Ebury Street () is a street in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

, London. It runs from a

Grosvenor Gardens Grosvenor Gardens is the name given to two triangular parks in Belgravia, London, faced on their western and eastern sides by streets of the same name. Both roads run roughly north to south from Hobart Place and Grosvenor Place to Buckingham P ...

junction south-westwards to Pimlico Road. It was built mostly in the period 1815 to 1860. Odd numbers 19 to 231 are on the south-east side; the others, 16 to 230, are opposite. Numbers 2 to 14 have largely been replaced by a renamed terrace of eight houses known as Lygon Place, recessed behind a small green.

History

A local estate, "Eia", is mentioned in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

''. The surviving houses 180–188 were called "Fivefields Row" when Mozart stayed there for a very short time in 1764. Cundy St flats on the south-east side are interesting 1950s mid-rise apartments set back from the road, mainly replacing sections damaged by bombing in the

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. These are due for demolition. This is where

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

spent the night with

Camilla Parker Bowles Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

just before his wedding to Diana Spencer 22b Ebury Street was built in 1830 as a Baptist church. It was divided into flats in the 20th century. Immediately following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, number 42 was the workplace or head office of the "Soldiers' Embroidery Industry". Textile bags and workboxes were so-labelled, adding the words "Made by the Totally Disabled", i.e. disabled veterans doing rehabilitation work.

Notable buildings

Mozart Terrace was in the late 18th century known as Fivefields Row. It can also be numerically addressed as Ebury Street.

Niche restaurants

La Poule au Pot is an expensive restaurant leased from Grosvenor Estates, below social housing managed by Peabody. Ken Lo's Memories of China is a restaurant established in 1981 by

Ken Lo Ken Lo (Kenneth Houi Kang Low) (born 19 March 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and stuntman. He is known for his martial arts and stunt work as a former member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, most notably for his antagonistic role as Jo ...

(d. 2001).

Other uses

Where Ebury Street meets Pimlico Road is a triangular public paved area with seating and a bronze statue of Mozart (aged 8) by Philip Jackson. The triangle was known for many years as "Pimlico Green" (and still is by older residents) but was renamed Orange Square for some strange reason, the latter reflecting the localised misnomer of "squares" in two notable instances: a very thin rectangle grid with a main road running through its longer bisection forms

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, 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 ...

and Chester Square is likewise more street than green. A minority of houses have been converted to hotels. Buildings dating from the mid to late 20th century front parts of the street toward either end: Coleshill Flats, Kylestrome House, Kilmuir House (a conversion), and Belgravia Court. Numbers 2 to 14 have largely been replaced by a renamed terrace of eight houses known as Lygon Place, recessed behind a small green (see below).

Notable residents

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

lived from 1934 to 1945 at 22b.Affixed with a blue plaque *

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930), known as F. E. Smith, was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord High Chan ...

lived at number 32. * In 1847

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

lived at number 42. *

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

kept a room at number 111 which his parents had run as a lodging house. *

Isaac Gompertz Isaac Gompertz (1774 – 25 February 1856) was an early English Jewish poet, who was compared by his contemporaries, including Alexander Jamieson, to Dryden, Pope, Addison and Gray. He was known for the poems "The Modern Antique", "Time, or Light ...

lived in and died at number 45. * George Moore lived and died at number 121. *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

lived at "Fivefields Row" from 5 August to 24 September 1764, approximately number 180. *

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

lived with her husband,

Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, novelist, lecturer, journalist, broadcaster, and gardener. His wife was the writer Vita Sackville-West. Early lif ...

, at number 182. Their son

Nigel Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ...

was born here. * William Downey, photographer (1829–1915), had studios at numbers 57 and 61. * The photographer Mabel Sophia Clerke, operating as M. Shadwell Clerke, had a studio at 117 Ebury Street in the early 20th century."Photograph portrait of Mr Harry Lauder"
National Archives at Kew. Also see the stamp o
Dora-Ohlfsen-Bagge, 1908
Art Gallery of New South Wales. *

Sid Halley Sid Halley (John Sidney Halley) is a fictional character in four Dick Francis novels, ''Odds Against'', '' Whip Hand'', ''Come to Grief'', ''Under Orders'' and one follow-up book by Felix Francis, ''Refusal''. He is a former British jump racing Ch ...

, a fictional character created by author

Dick Francis Richard Stanley Francis (31 October 1920 – 14 February 2010) was a British steeplechase jockey and crime writer whose novels centre on horse racing in England. After wartime service in the RAF, Francis became a full-time jump-jockey, winni ...

, lives in Ebury Street in ''Come to Grief'' (1995). *The actress

Dame Edith Evans Dame Edith Mary Evans, (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was an English actress. She was best known for her work on the stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and towards the end of her career. Between 1964 and 1968, she was no ...

lived at number 109.

Lygon Place

Lygon Place is a terrace of initial-category (Grade II-) listed buildings recessed by a small green and facing the street. The terrace dates from about 1900 and is an

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

-influenced design, by

Eustace Balfour Colonel Eustace James Anthony Balfour (8 June 1854 – 14 February 1911) was a London-based Scottish architect. The brother of one British Prime Minister and nephew of another, his career was built on family connections. His mother was th ...

and

Hugh Thackeray Turner Hugh Thackeray Turner (8 March 1853 – 11 December 1937) was an English Arts and Crafts architect and also an amateur china painter. Hugh Turner was born at Foxearth, Essex, England. His father, Rev. John Richard Turner, was a Church of Engla ...

. Notable former residents include

Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941), was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and Go ...

. Number 5 was a residence of the Italian Air Attaché. Institutions based here included the Margarine and Shortening Manufacturers' Association; the Lion Services Club; and the Institution of Highways and Transportation.

Gallery

Statue of Mozart, Orange Square SW1.JPG, Bronze statue of Mozart WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART 1756-1791 composed his first symphony here in 1764 (cropped).JPG,

Plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pla ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Brown plaque Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson.jpg,

and

References

{{coord, 51.4944, -0.1489, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Streets in the City of Westminster Belgravia