Montpelier Square Explained

Montpelier Square is a residential garden square in Knightsbridge, London, administratively in the City of Westminster. The homes were built in the 19th century and are of brick construction partly covered by stucco. All of the buildings facing inwards are listed grade II (the mainstream, initial category) in the heritage listing scheme used in England.

History, extent, listing details and value

From a point in Plantagenet England until 1955, Kensington's eastern spur was thinner, amounting to Brompton (a forlorn term for a wedge of Knightsbridge to the south).[1] Instead these easterly fields of Kensington Gore reaching north to nearly the Serpentine and going past its hamlet hub to the fence of the Palace (formerly royal manor) then from 1901 to Kensington Church Street) presented the largest exclave within Ossulstone (the Kensington Gore detached part of St Margaret Westminster).[2]

Internally, excluding small porches, the square measures by . Private communal gardens, to centre, measure 0.2ha.[3]

Grade II listing of 44 Montpelier Street, one of two southern approach ways, means that all houses within two-house-fronts of directly facing the square plus those  - all classical houses, whether or not internally converted to flats  - facing it are listed buildings. 1–17, 17a–43 are listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England for their architectural merit. No.s 44 to 47, forming the eastern approach way (there is also a fourth approach way which is to the west) are not listed.

Average full houses, on long leases, of the square cost £8.2 million in 2018.[4]

In 2007 the Evening Standard saw the square a strong 'street of success' where 'the capital's corporate powerbrokers choose to make their homes'. The square ranked equally, 36th, as to declared housing of directors of companies with a turnover of more than £10 million.[5]

Notable residents

Helen Cecelia Black visited Mrs. Lovett Cameron at her such home for her book Notable Women Authors of the Day: Biographical sketches and described the rich interior of Cameron's house.[6]

Victor Lownes lived at No. 3 in the 1960s; Christine Keeler attended a party there in 1966 where she was spiked with LSD. Roman Polanski and Stuart Whitman were also guests at the party.[7] The Beatles also went to parties at Lownes's house.[8]

The dancer Michael Flatley sold his house for £7.2 million in 2015.[9]

External links

51.5002°N -0.1665°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10086462/boundary Limits of South Kensington Civil and of Ancient Parish
  2. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10164412/boundary Limits of Westminster St Margaret Civil and of Ancient Parish
  3. Web site: Montpelier Square. London Gardens Online – Montpelier Square. London Parks & Gardens Trust. 29 January 2019.
  4. Web site: House prices in Montpelier Square, London SW7. Zoopla. 29 January 2019.
  5. News: Where the highest fliers love to live. 2 November 2007. Hugo Duncan. The Evening Standard. 29 January 2019.
  6. Book: Helen C. Black. Notable Women Authors of the Day: Biographical Sketches. 1972. Library of Alexandria. 978-1-4655-1855-2. 79.
  7. Book: Christine Keeler. Douglas Thompson. Secrets and Lies – The Real Story of Political Scandal That Mesmerised the World – The Profumo Affair. 3 March 2014. John Blake Publishing. 978-1-78219-961-8. 224.
  8. Book: Piet Schreuders. Mark Lewisohn. Adam Smith. Beatles London: The Ultimate Guide to Over 400 Beatles Sites in and Around London. 25 March 2008. Pavilion Books. 978-1-906032-26-5.
  9. News: Dancing all the way to the bank: Michael Flatley sells London home for bumper profit. 7 June 2015. ITV News. 4 February 2019.