Belgrave Square

Belgrave Square is one of the grandest 19th century squares in London, England. Bordering Knightsbridge, it is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and was laid out by the property contractor Thomas Cubitt for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s. Most of the houses were occupied by 1840. The square takes its name from one of the Duke of Westminster's subsidiary titles, Viscount Belgrave. The village of Belgrave, Cheshire is two miles (3 km) from the Grosvenor family's main country seat of Eaton Hall.

The original scheme consisted of four terraces, each made up of eleven grand white stuccoed houses, apart from the south east terrace, which has twelve; detached mansions in three of the corners; and a private central garden. The numbering is clockwise from the north: NW terrace Nos. 1 to 11; west corner mansion No. 12; SW terrace 12-23; south corner mansion No. 24; SE terrace Nos. 25-36; east corner mansion No. 37; NE terrace Nos. 38-48. There is also slightly later detached house at the northern corner, No. 49, which was which was built in by Cubitt for Sidney Herbert in 1851. The terraces were designed by George Basevi and are possibly the grandest houses ever built in London on a speculative basis. The largest of the corner mansions, Seaford House in the east corner, was designed by Philip Hardwick, and the one in the west corner was designed by Robert Smirke. The square features statues of Christopher Columbus, Simon Bolivar, Jose de San Martin, Prince Henry the Navigator, and the 1st Marquess of Westminster, a bust of George Basevi, and a sculpture entitled "Homage to Leonardo, the Vitruvian Man", by Italian sculptor Enzo Plazzotta. [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speel/london/belgrave.htm]

Occupants

From its construction until World War II, the square was occupied by leading members of the British aristocracy, with an increasing number of plutocrats added to the mix in later decades. Its immediate success was encapsulated by the decision of another of London's leading freehold landlords, the Duke of Bedford, to choose No. 6 as his London home in preference to a house on his own London estate in Bloomsbury, which had lost its aristocratic cachet. [Page 75, "London in the 19th Century", Jerry White (2007). ISBN 9780712600309] The square has been a favoured location for embassies since the nineteenth century, and houses several to this day, including the German Embassy, which occupies three houses on the west side. After World War II, most of the houses were converted into offices for charities and institutes. This is now being reversed, with leases of three houses being offered for sale and conversion to residential use by the Grosvenor Estate in 2004.

The present Duke of Westminster remains the freeholder of the square.

No. 47 Belgrave Square

No. 47 Belgrave Square is to be offered to the market in the near future and the owners, in conjunction with the Grosvenor Estate, have already received offers for the unmodernised property and its adjoining mews house which together currently comprise 18,123 square feet (1692 square metres). Planning applications have been submitted to increase the size of No. 47 to 21,000 square feet and in doing so create a new design for a private residence. A similar property, unmodernised, on nearby Eaton Square has sold for £3,000 per square foot, and No. 10 Belgrave Square, modernised, has been put on the market for £120 million by Knight Frank. It is expected that the sale of No. 47 Belgrave Square will see it achieve the highest value per square foot of any of the properties in Belgravia or the surrounding areas.

RMS "Titanic"

In the south corner of Belgrave Square is the mansion that in the early part of the 20th Century was known as Downshire House, the London home of Lord and Lady William James Pirrie. Lord Pirrie was the chairman of Harland and Wolff, a leading shipbuilding firm located in Belfast, Ireland. One evening in July 1907, the Pirries hosted J. Bruce and Florence Ismay for dinner. J. Bruce Ismay was the managing director of the White Star Line, one of the top shipping companies of the North Atlantic. Harland and Wolff constructed all of White Star's vessels. White Star's main rival was the Cunard Line. The Cunard Line's newest ships, the , after the sinking of the "Titanic".

Current tenants include:
* Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square
* The Society of Chemical Industry, 14-15 Belgrave Square
* The Syrian Embassy, 8 Belgrave Square
* The Embassy of Portugal, 11 Belgrave Square
* The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 17 Belgrave Square
* The Official Residence of the Austrian Ambassador, 18 Belgrave Square
* The German Embassy, (21)-23 Belgrave Square
* The Royal Norwegian Embassy, 25 Belgrave Square
* The Serbian Embassy, 28 Belgrave Square
* The Bahrain Embassy, 30 Belgrave Square
* Italian Cultural Institute, 39 Belgrave Square
* The Turkish Embassy, 43 Belgrave Square
* The Malaysian High Commission, 45 Belgrave Square

References

* "The Buildings on England, London 6: Westminster, by Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner, (2003), pages 739-41. ISBN 0300095953
* "Georgian London", by John Summerson. 1988 edition. ISBN 0-7126-2095-8.
*"Titanic Triumph and Tragedy" by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas
*"Titanic An Illustrated History", text by Don Lynch, paintings by Ken Marschall

External links

* [http://www.londontown.com/LondonStreets/belgrave_square_cfd.html LondonTown.com information]
* [http://www.london.diplo.de/Vertretung/london/en/02/An__Embassy__in__Belgrave__Square/Embassy__Belgrave__Square__Unterbereich.html An Embassy in Belgrave Square] , German Embassy
* [http://www.shaw-hardwick.co.uk Website about Philip Hardwick, the architect of Seaford House]
* [http://www.serbianembassy.org.uk Website of the Serbian Embassy located at Belgrave Square]