'Brook Street' is one of the principal streets on the
Grosvenor Estate in the exclusive
central London district of
Mayfair. It was developed in the first half of the 18th century and runs from
Hanover Square to
Grosvenor Square. The continuation from Grosvenor Square to
Park Lane is called 'Upper Brook Street'. Both sections originally consisted of typical London
terraced houses, mostly built to individual designs. Some of them are quite grand and were designed by well known architects for aristocratic clients, especially near Grosvenor Square, while others are more modest. Some of the original houses survive while others have been replaced by buildings from a variety of periods.
Features of the street include the grand hotel
Claridge's, at the junction with Davies Street, and
Le Gavroche, a famous restaurant. The
American Embassy, which abuts Upper Brook Street and Grosvenor Square, has necessitated security arrangements which impede free access to the former. The
Handel House Museum is also in Brook Street.
.jpg)
Westward view from the east end of Brook Street, close to Hanover Square.
Former residents:
★ 23 Brook Street:
Jimi Hendrix — guitarist
★ 25 Brook Street:
Georg Frideric Handel — composer - now the
Handel House Museum
★ 39 Brook Street: Sir
Jeffry Wyatville — architect
★ 74 Brook Street: Sir
William Withey Gull - physician (
Jack the Ripper suspect)
★ 76 Brook Street:
Colen Campbell — architect
★ 22 Upper Brook Street:
Leo Bonn — founder of what is now the
Royal National Institute for Deaf People.
★ 51 Upper Brook Street:
George Seferis — Greek Ambassador, poet and Nobel Laureate
External links
★
Brook Street, Mayfair London
★
Map
★
Brook Street — detailed architectural history of Brook Street from the ''
Survey of London''
★
Upper Brook Street — detailed architectural history of Upper Brook Street from the ''
Survey of London''