Lisson Grove is a street and district in Marylebone, City of Westminster, London. The neighbourhood contains a few important cultural landmarks, including

Lisson Gallery Lisson Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with locations in London and New York, founded by Nicholas Logsdail in 1967. The gallery represents over 50 artists such as Art & Language, Ryan Gander, Carmen Herrera, Richard Long, John Latham, So ...

, Alfies Antique Market, Red Bus Recording Studios, the former Christ Church, now the Greenhouse Centre, and the

Seashell of Lisson Grove Seashell of Lisson Grove is one of London's most famous fish and chip restaurants, situated in Lisson Grove in the Marylebone district of London. It has a reputation for serving high quality fresh fish and locally sourced ingredients in both its ...

. The heart of the community and retail/services zone is Church Street market, which runs between Lisson Grove itself and

Edgware Road Edgware Road is a major road in London, England. The route originated as part of Roman Watling Street and, unusually in London, it runs for 10 miles in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern A5 road, Edgware Road undergoes ...

.The market specialises in antiques and bric-à-brac, and has flourished since the 1960s. The area saw its suburban decades – on the edge of London – from the late 18th century, and some fine Georgian terraces remain. Early residents included artists such as Benjamin Haydon and Charles Rossi, whose former cottage still stands at 116 Lisson Grove. Lord's Cricket Ground adjoined Lisson Grove in the early nineteenth century before re-locating to St Johns Wood, the similar-size district to the north. The area is bounded by St John's Wood Road to the north, Regent's Park to the east,

to the west and Marylebone Road to the south. Church Street electoral ward, as currently drawn, is approximately the same. Lisson Grove is predominantly residential, with a mid-to-high population density for Inner London. The Council's profile describes Church Street as an ethnically diverse ward, having one of the highest concentrations of

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

in the borough with a substantial estate renewal programme underway.

History

''For the etymology behind the district's street names see Street names of Lisson Grove''

Manor of Lileston

Lisson Grove, occasionally referred to as Lissom Grove, takes its name from the manor (estate) of Lileston, which was included in the Domesday Book in 1086. Domesday recorded the presence of 8 households within the manor, suggesting a population of around forty. The manor stretched as far as the boundary with Hampstead. From the 12th century onwards, the Manor of Lileston and the neighbouring Manor of Tyburn) were served by the Parish of St Marylebone, an area which had consistent boundaries until the parish's successor, the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone merged with neighbouring areas to form the City of Westminster in 1965. The Manor of Lileston subdivided with the Manor of Lisson green becoming an independent landholding. The edges of Lisson Grove are defined by the two current Edgware Road stations facing onto

or Watling Street as it was previously known, one of the main Roman thoroughfares in and out of London. The road is also the western boundary of the wider Marylebone district.

Early Development

Until the late 18th century the district remained essentially rural. Much of Lisson Grove had become a slum in Victorian London, notorious for drinking, crime and prostitution particularly in its pockets of extreme poverty with archetypal squalor, overcrowding and dilapidation. The arrival of the Regent's Canal in 1810 and the railway at Marylebone in 1899 led to rapid urbanisation of Lisson Grove.

Post-WWI Development

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, announced a policy of "Homes Fit for Heroes", leading to a sponsored housing boom from which Lisson Grove benefitted. In 1924, St Marylebone Borough Council completed the Fisherton Street Estate of seven apartment blocks in red-brick neo-Georgian style with high mansard roofs grouped around two courtyards. Noted for their innovation as some of the first social housing to include an indoor bathroom and toilet, since 1990 this has been a conservation area The blocks were named mostly for the notable former residents of Lisson Grove and its surrounding areas, which drew Victorian landscape painters, sculptors, portraitists and architects: * Lilestone: the medieval manor stretching to Hampstead before Lisson/Lilestone Grove became a separate manor in about 1236 * Huxley: Thomas Henry Huxley the self-taught biologist and ardent Charles Darwin supporter lived at 41 North Bank in the 1850s. * Gibbons: Grinling Gibbons (1648–1721) a master carver who worked on St Pauls * Landseer: Sir Edwin Landseer (famous for sculpting the lions in Trafalgar Square) * Capland: land formerly owned by the Portman estate; this street is named for their interests in Capland, Somerset, see Street names of Lisson Grove * Frith: For sculptor William Silver Frith (1850–1924) * Orchardson: For painter Sir William Quiller Orchardson (1832–1910) * Dicksee: For Sir Francis Dicksee, a noted Victorian painter * Eastlake: For Charles Eastlake (1836–1906) British architect and furniture designer * Tadema: For Sir

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, (; born Lourens Alma Tadema ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom becoming the last officially recognised denizen in 1873. Born in Dronryp, the Netherlands, ...

* Poynter: For Sir Edward Poynter (1836–1919) * Stanfield: George Clarkson Stanfield and his son, both artists. * Frampton:

George Frampton Sir George James Frampton, (18 June 1860 – 21 May 1928) was a British sculptor. He was a leading member of the New Sculpture movement in his early career when he created sculptures with elements of Art Nouveau and Symbolism, often combinin ...

the sculptor had lived nearby at Carlton Hill from 1910 and may have given his name to Frampton Street and Frampton House * Wyatt: Matthew Cote Wyatt who lived at Dudley Grove House, Paddington

Post-WWII Development

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, further social housing was completed at the Church Street Estate (1949) and the larger Lisson Green Estate (1975). In 1960 a new Labour Exchange was established on Lisson Grove to much fanfare, and later featured in punk music history as the place where members of The Clash first met. The area also became known for its antiques trade. In the 2010s, Westminster City Council have proposed extensive regeneration.

Notable residents

* Charles Rossi sculptor at 21, Lisson Grove, 1810 *

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

, resided at 13, Lisson Grove North on his release from Horsemonger Prison in 1815 and was visited on many occasions by Lord Byron here * Benjamin Haydon, painter at 21 Lisson Grove, 1817, tutor of Edwin Landseer and his brother *

Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...

(1802–1873) and various members of his family congregated to live at Cunningham Place. From 1825 he first lived at 1, St John's Wood Road on the corner of Lisson Grove in a small cottage on the site of Punker's Barn. This was later demolished in 1844 to make place for a small but "rather aristocratic" house (built by Thomas Cubitt, who also built Osborne House on the Isle of Wight for Queen Victoria). The Cubitt designed house was later demolished in 1894 to make way for artisan workers homes built by the railway arranged as Wharncliffe Gardens. *

George Augustus Henry Sala George Augustus Henry Fairfield Sala (November 1828 – 8 December 1895) was an author and journalist who wrote extensively for the ''Illustrated London News'' as G. A. S. and was most famous for his articles and leaders for ''The Daily Telegra ...

, journalist, born in 1828, recalls growing up in Lisson Grove during the 1830s "when the principle public buildings were pawnbrokers, and 'leaving shops', low public houses and beershops and cheap undertakers." * Catherine Sophia Blake, William Blake's widow, lived from 1828–1830, at 20 Lisson Grove North, London (renumbered 112 Lisson Grove, London NW1) as housekeeper to

Frederick Tatham Frederick Tatham (31 July 1805 – 29 July 1878) was an English artist who was a member of the Shoreham Ancients, a group of followers of William Blake. The son of Charles Heathcote Tatham, an architect, Tatham and his brother and sister were ...

. (Original building demolished.) *

Samuel Palmer Samuel Palmer Hon.RE (Hon. Fellow of the Society of Painter-Etchers) (27 January 180524 May 1881) was a British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker. He was also a prolific writer. Palmer was a key figure in Romanticism in Britain and pr ...

, landscape painter and etcher lived at 4, Street, Lisson Grove, Marylebone *

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

moved to North Bank, 28 March 1836 for one year with her son * Thomas Henry Huxley: Resident at North Bank during the 1850s * James Augustus St John moved in 1858 from North Bank to Grove End Road * Dr Southwood Smith moved to Lisson Grove in 1859 to work at the London Fever Hospital. Smith's granddaughter Octavia Hill, whom he brought up, later lived at 190 Marylebone Road becoming a founder of the

Peabody Trust The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

and have a great impact on the social housing movement evident in Lisson Grove from the 1890s onwards. *

Emily Davies Sarah Emily Davies (22 April 1830 – 13 July 1921) was an English feminist and suffragist, and a pioneering campaigner for women's rights to university access. She is remembered above all as a co-founder and an early Mistress of Girton Coll ...

, founder of

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

, Cambridge lived at 17, Cunningham Place from 1863 to 1875 with her mother. *

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

and her husband bought The Priory, 21 North Bank in 1863 and held many of her Sunday receptions during the 17 years she spent there until 1880. * William Henry Giles Kingston born in London, 1814 at Harley Street, lived at No. 6, North Bank *

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

attended the Philological School, now

Abercorn School Abercorn School is a independent private school in central London offering an inspiring and caring academic atmosphere for pupils ages 2–16 years. In September 2021, Abercorn School announced that the school will begin welcoming 13–14 year ol ...

on the corner of Lisson Grove and Marylebone Road during the early 1870s. *

Arthur Machen Arthur Machen (; 3 March 1863 – 15 December 1947) was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His ...

at Edward House, 7 Lisson Grove during World War One until the 1920s. * Agatha Christie rented 5, Northwick Terrace during 1918–1919 *

Guy Gibson Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam ...

V.C recipient, leader of the Dambusters raid lived at 32 Aberdeen Place between 1918–1944.

Arts and antiques

The area has a long association with art, artists and theatre. In 1810 the Royal Academy catalogues give sculptor Charles Rossi's address as 21 Lisson Grove, where he had bought a large house. By 1817, Rossi was renting out a section of the house to painter Benjamin Haydon. A blue plaque on the corner of Rossmore Road and Lisson Grove marks the spot and in 2000 author Penelope Hughes-Hallett wrote ''The Immortal Dinner'' with the focus on Haydon's dining companions invited to his Lisson Grove abode on 28 December 1817. Haydon's protégé Edwin Landseer lived north on Lisson Grove on the corner of St John's Wood Road from 1825. The arrival of Dutch painter

at nearby 44, Grove End Road in the late 1870s inspired the naming of one of the Lilestone Estate apartment blocks built in the 1920s as Tadema House. Eastlake House, opposite Tadema House, is possibly named for Charles Eastlake whose

Eastlake movement The Eastlake movement was a nineteenth-century architectural and household design reform movement started by British architect and writer Charles Eastlake (1836–1906). The movement is generally considered part of the late Victorian period in t ...

's underlying ethos of simple decorative devices that were affordable and easy to keep clean would have been of interest to those developing social housing in the 20th Century. Lisson Gallery, Marylebone, NW1 (6947100960)

Lisson Gallery, Marylebone, NW1 (6947100960)

On Bell Street, the

, established in 1967 by Nicholas Logsdail, championed the new British sculptors of the 1980s and continues to show new and established artists, with expanded premises further along Bell Street. Mark Jason Gallery at № 1 Bell Street specialises in promoting contemporary British and international artists. At № 17, Bell Street Vintage Wireless London has existed since 1979, selling a wide assortment of vintage turntables, radiograms, wirelesses, dansettes, reel-to-reels, amps and mikes. Joe Strummer Subway - Marylebone Road London W2 (2017)

Joe Strummer Subway - Marylebone Road London W2 (2017)

In 2006 the Subway Gallery arrived in the Joe Strummer Subway which runs under the Marylebone Road. Conceived by artist Robert Gordon McHarg III, the space itself is a 1960s kiosk with glass walls which creates a unique showcase for art, interacting naturally with passers by, visitors and the local community. The Show Room is on Penfold Street, next to the main Aeroworks factory. The Show Room is a non-profit space for contemporary art that is focused on a collaborative and process-driven approach to production, be that artwork, exhibitions, discussions, publications, knowledge and relationships. Church Street Market, Lisson Grove - geograph

Church Street Market, Lisson Grove - geograph

Church Street runs parallel to St John's Wood Road and plays host to a varied market Mondays–Saturdays, 8am–6pm selling fruit and vegetables, clothes, and bags amongst other items. Towards the Lisson Grove end of Church Street is Alfies Antique Market, London's largest indoor market for antiques, collectables, vintage, and 20th century design is in the former Jordans Department Store, decorated with an Egyptian art deco theme similar to the Aeroworks – the indoor market, "houses more than 200 permanent stall holders and covers in excess of 35,000 sq ft of shop space on five floors." Opened in 1976 by Bennie Gray, in the then derelict department store, the Antiques Market has since spawned twenty or so individual shops at the Lisson Grove end of Church Street specialising in mainly

20th-century art Twentieth-century art—and what it became as modern art—began with modernism in the late nineteenth century. Overview Nineteenth-century movements of Post-Impressionism (Les Nabis), Art Nouveau and Symbolism led to the first twentieth-century ...

and collectables

Theatres and music halls

The Metropolitan Music Hall, re-launched with great refurbishment and extended capacity in 1867, was at 267, Edgware Road, opposite Edgware Road (Bakerloo) tube station entrance/exit and Bell Street. Paddington Green police station stands here instead, having moved to make way for the Marylebone flyover. The Royal West London Theatre was on Church Street, a commemorative plaque above the Church Street Library marking its place. From 1904 onwards Charlie Chaplin trod the boards as a teenager. Currently Lisson Grove has two theatres. The

Cockpit Theatre The Cockpit was a theatre in London, operating from 1616 to around 1665. It was the first theatre to be located near Drury Lane. After damage in 1617, it was named The Phoenix. History The original building was an actual cockpit; that is, a st ...

on Gateforth Street is a purpose built fringe theatre venue promoting "Theatre of Ideas and ensemble working. Its regular classes and workshops, comfortable bar and friendly team enable this creative hub to support performers, the industry, diverse audiences, the local community and free radicals alike." The Schmidt hammer lassen-designed City of Westminster College at 25 Paddington Green contains the Siddons Theatre, named for the much acclaimed 18th century tragedienne

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of Joh ...

, buried at St Mary on Paddington Green.

Architectural landmarks

* 1897-built public house Crocker's Folly ( protected and recognised in the initial category) * Fisherton Estate Conservation Area * In 1983, Jeremy Dixon (later of Dixon Jones' fame with fellow architect Edward Jones) designed a series of terrace houses on Ashmill Street. * Between Hatton Street and Penfold Street the old Spitfire Palmers Aeroworks Factory in operation from 1912 – 1984 manufacturing aircraft components including stand outs as a white Egyptian Art Deco landmark, the elevation facing onto Penfold Street having formerly been a furniture store. This was redeveloped by Terry Farrell in 1985-8 and includes their architectural practice. Next to the Aeroworks, another of the lower buildings now houses The Show Room.

Local facilities

Places of worship

The Anglican parish church for most of the area is St Paul's Marylebone in Rossmore Road.

Christ Church, Marylebone Christ Church, Marylebone, also called Christ Church, Lisson Grove, and Christ Church, Cosway Street, is a Grade II* listed former Church of England church, built in the 1820s in Marylebone in the City of Westminster to designs by Thomas and Phil ...

, designed by Thomas Hardwick in 1822–24 closed in 1977. The parish merged with St Paul's and building is now a leisure facility.

Parks and playgrounds

*Broadley Street Gardens *Fisherton Street Estate Playground

Education

There a number of nurseries in Lisson Grove, two run by London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) at Luton Street and Lisson Green. Primary schools ar
St. Edward's Catholic Primary School
Gateway Academy on Gateforth Street and King Solomon Primary.

Ark King Solomon Academy King Solomon Academy is a non-selective, non-denominational, mixed all-through school within the English academy programme, located in Marylebone, London. It occupies the site of the former Rutherford School. History The Rutherford School w ...

, an Ark school, was established in 2007 on the site of the former Rutherford School for Boys. The main building of the secondary school is

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed, designed by Leonard Manasseh and Ian Baker in 1957 and completed in 1960. Mannaseh's style has been described as displaying a digested influence of Le Corbusier with traits including "crispness", glazed or tiled pyramids (see the inverted pyramid on the roof of the school and the Egyptian sculpture garden), window walls with fine black mullions, "assertive" gables, and Baker's bold geometrical masonry forms, and grand symmetry and rhythms. The interior lobby is lined in

Carrara marble Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...

, with corridors lined with Ruabon tiles. When asked "Why the marble, Mr Manasseh?" he was reported as saying "Because it's boy-proof."

Public houses

*The Brazen Head (now flats) Not a particularly popular name for a public house, this was named for the magical artefact, a speaking brass head, 13th century Friar Roger Bacon created, and the subject of legend circulating in the 16th century. The most famous Brazen Head features in James Joyce's Ulysses. *The Green Man (corner of Bell Street and Edgware Road, W2) The legend is that the pub is named for a herbalist had lived on the site of the pub, due to the nearby spring which had curative properties. Noted for the eye lotion produced from the spring water, all subsequent leaseholders were obliged to sign a clause requiring them to offer the eye lotion for free on request, in his memory. As recently as 1954 Stanley Coleman wrote in his 'Treasury of Folklore: London' "that you may ask t the barfor eye lotion and the publican will measure you out an ounce or two" though it no longer came from the well in the cellar which had dried up when Edgware Road Tube station had been built on the site. *The Constitution (now The Bell House) *The Lord High Admiral *The Richmond Arms *The Perseverance *The Globe

Transport

Tube stations

The nearest

London Underground stations The London Underground is a metro system in the United Kingdom that serves Greater London and the home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. Its first section opened in 1863, making it the oldest underground metro system in the ...

are Baker Street, Edgware Road (Bakerloo line), Edgware Road (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines),

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great ...

, Warwick Avenue and Marylebone.

Bus routes

Bus routes serving the road Lisson Grove are 139 (West Hampstead to Waterloo via Trafalgar Square), 189 (Brent Cross to Oxford Street). Edgware Road bus stops for Lisson Grove are served by bus routes 16, 6, 98, 414.

In literature

In '' Pygmalion'', the leading character Eliza Doolittle was partly inspired by a child prostitution scandal in Lisson Grove and the West End, and Higgins claimed to be able to pinpoint her way of speaking to Lisson Grove.