Site of Tyburn Manor House, Marylebone High Street

Marylebone High Street is a shopping street in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, running sub-parallel to

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

and terminating at its northern end at the junction with

Marylebone Road Marylebone Road ( ) is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east–west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington. The road which runs in three lanes in both directio ...

. Given its secluded location, the street has been described as "the hidden wonder of the West End" and it was voted "best street in London" in 2002 by listeners of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

, winning praise for its being "a haven in the middle of the frantic city". Marylebone High Street was also a ward of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

from 2002 to 2022. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 10,366.

History

Soon after the construction St Marylebone Parish Church on the north end of the street in approximately 1400, Marylebone High Street became the focus of the village of

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

, a role it has continued ever since. 1738 saw the official opening of Marylebone Gardens on the east side of the street, a stylish concert venue which attracted eminent composers such as

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

and James Hook; the entrance to the Gardens was through the "Rose Tavern", a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

on 35-36 Marylebone High Street, which until September 2009 was the home of BBC London which has since moved to BBC

Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The ma ...

. The majority of the buildings in the street today date from 1900, since which point the street has been consistently revitalised by the main local landlord, Howard de Walden Estates, which has been credited with turning a "once-shabby area of central London" into an elegant street which carefully manages its "mix of boutiques and small retailers". Property prices in the area have soared in recent years.

References

External links

Shopping streets in London Streets in the City of Westminster Howard de Walden Estate {{London-stub