Brook Street

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Houses of Jimi Hendrix and George Frideric Handel

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 Some of the original houses survive while others have been replaced by buildings from a variety of periods.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 Claridge's, which is one of the grandest hotels in London, at the junction with Davies Street, and the American Embassy, which abuts Upper Brook Street and Grosvenor Square. Free access to Upper Brook Street is impeded by the security arrangements around the embassy. The Handel House Museum is also in the street, as is one of the most famous restaurants in London, Le Gavroche.

Former residents:

23 Brook Street: Jimi Hendrix — guitarist
25 Brook Street: Georg Frideric Handel — composer - this now the Handel House Museum
39 Brook Street: Sir Jeffry Wyatville — architect
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

[edit] External links

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