Bury Street is a one-way street in

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...

, London SW1. It runs roughly north-to-south from

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. Hist ...

to King Street, and crosses Ryder Street.

Street history

Probably taking its name from

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

, Rushbrooke, the country seat of the Jermyn family, was near that town, and from 1643 until his advancement to an earldom in 1660,

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

was Baron Jermyn of St. Edmundsbury. The street first appears by name ''Berry Street'' in the rate books of St Martins in 1673, 11 names were recorded. On 23 February 1755

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

described a fire in Bury Street. A newspaper at the time reported: "Yesterday morning 0 Feb. about five o'clock, a fire broke out at Mr Thompson's, an embroiderer in Bury Street, St James's, which entirely consumed the same, and damaged several other houses adjoining" (''The Daily Advertiser'', 21 February 1755). The freehold of the street belongs to

The Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

Notable residents

Notable residents have included writer

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

, writer and politician

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in Du ...

William Brummell William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

father of

Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...

, the statesman

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool, PC (26 April 172917 December 1808), known as Lord Hawkesbury between 1786 and 1796, was a British statesman. He was the father of Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool. Early years, f ...

, Irish poet

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

and poet

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

. In Swift's ''

A Journal to Stella ''A Journal to Stella'' is a work by Jonathan Swift first partly published posthumously in 1766. It consists of 65 letters to his friend, Esther Johnson, whom he called ''Stella'' and whom he may have secretly married. They were written between ...

'', he wrote "Tomorrow I change my lodgings to Bury Street". (Letter 3, London, 9 September 1710).

Listed buildings

There are two listed buildings in Bury Street: * No 21–24 Bury Street on the corner of Jermyn Street. Corner building of chambers and shops. Dated 1903, by Reginald Morphew, sculpture by Gilbert Seale. * No 37–38 Bury Street. Residential Chambers with art galleries below, by the architect

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

(1814–1900). There are also the Economist Buildings, which occupy an area from

St James's Street St James's Street is the principal street in the district of St James's, central London. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall. The main gatehouse of the Palace is at the southern end of the road; in the 17th centur ...

to Bury Street (Nos 28–30d), London, SW1. Built by

Alison and Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism ...

between 1962 and 1964, in the New Brutalist Style.

Notable businesses

Although a relatively short street (160 meters), there are several businesses, most notably art dealers, including

Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

dealers,

Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, based at 38 Bury Street, London, is a firm of British art dealers, specialising in Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Colnaghi Colnaghi is an art dealership in St James's, central London, England, which is the oldest commercial art gallery in the world, having been established in 1760. Foundation The business that became the Colnaghi gallery was established by Itali ...

at No 26, modern and contemporary art dealers,

The Nine British Art The Nine British Art is a private art gallery in St James's, central London, England. The gallery specializes in British art, with a focus on works from the St Ives group and the post-war period. Overview The gallery covers 20th and 21st centur ...

is located at No 9. There are also art galleries showing silver, Asian and Islamic art and print and illustrations.(Includes a listing of the galleries and restaurants). The restaurant

Quaglino's Quaglino's is a restaurant in central London which was founded in 1929, closed in 1977, and revived in 1993. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was popular among the British aristocracy, including the royal family, many of whom were regulars ...

is at No 16, and the Japanese restaurant Matsuri St James's at No 15.

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

, a historic British auction house founded in 1766, has its main premises in a large building with its main entrance on King Street to the south and also bordering onto the east side of Bury Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bury Street Streets in the City of Westminster St James's Art gallery districts