria'' in 1893{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*№ 54: [[Vivien Leigh]] – [[Oscar (award)|Oscar]]-winning actress; [[Luise Rainer]] – Oscar-winning actress<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/412|title=Vivien Leigh blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*No. 54: [[Vivien Leigh]] – [[Oscar (award)|Oscar]]-winning actress; [[Luise Rainer]] – Oscar-winning actress<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/412|title=Vivien Leigh blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*№ 68: [[Thomas Campbell Robertson]], British colonial administrator in India, died here in 1863;<ref>{{Cite ODNB |id=23813 |title=Robertson, Thomas Campbell}}</ref> [[Barry Gibb]] of the pop group the [[Bee Gees]], 1970.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*No. 68: [[Thomas Campbell Robertson]], British colonial administrator in India, died here in 1863;<ref>{{Cite ODNB |id=23813 |title=Robertson, Thomas Campbell}}</ref> [[Barry Gibb]] of the pop group the [[Bee Gees]], 1970.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*№ 72: Sir [[Robert Helpmann]] – actor, dancer and [[choreographer]], mostly remembered for his role in the film ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)|Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]''. {{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
*No. 72: Sir [[Robert Helpmann]] – actor, dancer and [[choreographer]], mostly remembered for his role in the film ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)|Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]''. {{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
*№ 75: [[Rex Harrison]] – Oscar-winning actor{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*No. 75: [[Rex Harrison]] – Oscar-winning actor{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*№ 80: [[George Peabody]] – American banker and philanthropist<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/646|title=George Peabody blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*No. 80: [[George Peabody]] – American banker and philanthropist<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/646|title=George Peabody blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*№ 82: Queen [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands]] in 1940.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09llxsqztv/h_m_koningin_wilhelmina_koningin|title=H.M. koningin Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria , koningin der Nederlanden, prinses van Oranje-Nassau (koningin Wilhelmina)|website=www.parlement.com}}</ref>
*No. 82: Queen [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands]] in 1940.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parlement.com/id/vg09llxsqztv/h_m_koningin_wilhelmina_koningin|title=H.M. koningin Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria , koningin der Nederlanden, prinses van Oranje-Nassau (koningin Wilhelmina)|website=www.parlement.com}}</ref>
* No. 84: [[Stafford Harry Northcote, Viscount Saint Cyres]] – diplomat and historian<ref>Frederick George Aflalo, Joseph Jacobs, Herbert Arthur Morrah, ''The Literary Year-book'', Vol. 23 (1922), p. 1109</ref>
⚫
*№ 86: [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Halifax]] – British [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/202|title=Edward Wood blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*№ 93: [[Stanley Baldwin]] – British Prime Minister<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/40|title=Stanley Baldwin blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*No. 86: [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Halifax]] – British [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/202|title=Edward Wood blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
⚫
*No. 93: [[Stanley Baldwin]] – British Prime Minister<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/40|title=Stanley Baldwin blue plaque|first=Open|last=Plaques|website=openplaques.org}}</ref>
*№ 97: Sir Francis Scott Bt and Lady Scott of Great Barr (d. 1863 and 1909 respectively)
*No. 97: Sir Francis Scott Bt and Lady Scott of Great Barr (d. 1863 and 1909 respectively)
*№ 99: Admiral of the Fleet [[John West (Royal Navy officer)|Sir John West]]<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29089?docPos=4|title=Sir John West |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/29089 |accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref>
*No. 99: Admiral of the Fleet [[John West (Royal Navy officer)|Sir John West]]<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29089?docPos=4|title=Sir John West |year=2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/29089 |access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref>
*№ 100: [[Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster]] - freeholder of most of the square and most of the surrounding district{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
*No. 100: [[Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster]] - freeholder of most of the square and most of the surrounding district{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
⚫
*№ 112: Admiral of the Fleet [[Henry Codrington|Sir Henry Codrington]];<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5797|title=Sir Henry Codrington|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/5797|accessdate=1 February 2015}}</ref> [[Leo Amery]] - politician and minister in Churchill's wartime cabinet; and his son [[Julian Amery]], Baron Amery of Lustleigh, Conservative MP.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*[[102 Eaton Square|No. 102]]: [[Instituto Cervantes]]<ref>Marko Schweizer, ''World Guide to Library, Archive, and Information Science'' (2011), p. 52</ref>
⚫
*№ 114: Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendell – architect{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
⚫
*No. 112: Admiral of the Fleet [[Henry Codrington|Sir Henry Codrington]];<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5797|title=Sir Henry Codrington|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/5797|access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref> [[Leo Amery]] - politician and minister in Churchill's wartime cabinet; and his son [[Julian Amery]], Baron Amery of Lustleigh, Conservative MP.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
⚫
*№ 106: The [[Embassy of Bolivia, London|embassy of Bolivia]]
⚫
*No. 114: Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendell – architect{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
⚫
*№ 115: Admiral of the Fleet [[George Seymour (Royal Navy officer)|Sir George Seymour]]<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25170|title=Seymour, Sir George Francis|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/25170|accessdate=21 February 2015}}</ref>
⚫
*No. 106: The [[Embassy of Bolivia, London|embassy of Bolivia]]
⚫
*№ 118: Sir William Corry, Bt., of Dunraven, Co. Antrim (d. 1926){{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
⚫
*No. 115: Admiral of the Fleet [[George Seymour (Royal Navy officer)|Sir George Seymour]]<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/25170|title=Seymour, Sir George Francis|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/25170|access-date=21 February 2015}}</ref>
⚫
*№ 57 Lower Belgrave St (corner of Eaton Sq.) [[Roman Abramovich]] - Russian billionaire and the main owner of [[Chelsea Football Club]]{{cn|date=June 2020}}
⚫
*No. 118: Sir William Corry, Bt., of Dunraven, Co. Antrim (d. 1926){{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
⚫
*No. 57 Lower Belgrave St (corner of Eaton Sq.) [[Roman Abramovich]] - Russian billionaire and the main owner of [[Chelsea Football Club]]{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
*[[George Soros]] – Hungarian-born hedge fund manager.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/rich-pickings-for-the-hawk-of-eaton-square-7607805.html|title=Rich pickings for the hawk of Eaton Square|date=April 2, 2012|website=Evening Standard}}</ref>
*[[George Soros]] – Hungarian-born hedge fund manager.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/rich-pickings-for-the-hawk-of-eaton-square-7607805.html|title=Rich pickings for the hawk of Eaton Square|date=April 2, 2012|website=Evening Standard}}</ref>
*[[John King, Baron King of Wartnaby]]{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*[[John King, Baron King of Wartnaby]]{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
Line 66: Line 75:
* Mr and Mrs [[Ernest Aldrich Simpson]] from 1958{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* Mr and Mrs [[Ernest Aldrich Simpson]] from 1958{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*[[Sarah, Duchess of York]], from 2014{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*[[Sarah, Duchess of York]], from 2014{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
*[[Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber]] - composer and theatre impresario; in 2024 he revealed he had had his house [[Exorcism|blessed by a priest]] in an attempt to displace a "[[poltergeist]]" that was haunting the property.<ref>{{cite web |title=Andrew Lloyd Webber asked priest to bless London home over poltergeist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/jan/03/andrew-lloyd-webber-asked-priest-to-bless-london-home-over-poltergeist |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=11 January 2024 |date=3 January 2024}}</ref>


==Footnotes and citations==
==Footnotes and citations==
;Footnotes
===Footnotes===
{{notelist}}
{{notelist}}

;Citations
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{commonscat}}
*[http://www.stpetereatonsquare.co.uk St Peter's Eaton Square]
*[http://www.eatonsquareconcerts.org.uk Eaton Square Concerts] – a classical concert series based at St Peter's


[[Category:1827 in London]]
[[Category:1827 in London]]

Latest revision as of 16:12, 15 November 2024

51°29′46″N 0°9′6″W / 51.49611°N 0.15167°W / 51.49611; -0.15167

Long, white, porticoed terraces on the north side of the square.

Eaton Square is a rectangular,[a] residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgravia in the 19th century that are named after places in Cheshire — in this case Eaton Hall, the Grosvenor country house. It is larger but less grand than the central feature of the district, Belgrave Square, and both larger and grander than Chester Square. The first block was laid out by Thomas Cubitt from 1827. In 2016 it was named as the "Most Expensive Place to Buy Property in Britain", with a full terraced house costing on average £17 million[1] — many of such town houses have been converted, within the same, protected structures, into upmarket apartments.

The six adjoining, tree-planted, central gardens of Eaton Square are Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[2] All of the buildings (No.s 1–7, 8-12A, 14–23, 24 and 24a to 48, 51–62, 63–66, Eaton House (No. 66a), 67–71, 72, 73–82, 83–102 and 103–118) are statutorily listed, specifically at Grade II* save as to 1 to 7 and 63 to 66a which are in the mainstream, initial category of grade II.[3][4] No.s 103 to 105 are leased and internally converted into the Belgian Embassy, as is No. 106 for the Bolivian Embassy.

The K6 red telephone box outside No. 103 is Grade II listed.[5]

Overview

[edit]
102 Eaton Square

The houses in Eaton Square are large, predominantly three-bay-wide buildings, joined in regular terraces in a classical style, with four or five main storeys, plus attic and basement and a mews house behind. Most of the houses are faced with white stucco, but some are faced with underlying high-quality brickwork. Sides are set 350 feet (110 m) apart 1,615 feet (492 m) apart.

As to roads: the whole rectangle is divided into six compartments or zones as it is bisected lengthways by the Victoria or Buckingham Palace approach way to the King's Road which is very diversely and briefly successively named northeast of Sloane Square). Crossways, it is spanned by four less important roads, all of which change name before during and after their transit across the square. All of the roads while in transit across the square assume the name Eaton Square and most of them are one-way, with no full outer circuit in any one direction permitted or possible.

In 1900, the Welsh Industrial Association held an exhibition at 83 Eaton Square, rented by the Winifred, Countess of Dundonald, the event was visited by Alexandra, Princess of Wales. The person presiding over the refreshment room exhibition was Kathleen, Duchess of Wellington, assisted by Mrs A. J. Warden, with a party of attractive ladies wearing the national costume of Wales accompanied by Ivor and Albertina Herbert of Llanover's Harpist playing for the occasion.[6]

Between 1916 and 1917, building 87 briefly became the "Countess of Dundonald Hospital", treating many of the wounded in the Great War, George V and Queen Consort Mary of Teck visited the patients at the hospital, they were greeted by the Staff and Countess of Dundonald herself.[7][8]

Before World War II, homes on the street ranked as those of the upper class but was outranked by comparators in Belgrave Square, Grosvenor Square, St James's Square or Park Lane. The aftermath of that war saw most of those converted to commercial and institutional uses, leaving the square almost wholly residential, raising its prominence. Some of the houses remain undivided but many have been internally converted into flats or multi-storey instances (maisonettes) by permission or instruction of the Grosvenor Estate. These are often lateral conversions – that is, they cut across more than one of the original houses – let under typical long leases across the uppermost price bracket, their exact price depending on size, lease duration and amenity. The façades of the square remain as imagined and built. Most but not all of the freeholds still belong to the Grosvenor Group. Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, who inherited the Duke of Westminster title from his father Gerald Grosvenor in 2016, uses one as his London home. Until the 1920s, his predecessors lived in Grosvenor House the mansion forerunner to the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane facing Hyde Park.

St Peter's Church, Eaton Square

Co-fronting the north-east end is St Peter's, a 200-feet-long, tree-lined Church of England church, in a classical style, fronted by a six-columned Ionic portico behind which is a slender clock tower. It was designed by Henry Hakewill and built between 1824 and 1827 (during the square's building).

Between 1940 and 1944 the Belgian government in exile occupied its three numbers which have been long used as that country's embassy in Britain and further premises in central London as their lesser homes and offices.

Fictional references

[edit]
Eaton Square
  • Adam Verver and his wife, the former Charlotte Stant live at the square in the last complete major novel by Henry James, The Golden Bowl.[b]
  • In the original newspaper piece that was expanded into Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury, the judge invites the rest of the cast to his house in "Five hundred and eleven, Eaton Square" for the wedding breakfast.[9]
  • In Angela Carter's last novel, Wise Children, Eaton Square is visited by Peregrine Hazard after returning by cab from the beach.
  • In Anthony Trollope's novel The Bertrams Sir Henry Harcourt and his unhappy bride Lady Harcourt (Caroline Waddington) take a house in the square after their marriage.
  • In Jeffrey Archer's First Among Equals, Hon. Charles Gurney Seymour, future cabinet minister and son of the Earl of Bridgwater, and his wife Lady Fiona, daughter of the Duke of Falkirk, live in Eaton Square.
  • BBC 1938 radio series Send for Paul Temple bases him in the street; readers find him at flat "№26A" in novelization Paul Temple and the Tyler Mystery  ; also given as 127A in Paul Temple and the Tyler Mystery
  • Lady Rosamund Painswick lives at the square in Downton Abbey.
Eaton Place

The Bellamy family of Upstairs, Downstairs lived in "165" Eaton Place, one of the grand approach ways.

Notable residents

[edit]

Footnotes and citations

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ Its length 4.61 times its width
  2. ^ The Golden Bowl begins with Volume One, Book Three, Chapter Four.

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ "London's Eaton Square most expensive place to buy home in Britain". BBC. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. ^ Historic England, "The Grosvenor Estate: Eaton Square (1000801)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 March 2018
  3. ^ At Grade II: Historic England, "1–7 Eaton Square, SW1 (1066886)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 March 2018
    Historic England, "63–66 Eaton Square (1066854)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 March 2018
    Historic England, "Eaton House [66a] (1356978)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 March 2018
  4. ^ At Grade II*:
    Historic England, "8-12A, 14–23 Eaton Square (1066852)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
    Historic England, "24 and 24a to 48 (1357004)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
    Historic England, "51–62 (1066853)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
    Historic England, "63–71 (1066855)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
    Historic England, "72 and 101–105 Eaton Place (1211084)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
    Historic England, "73–82 (1211084)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
    Historic England, "83–102 (1356981)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
    Historic England, "103–118 (1066851)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 January 2020
  5. ^ Historic England, "k6 telephone kiosk outside flank elevation of 103 Eaton Square (1357185)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 20 March 2018
  6. ^ Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales), 9 June 1900.
  7. ^ "Lost Hospitals of London | Countess of Dundonald's Hospital".
  8. ^ Queenslander (Brisbane, QLD) - 17 February 1917.
  9. ^ Gilbert, W. S.; Sullivan, Arthur (2001). Ian Bradley (ed.). The Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 36.
  10. ^ Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed & Official Classes. Kelly & Co. 1882. p. 400.
  11. ^ Plaques, Open. "Robert Boothby blue plaque". openplaques.org.
  12. ^ Hilary Spurling, "Hitler was her Uncle Wolf", The Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2003, review of Diana Mosley by Anne de Courcy: "1933... Diana left her husband, 'moving with a skeleton staff of nanny, cook, house-parlourmaid and lady's maid to a house at 2 Eaton Square, round the corner from Mosley's flat'..."
  13. ^ Moore, Sally (1987). Lucan: Not Guilty. Sidgwick & Jackson Limited. pp. 46–48. ISBN 978-0-283-99536-1.
  14. ^ Who's Who, 1980 (Adam and Charles Black, London) p. 837
  15. ^ Plaques, Open. "Neville Chamberlain blue plaque". openplaques.org.
  16. ^ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.
  17. ^ Plaques, Open. "Klemens von Metternich blue plaque". openplaques.org.
  18. ^ Plaques, Open. "Vivien Leigh blue plaque". openplaques.org.
  19. ^ "Robertson, Thomas Campbell". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23813. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  20. ^ Plaques, Open. "George Peabody blue plaque". openplaques.org.
  21. ^ "H.M. koningin Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria , koningin der Nederlanden, prinses van Oranje-Nassau (koningin Wilhelmina)". www.parlement.com.
  22. ^ Frederick George Aflalo, Joseph Jacobs, Herbert Arthur Morrah, The Literary Year-book, Vol. 23 (1922), p. 1109
  23. ^ Plaques, Open. "Edward Wood blue plaque". openplaques.org.
  24. ^ Plaques, Open. "Stanley Baldwin blue plaque". openplaques.org.
  25. ^ "Sir John West". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29089. Retrieved 8 March 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  26. ^ Marko Schweizer, World Guide to Library, Archive, and Information Science (2011), p. 52
  27. ^ "Sir Henry Codrington". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5797. Retrieved 1 February 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  28. ^ "Seymour, Sir George Francis". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/25170. Retrieved 21 February 2015. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  29. ^ "Rich pickings for the hawk of Eaton Square". Evening Standard. 2 April 2012.
  30. ^ "Andrew Lloyd Webber asked priest to bless London home over poltergeist". The Guardian. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eaton Square.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Eaton_Square&oldid=1257567135"