Grosvenor Square is a large

garden square A garden square is a type of communal garden in an urban area wholly or substantially surrounded by buildings; commonly, it continues to be applied to public and private parks formed after such a garden becomes accessible to the public at large. ...

in the

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

district of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable residences in the 18th century. In the 20th it had an American and Canadian diplomatic presence, and currently is mixed use, commercial.

History

Sir Richard Grosvenor obtained a licence to develop Grosvenor Square and the surrounding streets in 1710, and development took place between 1725 and 1731. The land was sold in individual plots, with 30 different builders or partnerships taking a lease; about half of these had become bankrupt by 1738. Grosvenor Square was one of the three or four most fashionable residential addresses in London from its construction until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with numerous leading members of the aristocracy in residence. The early houses were generally of five or seven bays, with basement, three main stories and an attic. Some attempt was made to produce impressive groupings of houses, and

Colen Campbell Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectural ...

produced a design for a palatial east side to the square featuring thirty

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

columns but this was not carried out and in the end most of the houses were built to individual designs. There were

mews A mews is a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. Mews are usually located in desirable residential ...

behind all four sides. Many of the houses were rebuilt later in the 18th century or during the 19th century, generally acquiring an extra storey when this happened. Number 23 (later 26) was rebuilt in 1773–74 for the 11th Earl of Derby by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

, and is regarded as one of the architect's finest works and as a seminal example of how grandeur of effect and sophisticated planning might be achieved on a confined site. It was demolished and rebuilt again in the 1860s. Nearly all of the older houses were demolished during the 20th century and replaced with blocks of flats in a neo-Georgian style, hotels and embassies. The garden Providing almost 2.5 hectares of open garden, Grosvenor Square is the second-largest garden square in central London after

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...

at 2.5 hectares. While

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

at 4.5 hectares is a larger space, it is categorised as an

Inn of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They ha ...

, not a garden square. Grosvenor Square was originally laid out by gardener John Alston in the 1720s; his 'wilderness worke' design was a celebration of the countryside in the city. However, the gardens have been modified over time to meet the changing needs of those around them. Reserved for residents' use for much of its life, the Grade II-registered landscape was, after the Second World War, made a public space for everyone's enjoyment, through the Roosevelt Memorial Act. It was then managed by the Royal Parks until 2018, when Grosvenor Britain & Ireland took over its management. Following an international Call for Ideas in 2018, Grosvenor confirmed that the square would be redesigned to enhance its contribution to the environment and local communities. In June 2022, Westminster City Council approved a proposal to transform the square into "an extraordinary garden with groundbreaking environmental credentials". It is expected that, once started, the works would take around two years to complete.

Bentley Boys of the 1920s

In the 1920s, four of the "

Bentley Boys The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive. In 1925, as the marque foundered, Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato bought the c ...

" –

Woolf Barnato Joel Woolf BarnatoPronounced Barnatoo – from Barnett too (27 September 1895 – 27 July 1948) was a British financier and racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. He achieved three consecutive wins out of three entries in the ...

Tim Birkin Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933) was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Background and family Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1896, the son of S ...

, Glen Kidston and

Bernard Rubin Bernard Rubin (6 December 1896 – 27 June 1936) was an Australian born racing driver and pilot who was a member of the "Bentley Boys" team at the Bentley Motor Company and winner of the 1928 24 Hours of Le Mans. Personal life The son of A ...

– took adjacent flats in the fashionable south-east corner of the square, where their day-long parties became something of social legend. So common was the sight of their large, green sports cars parked ''ad hoc'' outside their flats, that for many years

London cab A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common s ...

drivers referred to the spot as "''Bentley Corner''".

American presence

Grosvenor Square was long a center of American presence in London beginning when

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

established the first American mission to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

in 1785. Adams lived, from 1785 to 1788, in the house which still stands on the corner of Brook and Duke Streets. During the Second World War American general

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

established a military headquarters at 20 Grosvenor Square, and during this time the square was nicknamed "Eisenhower Platz". Until 2009, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

continued to use this building as its headquarters for

United States Naval Forces Europe United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa (CNE-CNA), is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. Prior to 2020, CNE-CNA was previously referred to as United States Naval Forces ...

. A statue of wartime president

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

sculpted by Sir

William Reid Dick Sir William Reid Dick, (13 January 1878 – 1 October 1961) was a Scottish sculptor known for his innovative stylisation of form in his monument sculptures and simplicity in his portraits. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1921, a ...

stands in the square, as does a later statue of Eisenhower, and a statue of president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. The square also contains the Eagle Squadrons Memorial. The former

United States Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

of 1938–1960 on the square was purchased by the Canadian government and renamed Macdonald House. It was part of the

Canadian High Commission in London The High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom (french: Haut-commissariat du Canada au Royaume-Uni) is the diplomatic mission of Canada to the United Kingdom. It is housed at Canada House on Trafalgar Square in central London, with an addit ...

until 2014, when all the functions of the Canadian High Commission were transferred to

Canada House Canada House (french: Maison du Canada) is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970. It has served as the offices of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom since 192 ...

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

In 1960, a new United States Embassy was built on the western side of Grosvenor Square. This was a large and architecturally significant modern design by

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motors ...

, being at the time a controversial insertion into a mainly

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

and neo-Georgian district of London. In March and October 1968, there were large demonstrations in the square against US involvement in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. On both occasions, the protest became violent. After 2001 a series of anti-terrorist devices were installed around the embassy, and the road running along the front of the building was closed completely to traffic. In 2006, the Grosvenor Square Safety Group residents association took out advertisements in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', accusing the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

and local government of a "moral failure" for not closing two other roads adjacent to the embassy. In 2008, the United States Government chose a site for a new embassy in the

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial bu ...

area of the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

, south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. Construction of the new

Embassy of the United States in London The Embassy of the United States of America in London is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the United Kingdom. It is located in Nine Elms and is the largest American embassy in Western Europe and the focal point for events relatin ...

began in 2013, with relocation completed by 2017. In October 2009, following a recommendation by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, the Saarinen designed building was granted Grade II listed status. The listing means that the new owners will not be allowed to change the facade, which includes the 35-foot-wingspread gilded-

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

eagle that hovers above the main entrance. In November 2009, the Grosvenor Square property was purchased by the

Qatari Diar The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ar, جهاز قطر للإستثمار) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In 2021 ...

investment group.

Adlai Stevenson

On 14 July 1965, while walking with Marietta Tree, the then-U.S. Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, Adlai Stevenson, suffered a heart attack, later dying at the old St George's Hospital at Hyde Park Corner. As they reached the front of the Sportsman's Club, his last words were reportedly to ask her to slow down.

Oscar Wilde

The writer

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

lived in Grosvenor Square between 1883 and 1884, and references to the square appear in four of his works (see section below).

Memorial to victims of 11 September 2001

Since 2003, the east of the gardens has contained a memorial garden to 67 British victims of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. The poem ''For Katrina's Sun-Dial'' by

Henry van Dyke Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. (November 10, 1852 – April 10, 1933) was an American author, educator, diplomat, and Presbyterian clergyman. Early life Van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry ...

was chosen for inscription on an elliptical granite block engraved with the names of the victims, underneath which is buried a piece of the steel wreckage. Grosvenor Square, 11 September 2001 memorial garden

Grosvenor Square, 11 September 2001 memorial garden

Diplomatic property sell-off

The former

building at 20 Grosvenor Square was sold in 2007 for £250 million to

Richard Caring Richard Allan Caring (born 4 June 1948) is a British businessman. He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers. After surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he div ...

, who planned to turn it into 41 residential apartments. The

Abu Dhabi Investment Council The Abu Dhabi Investment Council (The Council) is an investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi. It started operations in April 2007 and is responsible for investing part of the government's surplus financial resources through a globally div ...

and property developer Finchatton then bought the building for the same amount in April 2013, with planning permission to convert the building into 31 luxury apartments. In September 2013, the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

announced its intention to sell its High Commission building at

1 Grosvenor Square Macdonald House was a seven-storey Neo-Georgian style building on Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, London. It was part of the High Commission of Canada from 1961 to 2014. Macdonald House was used for the High Commission's cultural and consular f ...

and "consolidate its diplomatic activity in the UK in a single, central location in

on Trafalgar Square".

Notable buildings

Most of the buildings on Grosvenor Square are in the

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...

of architecture. * No. 1 – Macdonald House, formerly part of the High Commission of Canada, being redeveloped into high-end residences * No. 4 – Back entrance to the Embassy of Italy * No. 10 – London

Marriott Hotel Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...

Grosvenor Square * No. 20 – Former

building, being converted into upscale apartments * No. 24 –

-designed former location of the Embassy of the United States, being redeveloped by

Rosewood Hotels Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is an international luxury hotel and resort company operating 28 hotels in 16 countries, currently owned by Hong Kong-based Rosewood Hotel Group (formerly New World Hospitality and rebranded in May 2013). It was founde ...

into a luxury hotel designed by

David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, (born 18 December 1953) is an English architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985. His major works include the River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (1989–1998); the Museum ...

* No. 38 – Former Embassy of Indonesia, converted by Venue Lab into an event space * No. 44 –

The Biltmore Mayfair The Biltmore Mayfair is a 5-star luxury hotel located at 44 Grosvenor Square in the Mayfair area of London, England. It underwent significant renovations starting in late 2017 and reopened on 9 September 2019. History The building was designed by ...

hotel, formerly the Millennium Hotel London Mayfair

In popular culture

* Robert Hunter's lyrics for the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

song '' Scarlet Begonias'' begin with the line "As I was walkin' 'round Grosvenor Square". *It appears in the title of several novels including ''The Lonely Lady of Grosvenor Square'' by Mrs. Henry De La Pasture (1907), ''The Grosvenor Square Goodbye'' by Francis Clifford (1978), and ''The House in Grosvenor Square'' by Linore Rose Burkard (2009). *In ''

Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Cl ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, the Barnacles are said to live at "number twenty-four, Mews Street, Grosvenor Square" which "was not absolutely Grosvenor Square itself but it was very near it". *In the 1960

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

thriller ''

Midnight Lace ''Midnight Lace'' is a 1960 American neo noir mystery thriller film directed by David Miller and starring Doris Day, Rex Harrison, and John Gavin. The plot centers on a woman who is threatened by an anonymous stalker but has a hard time convi ...

'',

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

is terrorized in Grosvenor Square as she leaves the U.S. Embassy at

during a London "pea-soup" fog. As she crosses the square to her residence, an unseen voice near the statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt threatens to kill her before the month is out. *In the opening act in the play ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'' by Oscar Wilde, the first scene is in "the octagon room at Sir Robert Chiltern's house in Grosvenor Square". *It is mentioned in the play ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'' by Oscar Wilde, when Lady Bracknell makes a comment about violence in Grosvenor Square because of the lower classes (or, depending on one's sense of humour, the upper classes) receiving education. **In Oscar Wilde's play ''

Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband i ...

'', the Duchess of Berwick says, "I think on the whole that Grosvenor Square would be a more healthy place to reside in. There are lots of vulgar people live in Grosvenor Square, but at any rate there are no horrid

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s crawling about." **Dorian Gray, the protagonist of Oscar Wilde's novel ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...

'', lives in or close to Grosvenor Square. *Alfred Sutro's one-act play '' A Marriage Has Been Arranged'' (1904) portrays a ball in "the Conservatory of No. 300 Grosvenor Square". *Caroline Bingley makes a comment regarding the local dance in ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' "We are a long way from Grosvenor Square, are we not, Mr Darcy". *It is used as a reference to the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

's London office in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...