Mayfair

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Mayfair (disambiguation).

Location
Mayfair


OS grid reference:	TQ285805
Latitude:	51.508755°
Longitude:	-0.14743°
Administration
London borough:	Westminster
County level:	Greater London
Region:	London
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Greater London
Historic county:	Middlesex (1889)
Services
Police force:	Metropolitan Police
Fire brigade:	London Fire Brigade
Ambulance service:	London Ambulance
Post office and telephone
Post town:	LONDON
Postal district:	W1
Dialling code:	020
Politics
UK Parliament:
London Assembly:	West Central
European Parliament:	London
London \| List of places in London

Savile Row

An arcade in Old Bond Street

Mayfair is an area in the City of Westminster in London, named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place there from 1686 until it was banned in that location in 1764. Prior to 1686, the May Fair was held in The Haymarket, and after 1764, it moved to Fair Field in Bow.

Mayfair is roughly bordered by Hyde Park to the west, Oxford Street to the north, Green Park to the south and Regent Street to the east. Most of the area was first developed between the mid 17th century and the mid 18th century as a fashionable residential district, by a number of landlords, the most important of them the Grosvenor family. The freehold of a large section of Mayfair also belongs to Queen Elizabeth II. ^{[citation needed]} Queen Elizabeth II was born in Bruton Street and grew up in Mayfair during her infant years.

The district is now mainly commercial, with many offices in converted houses and new buildings, including major corporate headquarters and a concentration of hedge funds. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. There is still a substantial amount of residential property, as well as some exclusive shopping, London's largest concentration of luxury hotels and many fine restaurants. Buildings in Mayfair include the United States embassy in Grosvenor Square, the Royal Academy of Arts, The Handel House Museum, the Grosvenor House Hotel and Claridge's.

Mayfair is the most expensive property on a British Monopoly set.

Famous past residents have included the present monarch Queen Elizabeth II, John Adams, 2nd American president (1735-1826), Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th American president (1890-1969), Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, surgeon and mayor (1836-1917), Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (1806-1861), Robert Clive, soldier & administrator (1725-1774), Earl Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister (1804-1881), Sir Robert Peel, prime minister (1788-1850), Sir Henry Pelham, prime minister (1695-1754), Charles James Fox, British statesman (1749-1806), Jimi Hendrix, guitarist & songwriter (1942-1970), William Somerset Maugham, novelist (1874-1965), Richard Brinsley Sheridan, dramatist (1751-1816), and Charles Frederick Henry Leslie, Middlesex & England cricketer (1861-1921).