Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a

ground rent As a legal term, ground rent specifically refers to regular payments made by a holder of a leasehold property to the freeholder or a superior leaseholder, as required under a lease. In this sense, a ground rent is created when a freehold piece of ...

by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It marks the western end of Wigmore Street, which connects it to Cavendish Square to the east.

History

Context and development

It was built between 1765 and 1784 on land belonging to

Henry William Portman Henry William Portman (died 11 January 1796) was an 18th-century housing developer, the ancestor of the Viscounts Portman. Biography He was the son and heir of Henry William Berkeley Portman (d.1761), MP, by his wife Anne Fitch. His grandfather ...

. An infantry

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, Portman Square Barracks, was built between Portman and Orchard Streets; it was demolished in about 1860. At the east end of the garden, thus marking one end of

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

and of Orchard Street (a short link to Oxford Street) is the Hamilton Memorial Drinking fountain. This was provided by Mariana Augusta, under the auspices of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association, in honour of her late husband Sir John James Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, briefly MP for Sudbury. The fountain is statutorily protected and recognised in the mainstream, initial category (Grade II).

Notable residents

Its houses were in its first century let or rented ''in toto'' by

Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, 7th Duke of Brandon KG PC FRS FSA (3 October 1767 – 18 August 1852) was a Scottish politician and art collector. Life Born on 3 October 1767 at St. James's Square, London, a son of Archibald H ...

, Sir Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet, Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle,

Sir Charles Asgill, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Asgill, 1st Baronet (17 March 1714 – 15 September 1788), merchant banker, was the third son of Henry Asgill, silkman, of St Clement Danes, Middlesex and was educated at Westminster School. Asgill's Bank Apprenticed to the banki ...

, and William Henry Percy.

Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife Alexander William George Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, (10 November 1849 – 29 January 1912) styled Viscount Macduff between 1857 and 1879 and known as the Earl Fife between 1879 and 1889, was a British peer who married Princess Louise, the third c ...

, maintained his London home at No. 15.

Notable houses

About a third of the north side is in the statutory category scheme, described above but in the rarest, highest category, Grade I. *No.s 11–15 built in 1773–1776 by architect James Wyatt in cooperation with his brother Samuel Wyatt. First houses in which Coade stone was used. Demolished in the 20th century.''James Wyatt, architect to George III.'' Author John Martin Robinson. Yale University Press 2012. *No. 20 – Home House, built by Robert Adam between 1773 and 1777 for

Elizabeth, Countess of Home Elizabeth Home, Countess of Home (''née'' Gibbons; 1703/04 – 15 January 1784) was a Jamaican-born heiress, noblewoman and absentee plantation owner. Already rich from her merchant father, she married James Lawes, the eligible son of Jamaica's ...

, and later used by the Courtauld Institute. *No. 22 – Montagu House, built in the northwest corner of the square by James Stuart between 1777 and 1781 for Elizabeth Montagu, demolished in the Blitz by an incendiary bomb. *No. 30 –

Churchill Hotel Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, incorporating the Michelin-starred

Locanda Locatelli Locanda Locatelli is a restaurant owned by Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli and his wife, Plaxy. Located in the 5-star Churchill Hotel on Seymour Street in the West End of London, the restaurant specialises in Italian cuisine. It holds one Michel ...

restaurant. This was bought on a long lease as home of George Keppel, grandson of George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle (noted above), and the husband of Alice Keppel, the mistress of King Edward VII.

Gallery

File:PortmanSquare.jpg, Map of much of part of Mayfair (south) and Marylebone (north) 1830 the square is top left File:Portman Square.JPG, Side-view of the south side in 2008, displaying odd traffic system replaced 2013 File:The Dining Room of 20 Portman Square, London.jpg, The Dining Room of No. 20 in 1913

References

External links

Portman Square at londontown.comPortman Square at marylebonevillage.com
{{coord, 51.5157, -0.1557, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Squares in the City of Westminster Portman estate 1784 establishments in Great Britain Communal gardens