Duke Street, St James's is a street in the

St James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End of London, West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of ...

area of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It runs from

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, 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 (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

in the north to King Street in the south, and is crossed by

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a One-way traffic, 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 r ...

. Ryder Street joins it on the western side. On the eastern side it provides access to Masons Yard. The upmarket department store

Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason plc (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an Luxury goods, upmarket department store in London, England. The main store is located at 181 Piccadilly in the St James's area of London, where it was established in 1707 ...

occupies the north-west corner.

History

Duke Street first appeared in the rate books of the parish of St. Martin in the Fields in 1673. It is likely that it was named in honour of

James, Duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

, later James II. Building of the street was completed in the 1680s, though none of the original houses remain. The Chequers Tavern, at No. 16, occupies a site that has been a public house has since 1732, when Henry Mason, the then occupant, was granted a victualler's licence for an unnamed tavern. His successor was Robert Morgoridge, and William Morgridge was granted a victualler's licence for the Mason's Arms in Duke Street in 1744. By 1751, the name of the tavern had been changed to the Chequers.

Mason's Yard Mason's Yard is a Squares in London, square in London SW postcode area#SW1, SW1, England. Overview Mason's Yard is a Squares in London, square or cul-de-sac on the east side of Duke Street, St James's, Duke Street in the St James's area of Londo ...

is now located to the east of Duke Street.

Notable residents

Notable residents of Duke Street include: *1686

Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton (1632–1706) was an English aristocrat and diplomat. Career He succeeded his father, Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Hatton, as 2nd Baron Hatton and also as governor of Guernsey in 1670. He and his fami ...

English aristocrat and diplomat. *1707

Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey (165625 August 1711) was an Peerage of England, English peer, diplomat, courtier, and statesman of the Villiers family. He was created Baron Villiers and Earl of Jersey, Viscount Villiers in 1691 and Earl of J ...

*1760 Thomas Villiers, Baron Hyde, later first Earl of Clarendon *1815

Tom Cribb Tom Cribb (8 July 1781 – 11 May 1848) was an English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. He was All England Champion from 1808 to 1822.Dowling (1841), p.56 Early life Born in Hanham near Bristol, Cribb moved to London at the age of 13 ...

, prize-fighter. *1815-1830

Charles Lewis (bookbinder) Charles Lewis (1786–1836) was a prominent English bookbinder. Life Born in London, Lewis was fourth son of Johann Ludwig, a political refugee from Hanover, and brother of Frederick Christian Lewis and of George Robert Lewis. In 1800, he was ap ...

*1941

Al Bowlly Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1899 – 17 April 1941) was a South African-British vocalist, crooner, and dance band guitarist who was Britain's most popular singer for most of the 1930s. He recorded upwards of 1,000 songs that were listened ...

(vocalist and jazz guitarist) was killed in April 1941 by a parachute mine at his flat at 32 Duke Street A lodger in Duke Street, St James's was

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

, who dated letters from here between December 1790 and March 1791, and in January 1794.

Listed buildings

*11 Duke Street, St James's (Grade II) Terraced house with later shop. *2 & 3 Duke Street, St James's (Grade II) Office and gallery building. 1910-12 by E. Vincent Harris and Thomas A. Moodie.

Culture

“The street is now a centre of fine art dealers and galleries” Forming part of the St James's Art District, Duke Street is an important location for its concentration of art galleries, covering modern and contemporary art, sculpture, old masters and tapestries. It includes the premises of

Bernard Jacobson Gallery Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern ...

, Willow Gallery, Thomas Heneage, S Franses Ltd, MacConnal-Mason Galleries, Sims Reed Rare Books and Whitford Fine Art.

References

Streets in the City of Westminster St James's Art gallery districts {{England-road-stub

History

Notable residents

Listed buildings

Culture

See also

References