Grosvenor Square

10 significant (and historic) London trees…7. D-Day Tree…

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PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps

Nations, including the UK, have just marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy at a range of locations in France and England. But did you know London has its own “D-Day tree”?

The tree, a Ginkgo biloba or Maidenhair tree, is located outside number 22 in Grosvenor Square in Mayfair (on the corner with Upper Brooks Street). It was planted in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

As well as the tree itself, the landings are commemorated with plaques around the base which provide the date of the landings and its code-name, Operation Overlord.

The location apparently relates to 20 Grosvenor Square being, for a time, the headquarters of Dwight D Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force launched on D-Day. There’s a plaque on the building commemorating his tenure.

In fact, the number of Americans working in the square – at locations including the US Embassy – led to it being known colloquially as ‘Eisenhower Platz’).

The tree was planted by the City of Westminster.

Note: There seems to be some conflicting information, not the least on a plaque in Bushy Park about Eisenhower’s connections with Grosvenor Square and Norfolk House in St James’s Square. We’ll be investigating further to clarify.

Famous Londoners – Mah-Jongg…

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A ring-tailed lemur who famously once lived in Eltham Palace, Mah-Jongg was the much-indulged pet of rich-listers Stephen and Virginia Courtauld during the interwar period.

A replica of Mah-Jongg climbs his bamboo ladder at Eltham Palace. PICTURE: BEV Norton (licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The couple purchased the lemur through Harrod’s then pet department soon after their marriage in 1923. He was immediately christened Mah-Jongg but commonly referred to as “Jongy”.

As well as residing with them in their Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, residence, the lemur also travelled with the Courtaulds.

This included on their luxurious motor yacht, the Virginia, on which he had a specially designed deck chair to lounge in (although Jongy, who had a reputation for being a bit nippy at times, is said to have disgraced himself at a farewell lunch for the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, of which Stephen was a sponsor, when he bit the expedition’s wireless operator, Percy Lemon, and severed an artery; it took Lemon three months to recover).

When the Courtaulds bought Eltham Palace in 1933, Mah-Jongg’s image was incorporated into the building including in a mural in the billiard room and in wooden bosses carved in his likeness in the Great Hall.

Mah-Jongg also had specially designed living quarters on the first floor with a trapdoor opening to a bamboo ladder that led down to the Flower Room on the ground floor. His cage was decorated with Madagascan rainforests by Gertrude Whinfield.

Mah-Jongg died in 1938. A memorial to him was originally installed at Eltham Palace but is now located at the Courthauld’s last home, a replica French villa called La Rochelle, in what is now Zimbabwe.

He’s also famously seen in Leonard Campbell Taylor’s 1934 portrait of the Courthaulds in the music room of their Grosvenor Square home.

Treasures of London – A fragment of the Berlin Wall…

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Berlin-WallThis Sunday marks 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall so we decided it was a fitting time to mention the fragment of the wall which accompanies the bronze statue of former US President Ronald Reagan in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair.

Reagan2The remnant of the wall, recorded as taken from the “east side”, can be seen through a window in a bronze plaque which commemorates the role President Reagan played in the coming down of the wall.

The plaque also features quotes from President Reagan – including the famous line from his 1987 Brandenburg Gate speech, “Mr Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall” – and other figures including former UK PM Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev as well as information about the wall itself.

In a dedication to the president, it further reads: “Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States of America, was a principled fighter for freedom. With a clear vision and will, he gave hope to the oppressed and shamed the oppressors. His contribution to world history in the 20th century, culminated in his determined intervention to end the Cold War. President Reagan has left a lasting legacy as a campaigner for global peace.”

The memorial was unveiled on 4th July, 2011, outside the US Embassy by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, to mark the 100th birthday of the former president. Among those present at the unveiling of the statue were then Foreign Minister William Hague and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

There are also larger sections of the wall outside the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth and in the National Army Museum in Chelsea (closed for redevelopment until 2016).

For more on London’s monuments, check out Andrew Kershman’s aptly named London’s Monuments.

10 Historic London Garden Squares…6. Grosvenor Square

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Grosvenor-Square-1

The largest square in Mayfair, Grosvenor Square was laid out in the 1720s on the orders of  Sir Richard Grosvenor of Cheshire.

Sir Richard owned the Grosvenor Estate, a considerable tract of land in London’s west which includes in its northern part the land upon which the square was created (the estate is now owned by Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the 6th Duke of Westminster).

It’s proximity to Hyde Park and Whitehall quickly made it, like many other historic squares, a fashionable place for politicians to live – among those who lived here in the late 18th century were three prime ministers.

The oval-shaped gardens in the middle of the square – which was only opened to the public in 1948 – were once home to a statue of King George I but this was removed at some point. Originally thought to have been laid out by gardener John Alston, they took on their current form in 1948 when they were redesigned by architect BWL Gallannaugh (interestingly, Grosvenor Square is also said to have been the last part of London to exchange gas lighting for electric lighting).

There’s almost no residential buildings on the square these days but among the most prominent buildings (in fact it dominates the west end of the square) is the US Embassy. Designed by Eero Saarinen, the building was completed in 1960 with US President John F Kennedy one of the first visitors.

Grosvenor-Square-2The hulking embassy is only one of the many American connections to the square, connections which at one point led to it being known as “Little America”. Dwight Eisenhower, commander of the US armed forces in World War II, based his headquarters at number 20 in 1944, while number nine – one of the few residences to survive – was home to John Adams, first American ambassador to the Court of St James and later the country’s second president.

The American theme, which has meant the square has been the focus of demonstrations such as those protesting the Vietnam War as well as outpourings of support such as in the wake of the September 11 attacks, is also evident in the statutory in the square’s gardens with grand, full size statues of  President Franklin D. Roosevelt (a bronze by William Reid Dick unveiled by Eleanor Roosevelt on the third anniversary of the president’s death – 12th April, 1948 – it is pictured above), President Eisenhower (a bronze by Robert Dean dating from 1989), and President Ronald Reagan (unveiled on 4th July, 2011, pictured right).

On the eastern side of the garden square is the September 11 Memorial Garden opened in 2003 while on the south side is the Monument to the Eagle Squadrons, the three RAF squadrons in World War II mostly composed of American volunteers before the US entered the war. There’s also a set of memorial “Diplomatic Gates”, installed in 1984 to commemorate the bicentennial of the Treaty of Paris and honour US and UK politician who have worked in the service of peace.

Other notable buildings include number one, the Canadian High Commission (previously the US embassy); and number four, one of  square’s oldest houses. Now demolished, number 44 was the home of the Earl of Harrowby and where the British Cabinet were dining when word arrived of Wellington’s victory at Waterloo.

LondonLife – Remembering September 11

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London, along with the rest of the world, will this week pause to remember 11th September, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people died after planes were flown into New York’s World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon (a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania). In preparation for the 10th anniversary, London’s Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled a 10 metre high sculptural memorial, After 9/11, in Battersea Park which controversially uses steel girders from the towers in its design. But London already has a memorial to the events of 11th September. This is located in Grosvenor Square Garden, opposite the US Embassy. Opened on 11th September, 2003, the memorial features a pavilion which has three bronze plaques listing the name of UK citizens, UK Overseas Territories and people of dual nationality who lost their lives. The site was chosen partly on the basis that it was at the foot of the nearby Roosevelt Memorial that people laid flowers and lit candles in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. Plants at the memorial include white Bianca Roses which were among the flowers in the Queen’s bouquet laid at Westminster Abbey in a service held on 29th November, 2001, and were the roses that family members laid on the innocent victims memorial outside the abbey . In addition, more than 3,000 of the rose petals cascaded from the Whispering Gallery to the altar of St Paul’s Cathedral on the  first anniversary service.

Around London – Yuri Gagarin honored; Londinium by iPhone; celebrating a year to the Olympics; and, British Museum hopes to buy Europe’s oldest book…

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• Earlier this month it was former US President Ronald Reagan’s turn to be honored with statue in Grosvenor Square. Last week it was the turn of former Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – the first man in space – to be so honored with a new statue located outside the British Council’s offices in the Mall (opposite another explorer, Captain James Cook). The statue, a gift of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, was unveiled to mark the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s celebratory visit to London on 14th July, 1961, just three months after he completed his orbit of the earth on 12th April that year. The 3.5 metre high zinc alloy figure stands close to Admiralty Arch which was where Gagarin met then Prime Minister Harold MacMillan after he was invited to the UK by the National Union of Foundrymen. Among those present for the unveiling of the statue – which is a replica of one in the town of Lubertsy where Gagarin worked as a foundryman as a teenager – was Gagarin’s daughter Elena Gagarina, now director of the Kremlin Museums, and Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency. The British Council is running an exhibition, Gagarin in Britain, which looks at the life of Gagarin and the early Soviet space programme, until 14th September – among the objects on display is the first space suit and an ejector seat similar to that Gargarin used when he ejected out of Vostok 1. Entry is by registration only and space is limited – email gargarin@britishcouncil.org is you’d like to register for a place. For more information, see www.britishcouncil.org. PICTURE: Frank Noon/British Council

• A new iPhone app which directs people to key sites in what was Roman London (Londinium) will go live on Monday. Developed by the Museum of London and the History Channel, Streetmuseum Londonium will bring to life some of the city’s most significant Roman sites, such as the amphitheatre at Guildhall, using “augmented reality video” which will overlay scenes of Roman London over the modern city while soundscapes will allow users to listen to a ritual at the Temple of Mithras or traders at the forum. In addition, users will be able to ‘digitally excavate’ Roman artifacts including leather bikini briefs and an ancient manicure set. Navigation to these “immersive experiences” will be via a specially created new map of Roman London which will be superimposed on a modern map of the capital, allowing users to see how the city has changed. The launch follows the earlier creation of the Streetmuseum app which guides people to more than 200 sites across the city. More than 200,000 people from across the world have so far downloaded this. Streetmuseum Londinium will be available free to download from 25th July. See www.museumoflondon.org.uk/apps for more.

• London will mark one year to go until the Olympic Games next Wednesday with a ceremony in Trafalgar Square which will be broadcast live on BBC1. Among those present with be the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) chairman Sebastian Coe and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. The event will also feature a live cross to the Aquatics Centre in Olympic Park where Olympic hopeful Tom Daley will make the first dive into the pool.

• The British Library hopes to raise £2.75 million to acquire the world’s earliest surviving intact European book, the 7th century St Cuthbert Gospel. A copy of the Gospel of St John, the book was buried with St Cuthbert on the isle of Lindisfarne in 698 and later found in the saint’s coffin in Durham Cathedral in 1104. The National Heritage Fund Memorial has already awarded £4.5 million to obtain the St Cuthbert Gospel and the Art Fund and The Garfield Weston Foundation have donated £250,000 each. The book has been on long-term loan to the library since 1979 and is regularly on view in the Sir John Ritblat Treasures Gallery. The library was approached last year and given first option to acquire the text after the Society of Jesus (British Province) decided to sell it. A price of £9 million has been agreed, of which £2.75 million remains outstanding. For more, see www.bl.uk.

Around London – Ronald Reagan unveiled, two ways in Pall Mall, Hungarian photography at the RA, and a celebration of the Arab world…

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• A new statue of former US President Ronald Reagan was unveiled in Grosvenor Square near the US embassy on Monday, 4th July. The 10 foot tall bronze statue of the president, who died in 2004, was unveiled at a private ceremony by the Foreign Secretary William Hague – former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were also among the more than 2,000 people who attended along with current US ambassador Louis Susman (a frail Margaret Thatcher was reportedly too frail to attend). Commissioned by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the statue is the work of sculptor Chas Fagan. Its unveiling is one of a series of events marking the centenary of the birth of the former actor turned politician.

• Pall Mall and St James Street in the West End were opened to two-way traffic this week for the first time in 50 years. The changeover came into effect last Sunday morning. The roads were made one-way in 1963 under a scheme to deal with increasing traffic in the area. But it has been reopened in the first stage of a £14 million overhaul of traffic around Piccadilly Circus – home to world-famous neon billboards and the Eros Statue. The area is visited by 200,000 every day.

• Time to get your togs on. Scores of swimmers will be taking the plunge at the Hampstead Heath Lido tomorrow and Saturday to raise funds for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, Bear Necessities. A 4,000 metre swim, the City Dip, will be swum by teams and individuals with every swimmer receiving a commemorative certificate and medal. The current Lord Mayor of London is Michael Bear. To sign up or for more information, see  www.lordmayorsappeal.org.uk/dip

• On Now: Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the 20th Century – Brassaï, Capa, Kertész, Moholy-Nagy, Munkácsi. This new exhibition at the Royal Academy of the Arts at Burlington House in Piccadilly, organised to mark the Hungarian Presidency of the EU, is dedicated to the birth of modern photography and features the work of Brassaï, Robert Capa, André Kertész, László Moholy-Nagy and Martin Munkácsi. It comprises more than 200 photographs, dating from 1914 to 1989, which usually form part of the collection of the Hungarian National Museum of Photography as well as the National Museum in Budapest and other public and private collections in both Hungary and the UK. Runs until 2nd October. For more information, see www.royalacademy.org.uk. PICTURE: Laszlo Fejes, Wedding, Budapest, 1965, Copyright Hungarian Museum of Photography.

• On Now: Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture. London’s first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world will feature more than 100 artists involved in 70 events at some 30 venues over the weeks until 24th July. The program includes visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, architecture, lectures and discussions with many events boasting free admission. Highlights include A Girl in her Room, an exhibition of photo works by highly acclaimed Lebanese/American artist, Rania Matar, at the Mosaic Rooms, one of London’s leading centres for Arab contemporary arts (runs until 23rd July), Shopopolis, a series of collaborations with shoppers at Westfield Shopping Centre (runs until 24th July) and this weekend’s Interference, a series of free films, talks and workshops at the ICA curated by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha. For full details of all events, see www.london.gov.uk/shubbak.

What’s in a name?…Mayfair

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Still the address to have in London, the origins of the name Mayfair are just as they appear – this area to the west of the City was named for the annual May Fair which was held at what is now the trendy (and picturesque) cafe precinct of Shepherd Market during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

The two week long annual fair was established by King James II as a cattle market on what was then known as Brookfield Market in the 1680s. Attracting other pleasure-related activities, it soon became known for its licentiousness and, having survived Queen Anne’s attempts to have it banned, was eventually stopped in the mid-1700s. Edward Shepherd, who today gives his name to the area on which Brookfield Market once stood, was an architect and developer who subsequently redeveloped the site.

These days Mayfair is generally taken to encompass an area bordered by Hyde Park to the west, Oxford Street to the north, Piccadilly to the south and Regent Street to the east. The area’s development really took off in the century following the mid 1600s (landowners included the Grosvenor family – whose name is reflected in landmarks like London’s third largest square Grosvenor Square and Grosvenor Chapel (pictured) – as well as the Berkeleys and Burlingtons) and it became a favored residential location among the wealthy – indeed, it was this very gentrification which indirectly put an end to the fair.

Today, as well as being known for high end residential real estate, it’s one of London’s most expensive shopping precincts. Landmark buildings in the area today include the hulking bulk of the US Embassy at the western end of Grosvenor Square, the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, the Handel House Museum (located in what was the home of composer George Frideric Handel), shopping arcades such as the Burlington and Royal Arcades, and various luxury hotels like Claridge’s and The Dorchester in Park Lane.