Mews

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Mew.

Mews is chiefly a British term referring to a certain type of stabling with living quarters. The term is both singular ("a mews house") and plural, and is used primarily in London and in some parts of Canada.

The term comes from the French muer and Latin mutare (to change), originally applied in French to the moulting of a hawk or falcon, and then to the caging of the bird. The term entered the English language because of the King's Mews at Charing Cross, where the royal hawks were kept starting in 1377. The name remained when it became the royal stables starting in 1537. The old Royal Mews was demolished in the early 19th century and Trafalgar Square was built on the site. The present Royal Mews was then built in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The stables of St James's Palace, which occupied the site where Lancaster House was later built, were also referred to as the "Royal Mews" on occasion, and are labelled as such on John Rocque's 1740s map of London.

The term mews is not used for large individual non-royal British stable blocks, a feature of country houses. For example the grand stable block at Chatsworth House is referred to as the stables, not the mews. Instead the word was applied to service streets and the stables in them in cities, primarily London. In the 18th and 19th centuries London housing for wealthy people generally consisted of streets of large terraced houses with stables at the back, which opened onto a small service street. The mews had horse stalls and a carriage house on the ground floor, and stable servants' living accommodation above. Generally this was mirrored by another row of stables on the opposite side of the service street, backing onto another row of terraced houses facing outward into the next street. Sometimes there were variations such as small courtyards. Most mews are named after one of the principal streets which they back onto. Most but not all have the word "mews" in their name. This arrangement was different from most of Continental Europe, where the stables in wealthy urban residences were usually off a front or central courtyard. The advantage of the British system was that it hid the sounds and smells of the stables away from the family when they were not using the horses.

Mews lost their original function in the early 20th century when motor cars were introduced. At the same time, after World War I and especially after World War II, the number of people who could afford to live in the type of houses which had a mews behind fell sharply. Some were demolished or put to commercial use, but the majority were converted into flats and the mews into homes. These "mews houses", nearly always located in the wealthiest districts, are themselves now fashionable residences. Many are sold for a million pounds (over $1.6M USD) and upwards.

[edit] External links

• Part of Belgravia in London - There are numerous mews on this map of Belgravia. Belgrave Square has mews on all four sides, although one of them is called Montrose Place.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911: "Mew"