Ideal homes in the stables
A »mews«, a small service road for stables, deliveries and servants at the back of the fine houses of the rich, is a London phenomenon. They are common in districts such as Kensington, Mayfair and Bayswater, and almost unknown outside London. Eccleston Mews, built in the 19th century in Belgravia, is one example of many quiet enclaves that can be seen on a walk around London.
When residences for high society with imposing classical architecture were built in terraces around the broad streets and garden squares of Belgravia, it was out of the question that stables or tradesmen’s entrances would spoil the view of the façade. The solution was to place a humble street at the back, sometimes semi-concealed behind an archway. Here horses and carriages were accommodated on the ground floor of plain buildings, while grooms and servants could live on the upper floor. In the 20th century, the motor car made these stables obsolete, and ever fewer families could afford a mansion with a large staff of servants. Little by little, mews buildings were converted to garages or dwellings. From the 1950s they came into vogue as affordable, discreet addresses in top locations for creative people. The painter Francis Bacon was among the first artists to inhabit a mews. In the Swinging Sixties, to live in a mews was considered unconventional and slightly racy. In the film »A Hard Day’s Night«, the Beatles occupied a mews flat, as did John Steed, the hero of the TV series »The Avengers«.
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Address Between Eaton Square and Eaton Place, SW1W 9AD | Public Transport Victoria (Circle, District, Victoria Line) | Tip In the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s collection of coaches and limousines is on display (April–Oct daily 10am–5pm; Nov, Feb, March Mon–Sat 10am–4pm; Dec–Jan closed).
Apart from the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, only one has remained in uninterrupted operation as a stable: Bathurst Mews to the north of Hyde Park is still home to a riding school. Mews houses, enlarged by cellar and attic conversions, are now sold at dizzying prices. Often a Bentley or Jaguar is parked outside, but the street name reveals that these were once homes for horses and servants.
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