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Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the
City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and 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 central Greater London, including most of the West En ...
, Central London. It connects St James's Street to
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 comm ...
and is a section of the regional A4 road. The street's name is derived from pall-mall, a ball game played there during the 17th century, which in turn is derived from the Italian ''pallamaglio'', literally ball-mallet. The area was built up during the reign of Charles II with fashionable London residences. It is known for high-class shopping in the 18th century until the present, and gentlemen's clubs in the 19th. The Reform, Athenaeum and Travellers Clubs have survived to the 21st century. The
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
was based on Pall Mall during the second half of the 19th century, and the Royal Automobile Club's headquarters have been on the street since 1908.


Geography

The street is around long and runs east in the St James's 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 ...
across
Waterloo Place Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...
, to the Haymarket and continues as Pall Mall East towards
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 comm ...
. The street numbers run consecutively from north-side east to west and then continue on the south-side west to east. It is part of the A4, a major road running west from Central London.
London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...
Route 9 runs westwards along Pall Mall, connecting Trafalgar Square to
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...
and
Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to its major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was designed by Decimus Burton. Six streets converge at the ...
.


History and topography


Early history and pall-mall field

Pall Mall was constructed in 1661, replacing an earlier highway slightly to the south that ran from the Haymarket (approximately where Warwick House Street is now) to the royal residence, St James's Palace. Historical research suggests a road had been in this location since Saxon times, although the earliest documentary references are from the 12th century in connection with a
leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Afr ...
at St James's Hospital. When St. James's Park was laid out by order of Henry VIII in the 16th century, the park's boundary wall was built along the south side of the road. In 1620, the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
ordered the
High Sheriff of Middlesex This is a list of sheriffs of Middlesex. History of the office From c. 1131 to 1889 there was no separate sheriff for the county. By a charter of Henry I the livery of the City of London were given the right to elect two sheriffs of "London an ...
to clear a number of temporary buildings next to the wall that were of poor quality. Pall-mall, a ball game similar to croquet, was introduced to England in the early 17th century by James I. The game, already popular in France and Scotland, was enjoyed by James' sons Henry and Charles. In 1630, St James's Field, London's first pall-mall court, was laid out to the north of the Haymarket – St James road. After the Restoration and King Charles II's return to London on 29 May 1660, another pall-mall court was constructed in St James's Park just south of the wall, on the site of The Mall.
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
's diary entry for 2 April 1661 records: " went into St. James's Park, where I saw the Duke of York playing at Pelemele, the first time that I ever saw the sport". This new court suffered from dust blown over the wall from coaches travelling along the highway. In July 1661 posts and rails were erected, stopping up the old road. The court for pall-mall was very long and narrow, and often known as an alley, so the old court, namely St James's Field, provided a suitable route for relocating the eastern approach to St James's Palace. A grant was made to Dan O'Neale, Groom of the Bedchamber, and
John Denham John Denham may refer to: * John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury * John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges * John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet * John Den ...
, Surveyor of the King's Works, allocating a area of land for this purpose. The grant was endorsed 'Our warrant for the building of the new street to St James's'. A new road was built on the site of the old pall-mall court, and opened in September 1661. It was named Catherine Street, after Catherine of Braganza, wife of Charles II, but was better known as Pall Mall Street or the Old Pall Mall. The pall-mall field was a popular place for recreation, and Pepys records several other visits. By July 1665 Pepys used "Pell Mell" to refer to the street as well as the game.


17th- and 18th-century buildings

In 1662, Pall Mall was one of several streets "thought fitt immediately to be repaired, new paved or otherwise amended" under the Streets, London and Westminster Act 1662. The paving commissioners appointed to oversee the work included the Earl of St Albans. The terms of the act allowed commissioners to remove any building encroaching on the highway, with compensation for those at least 30 years old. The commissioners determined that the
real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...
court and adjoining house at the northeast corner of Pall Mall and St James's Street should be demolished, and in 1664 notified Martha Barker, the owner of the Crown lease, to do so. Although Barker initially rejected £230 compensation, the court was demolished by 1679. The street was developed extensively during 1662–1667. The Earl of St Albans had a lease from the Crown in 1662 on of land previously part of St James's Fields. He laid out the site for the development of St. James's Square,
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. His ...
, Charles Street, St Albans Street, King Street and other streets now known as St James's. The location was convenient for the royal palaces of Whitehall and St James and the houses on the east, north and west sides of the square were developed along with those on the north side of Pall Mall, each constructed separately as was usual for the time. Houses were not built along the square's south side at first, or the adjoining part of Pall Mall. The Earl petitioned the King in late 1663 that the class of occupants they hoped to attract to the new district would not take houses without the prospect of eventually acquiring them outright. Despite opposition from the Lord Treasurer, the Earl of Southampton, on 1 April 1665 the King granted the Earl of St Albans the freehold of the St James's Square site, along with all the ground on the north side of Pall Mall between St James's Street and the east side of St James's Square. The freehold of the north side of Pall Mall subsequently passed to other private owners. The Crown kept the freehold of the land south of the street except for No. 79, which was granted to
Nell Gwyn Eleanor Gwyn (2 February 1650 – 14 November 1687; also spelled ''Gwynn'', ''Gwynne'') was a celebrity figure of the Restoration period. Praised by Samuel Pepys for her comic performances as one of the first actresses on the English stag ...
's trustees in 1676 or 1677 by Charles II. The buildings constructed on the south side of Pall Mall in subsequent years were grander than those on the north owing to stricter design and building standards imposed by the crown commissioners. When the main road was relocated further north, some houses suddenly had their backs facing the main road, losing available land for gardening. In 1664, residents filed a petition to turn the old road into gardens, which was successful. The trustees of the Earl of St Albans received a sixty-year lease on most of this from April 1665 so that trustees could issue sub-leases to their tenants. Several other portions of the old highway were leased for construction. At the east end, land was leased to Sir Philip Warwick who built Warwick House (now the location of Warwick House Street) and to Sir John Denham; this parcel of land became part of the grounds of Marlborough House. Portions leased at the west end included the land between St James's Palace and the tennis court at the corner of St James's Street, and a parcel of land leased to the Duchess of Cleveland that became the site of 8–12 Cleveland Row and Stornoway House. The 18th-century London bookseller
Andrew Millar Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century. Biography In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered b ...
also lived in a townhouse designed by Robert Adam, at 34 Pall Mall. 104 Pall Mall was rebuilt in 1761–2 by John, second Earl of Egmont. Sir John Soane remodelled the house in 1793–4 for Lady Louisa Manners, Countess of Dysart who lived there until 1831. From 1831 to 1836 it was used for the storage and exhibition of the Royal picture collection. In 1836 it was acquired by the Reform Club.


Later history

By the 18th century, Pall Mall was well known for its shops as well as its grand houses. The shops included that of the Vulliamy family who made clocks at No. 68 between 1765 and 1854. Robert Dodsley ran a bookshop at No. 52, where he suggested the idea of a
dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologie ...
to
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709  – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
. Writers and artists began to move to Pall Mall during this century; both Richard Cosway and
Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
lived at
Schomberg House Schomberg House at 80–82 Pall Mall is a prominent house on the south side of Pall Mall in central London which has a colourful history. Only the street facade survives today. It was built for The 3rd Duke of Schomberg, a Huguenot general i ...
at Nos. 80–82. The street was one of the first in London to be lit by gas after Frederick Albert Winsor set up experimental lighting on 4 June 1807 to celebrate
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
's birthday. Permanent lighting was installed in 1820. The eastern end of Pall Mall was widened between 1814 and 1818; a row of houses on its north side was demolished to make way for the Royal Opera Arcade. Pall Mall is known for the various gentlemen's clubs built there in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Travellers Club was founded in 1819 and moved to No. 49 Pall Mall in 1822. Its current premises at No. 106 were built in 1823 by
Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respon ...
. The Athenaeum Club took its name from the Athenaeum in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, a university founded by the Emperor
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...
. The club moved to No. 107 Pall Mall in 1830 from tenements in Somerset House. Its entrance hall was designed by
Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and R ...
. The Reform Club at Nos. 104–105 was founded for the British
Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
in 1836. The Army and Navy Club at Nos. 36–39 was founded in 1837. The name was suggested by the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...
in order to accommodate
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
members. Other clubs on Pall Mall include the United Service Club (now occupied by the
Institute of Directors The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...
), the Oxford and Cambridge Club and the Royal Automobile Club. Pall Mall was once the centre of London's fine art scene; in 1814 the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
, the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
and
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by 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 owned by Groupe Artémi ...
auction house were all based on the street. The freehold of much of the southern side of the Pall Mall is owned by 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 priv ...
. In addition to St James's Palace, Marlborough House, which was once a royal residence, is its neighbour to the east, opening off a courtyard just to the south of the street. It was built for
Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg (née Jenyns, spelt Jennings in most modern references; 5 June 1660 (Old Style) – 18 October 1744), was an English courtier who rose to be one of th ...
who laid the foundation stone in 1709, with building complete by 1711. The house reverted to Crown ownership in 1817; the future
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
was born here in 1865 and briefly lived in the house as Prince of Wales during the reign of his father,
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...
. It became government-owned in 1959 and houses now the
Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...
and the Commonwealth Foundation. The Prince Regent's Carlton House was built at the eastern end of Pall Mall in 1732 for
Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fa ...
and later inhabited by his widow, Princess Augusta. A ball was held at the house on 19 June 1811 to celebrate the start of the Prince's regency, but ultimately he did not decide to stay in the house upon ascending the throne, and it was demolished. John Nash built Carlton House Terrace on its site between 1827 and 1832. Pall Mall was the location of the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
from 1855 to 1906, with which it became synonymous (just as
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
refers to the administrative centre of the
UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...
). The War Office was accommodated in a complex of buildings based on the ducal mansion,
Cumberland House Cumberland House was a mansion on the south side of Pall Mall in London, England. It was built in the 1760s by Matthew Brettingham for Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany and was originally called York House. The Duke of York died in 176 ...
. The office subsequently moved to Whitehall. The street contained two other architecturally important residences. Schomberg House, at Nos. 80–82 Pall Mall was built in 1698 for Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg and divided into three parts in 1769. The eastern section of the house was demolished in 1850, but reconstructed in the mid-1950s for office use. Buckingham House was the London residence of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos. It was rebuilt in the 1790s by Sir John Soane and sold by the Buckingham estate in 1847. The house was demolished in 1908 to make way for the Royal Automobile Club. No 77-78 Pall Mall was the home of the Marquess of Ailesbury from 1840. In 1892, it was inherited by the Marchioness' nephew, Viscount de Vesci who leased the building to the Office of Works. In 1902, it was granted to Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Helena and her husband Prince Christian as a grace and favour residence and retained as a home by their daughters, Princess Helena Victoria and
Princess Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People * Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...
until 1947. In 1951, the property was divided: No.77 was occupied by the Oxford and Cambridge University Club, and no.78 by the Eagle Star Insurance Company. The Institute of Directors was founded in 1903 and received a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, b ...
in 1906. The former branch of the Midland Bank at Nos. 69–70 Pall Mall was designed by
Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memor ...
and constructed between 1922 and 1927. The original plan to redevelop No. 70 proved impractical so the two premises were demolished to provide a site for the current premises. The cigarette manufacturer Rothmans has its head office at No. 65 Pall Mall, in a building designed by Norman Shaw, while
P&O Ferries P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O. It ...
' main administrative office is at No. 79.


Cultural references

Giacomo Casanova lived in Pall Mall during 1761 as "Chevalier de Seingalt" and documented the stay in his memoirs. When the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray visited
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
in 1845, he compared Pall Mall to
O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Hen ...
(then known as Upper Sackville Street). In 1870,
Henry Benjamin Wheatley Henry Benjamin Wheatley FSA (1838–30 April 1917) was a British author, editor, and indexer. His '' London Past and Present'' was described as his most important work and "the standard dictionary of London". Life He was a posthumous son of ...
wrote "Round about
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...
and Pall Mall", documenting changes in and around the street over the century. A compilation of
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 ...
's works, ''A Critic in Pall Mall : Being Extracts From Reviews And Miscellanies'', was published in 1919, comprising essays he wrote for newspapers and journals from the 1870s to the 1890s. Pall Mall is the location of the fictional
Diogenes Club The Diogenes Club is a fictional gentlemen's club created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and featured in several Sherlock Holmes stories, such as 1893's "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter". It seems to have been named after Diogenes the Cynic ( ...
in the
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
stories,written by
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
. Princess Elizabeth mentioned Pall Mall in her diary on celebrations on VE day: "Out in crowd again," she wrote, "
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 comm ...
,
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...
, Pall Mall, walked simply miles. Saw parents on balcony at 12.30 am — ate, partied, bed 3am!" Pall Mall is part of a group of three squares on the British ''
Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
'' board game, alongside
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
and Northumberland Avenue. All three streets converge at Trafalgar Square. Rising house prices across London mean a small flat on Pall Mall, which is in the lowest-priced third of properties on the board, now sells for over £1 million.


See also

* 77–78 Pall Mall * Pall Mall Gazette *
List of London's gentlemen's clubs This is a list of gentlemen's clubs in London, United Kingdom, including those that no longer exist or merged, with an additional section on those that appear in fiction. Many of these clubs are no longer exclusively male. Extant clubs Defun ...


References

Notes Citations Sources * * * *


Further reading

* *


External links


Pall Mall on TourUK
(including photographs) {{Authority control Streets in the City of Westminster A4 road (England) 1661 establishments in England