During our time in lockdown, we have walked and walked and walked. We have explored every park within walking distance and have come to know our neighbourhood streets extremely well. A few weekends ago, I was eager to get out and walk, but was looking for something more inspired than the same old routes. I remembered seeing Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday was on 12 May and that she had lived in Mayfair for the last 45 years of her life.
English Heritage has a scheme of Blue Plaques that are all over London, identifying birthplaces, homes and workplaces for many famous people. Using Nightingale’s birthday as an excuse to go explore the Blue Plaques in that neighbourhood we set out to seek out Blue Plaques.
Along Park Lane, we first came upon a Blue Plaque for Sir Moses Montefiore (1784 – 1885). He was a British financier and banker, activist and philanthropist. He was born into an Italian-Jewish family. Over his lifetime, he donated vast sums of money to promote business & economic development and to further the education and health of the worldwide Jewish community. He lived in this beautiful home at 99 Park Lane for 60 years until his death. This is one of the few original houses to remain on Park Lane.
Benjamin Disraeli lived at 93 Park Lane from 1839 – 72 and was a neighbour of Moses Montefiore. Disraeli was a British politician who served as Prime Minister twice. He played an important role in forming the modern Conservative Party. He remains the only Jewish British Prime Minister to date.
At 16 Upper Grosvenor Steet, we found a Blue Plaque for 2 Peels (father and son). Sir Robert Peel was a manufacturer and reformer. His son, also Sir Robert Peel, served as Prime Minister twice and also as Home Secretary. He was the founder of the Metropolitan Police.
Not far from Upper Grosvenor Street, we found the Blue Plaque for John Gilbert Winant where he lived at 7 Aldford Street for five years (1941 – 46). He was an American politician who served as the US Ambassador the the United Kingdom during most of WWII.
Turning into South Street we found Florence Nightingale’s Blue Plaque. It marks the location of the house that she lived in for the last 45 years of her life. (The building that her home was in was demolished in 1929.) Her father had purchased number 10 South Street for her in 1865. Although she lived here with 5 servants, she spent the majority of her time in her bedroom at the back of the second floor.
We didn’t come to the her statue until much later in our walk. It stands in Waterloo Place in Central London, next to the Guards Crimean War Memorial. The bronze statue of Nightingale holding a lamp in her right hand was designed by Sir Arthur George Walker and erected in 1915. On the granite pedestal are bronze plaques that show scenes of Nightingale working: interviewing officers, orchestrating the transport of wounded and attending meetings.
Having met our goal of locating Florence Nightingale’s plaque, we weren’t done. It was a beautiful day and there were more plaques in the neigbourhood. On a strangely quiet South Audley Street, we found a plaque commemorating Charles X stay at 72 South Audley. At the start of the French Revolution, Charles X escaped to Great Britain where King George III gave him a generous allowance. It was in this lovely home that he lived until 1814, when he returned to France.
Further down the street and across the way, was a plaque for Sir Richard Westmacott. Westmacott was a sculptor who specialised in fireplace design for England’s grand country houses. He was the first in his family in a long line of well-known and talented sculptors.
Turning on to South Street, we came upon J. Arthur Rank’s mansion at 38 South Street. This Grade II-listed building was built in 1920 for industrialist Henry McLaren. It combines nostalgic grandeur with 20th century solidity. This building was the headquarters for the Rank Organisation. Rank was an important figure in the British film industry. It is said that without him, many of the most important films of the 20th century would never have been made. He held a large stake in the American Universal Pictures and opened Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. During WWII he acquired Odeon Theatres. Among the notable films that he financed were Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet and Powell & Pressburger’s The Red Shoes.
Across the street from Rank’s mansion is a beautiful row of buildings. It was there that we located a plaque for Albert Henry Stanley. He was a British-American businessman. Although he was born in Britain, his spent the early part of his career in the United States. He was instrumental in developing tramway systems in New Jersey and in the city of Detroit, Michigan. He also served in the US Navy during the Spanish-American War. Later he was recruited by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London. And so began his career in London that led to his management of the London Underground.
On Charles Street was a plaque for Archibald Philip Primrose. The 5th Earl of Rosebery served as Prime Minister and was the first Chairman of the London County Council. He was born at 20 Charles Street. Also on Charles Street we found a plaque that commemorates the year that HRH The Duke of Clarence spent living here. In his youth, William served in the Royal Navy earning the nickname of ‘The Sailor King’. After both of his elder brothers died without leaving a legitimate heir, he inherited the throne at the age of 64 in 1830 becoming King William IV.
The English novelist and playwright William Somerset Maugham lived at 6 Chesterfield Street from 1911 – 1919. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s.
Nearby was the home of Anthony Eden. He was a British Conservative politician who served three periods as Foreign Secretary and then a brief term as Prime Minister from 1955 – 57. He lived at No 4 Chesterfield Street. It was at the same address that Beau Brummell lived from 1955 – 57. He was an iconic figure in Regency England and an important arbiter of men’s fashion. He was close friends with the future King George IV. Unfortunately, they quarrelled and Brummell found himself in debt. He then was forced to take refuge in France.
General John Burgoyne & Richard Brinsley Sheridan both lived at 10 Herford Street. Burgoyne lived and died here. He was a British army officer who saw action during the Seven Years’ War & the American War of Independence. Sheridan lived at the same address a few years after Burgoyne died. Sheridan, an Irishman, was the long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He was also a satirist, playwright and poet.
Our last plaque of the day was found at 46 Clarges Street in Mayfair. Charles James Fox was a prominent British Whig statesman. He was the arch-rival of the Tory politician William Pitt the Younger.
After we concluded our plaque search for the day we took a walk around Central London including Piccadilly and Regent Street. It was uncannily quiet especially for such a beautiful morning. Ever the photographer, I couldn’t resist taking a few photos.
