Survey of London: Volume 39, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 1 (General History)

The Grosvenor family's large estate in northern Mayfair, for two centuries a by-word for wealth and fashion, is described in two volumes of the Survey. This first volume, a general history, traces the administrative and architectural history of the estate from its acquisition by the family in 1677 and its development and redevelopment from the 1720s onwards around the centrepiece of Grosvenor Square, and analyses the reasons for its pre-eminence among London's great private estates. Detailed accounts of the buildings are provided in the companion volume 40.

Survey of London.

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Citation:

Survey of London: Volume 39, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 1 (General History), ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1977), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol39/pt1 [accessed 20 April 2025].

Survey of London: Volume 39, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 1 (General History). Edited by F H W Sheppard (London, 1977), British History Online, accessed April 20, 2025, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol39/pt1.

Survey of London: Volume 39, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 1 (General History). Ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1977), British History Online. Web. 20 April 2025. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol39/pt1.

Table of Contents

Title Page(s)
Frontispiece
Preface v-vi
Acknowledgements vii-viii
List of plates xi-xiv
List of figures xv-xvi
Plan pocket: The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair 1-2
The Acquisition of the Estate 1-5
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Introduction 6
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: The Ground Landlord and his Role 6-9
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: The Estate Agent 9-11
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: The Estate Surveyor 11-12
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Layout 12-13
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: The Course of Development 13
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Building Agreements 13-16
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Building Leases 16-17
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Ground Rent 17-19
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Architects and Builders 20-24
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Building Methods and Finance 24-29
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Other Features of the Development 29-30
The Development of the Estate 1720-1785: Conclusion 30-33
The Administration of the Estate 1785-1899: Introduction 34
The Administration of the Estate 1785-1899: Professional Advisers and Estate Staff 34-36
The Administration of the Estate 1785-1899: The Estate in Trust, 1785-1808 36-43
The Administration of the Estate 1785-1899: The Free Estate, 1808-45 43-47
The Administration of the Estate 1785-1899: The Estate Entailed, 1845-99 47-66
The Estate in the Twentieth Century 67-82
The Social Character of the Estate: Introduction 83-86
The Social Character of the Estate: A Survey of Householders in c. 1790 86-89
The Social Character of the Estate: The London Season in 1841 89-93
The Social Character of the Estate: The Censuses of 1841 and 1871 93-98
The Social Character of the Estate: The Last Hundred Years 98-102
The Architecture of the Estate: The Early Buildings 103-119
The Architecture of the Estate: First Changes 119-127
The Architecture of the Estate: The Reign of the Cundys 127-140
The Architecture of the Estate: Ducal Heyday 140-161
The Architecture of the Estate: Modern Times 161-170
Appendix 1: Leases of the Principal Streets on the Estate 172-195
Appendix 2: Schedule of Fixtures at No. 45 Grosvenor Square, 1733 196-197
Appendix 3: Problems of Short-term Leasing, an Episode 198
List of abbreviations 199
References 199-211
Index: A-J 213-226
Index: K-Z 226-236
Plate 1: Proposed layout of the estate for building, c. 1720
Plate 2: Extract from John Rocque's Plan of the Cities of London & Westminster . . . 1746
Plate 3: Extract from the Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1869–70, scale 1, 2500
Plate 4: Early designs for Grosvenor Square
Plate 5: Early views of Grosvenor Square
Plate 6: Early-Georgian exteriors
Plate 7: No. 44 Grosvenor Square in c. 1874
Plate 8: Early-Georgian exteriors
Plate 9: Early-Georgian staircases
Plate 10: Early-Georgian interiors, plastering and panelling
Plate 11: No. 12 North Audley Street, the gallery in 1962
Plate 12
Plate 13: Park Lane and Park Street
Plate 14: Camelford House and Somerset House, Park Lane, and Hereford Gardens
Plate 15: The Adam Brothers on the estate
Plate 16: Mid-Georgian ceilings
Plate 17: Mid-Georgian chimneypieces
Plate 18: Grosvenor House
Plate 19: Park Lane, houses facing Hyde Park in 1927
Plate 20: Early Works by Thomas Cundy II
Plate 21: Dudley House, Park Lane
Plate 22
Plate 23: Rebuilding of the 1820s and 1830s
Plate 24: Davies Street and South Street
Plate 25: Fronts designed by Thomas Cundy II and III
Plate 26: No. 4 Grosvenor Square, interiors in 1975
Plate 27: The French style in the 1860's
Plate 28: Grosvenor House, remodelling by Henry Clutton
Plate 29: Churches designed by Arthur Blomfield
Plate 30: Working-class housing
Plate 31: Working-class housing
Plate 32: Goode's, South Audley Street
Plate 33
Plate 34: Mount Street reconstruction
Plate 35
Plate 36: Town houses of the 1890's
Plate 37: No. 54 Mount Street, entrance hall in c. 1911
Plate 38: Buildings designed by Balfour and Turner
Plate 39: Claridge's Hotel, new building
Plate 40: Interiors in the French style
Plate 41: No. 41 Grosvenor Square, the ballroom
Plate 42: Victorian and Edwardian interiors
Plate 43: Inter-war entrance halls
Plate 44: Elevations in stone, 1900–1914
Plate 45: Elevations in brick, 1900–1920
Plate 46: Stone-fronted ranges
Plate 47: Brick-fronted ranges
Plate 48
Plate 49: Inter-war flats
Plate 50: Mews houses and conversions
Plate 51: Mews houses and conversions
Plate 52: Claridge's Hotel, interiors of 1929-31
Plate 53: Interiors of the 1930's
Plate 54: Grosvenor Square rebuilding
Plate 55: Grosvenor Square rebuilding
Plate 56: Aerial view of the Grosvenor Estate, Mayfair, in 1973