MAYFAIR AREA GUIDES



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MAYFAIR, London

Solid, respectable haunts of the wealthy. Located between both Hyde and Regents Parks and on the doorstop of the West End's sights and attractions, Mayfair and St. James's have remained the desired location of rich bankers, embassy staff and wealthy internationals for generations. Large red brick, Georgian and Victorian mansions provide grand, serviced flats and apartments in Mayfair. Shepherds Market to the south has a number of small cottages and mews properties. St. James's boasts a number of substantial, smart homes although much of its property is now used as offices. The Jubilee Line service to Docklands has attracted young bankers looking for flats to rent. Much of the area is owned by the Grosvenor Estate and hence long leases are rare.

Mayfair has always been synonymous with smart London. Its position as the most expensive property on the Monopoly board has only added to its cachet. The modern reality is slightly different as its nature was changed by the wartime damage to the city which resulted in many offices being relocated to the West End from which they have never left. Added to this, during the oil boom of the 1970’s, many large apartments were bought by Middle Eastern buyers and they tend to use them for short periods of the year only. The result has been a retention of the outward smartness but a loss of ‘street life’ with the exception of the area around Shepherd’s market.

Mayfair is named after the fortnight-long May Fair that took place there from 1686 until it was banned from that location in 1764. (Before 1686, the May Fair was held in the Haymarket; after 1764, it moved to Fair Field in Bow).

Most of Mayfair is owned by the Grosvenor Estate but there is a substantial area around Berkeley Square which is owned by a middle eastern consortium. Both these landlords are first-class managers and have maintained these estates in an exemplary manner. As many owners of leaseholds have not qualified for enfranchisement there is still a substantial amount of short leasehold property.

The core of Mayfair is Grosvenor Square. This contains the American Embassy and, for the most part, large portered blocks of flats. The American Embassy, with its draconian security, is a major blight on properties in the immediate vicinity. Berkeley Square and Hanover Square are now mainly offices and the area around Oxford Street primarily retail. While Bond Street has remained resolutely upmarket the same cannot be said of Oxford Street and the area around it is not a prime residential area.

Communications are excellent, particularly now with new Jubilee line links in Green Park with Waterloo and Docklands. This reinforces Mayfair as a perfect spot for a pied a terre, though for families it leaves something to be desired as few of the houses have decent gardens.

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