Marcus Oswald Hornby Lecky Birley (29 May 1930 – 24 August 2007), known as Mark Birley, was a British entrepreneur known for his investments in the

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...

industry.

Early life

Mark Birley was the son of Sir Oswald Birley (1880–1952), the

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

and society portrait painter, and the artist and gardener Rhoda Vava Mary Lecky Pike. His sister, Maxime de la Falaise (1922–2009), became a noted fashion model of the 1950s; Maxime's daughter, Loulou de la Falaise (1948–2011), was a muse to the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. He was educated at Eton where he excelled at drawing. After doing his National Service he went up to

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, to read

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

but he left after failing his first year exams. He then started working as a copywriter for J. Walter Thompson.

Career

In 1963, Birley founded Annabel's at Berkeley Square in the

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

district in central London. The club was named for his wife, the former Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart, and it was the first of its kind: a member-only nightclub that catered to an exclusive clientele, including

the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. In 1972, Birley opened Mark's Club and continued to expand his portfolio in the restaurant, nightclub and hotel business. He became the owner of the Annabel's Group, which includes Mark Birley Holdings Limited. In 1979 Birley opened Harry's Bar on South Audley Street in Mayfair. It became noted for its Italian cuisine. He launched a men's fragrance line, Mark Birley for Men, in 1996, in collaboration with the perfumers Frédéric Malle and Pierre Bourdon. Birley also designed the former family offices of Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo, in the City of London into a member's club, The Walbrook Club, which opened in 2000. In 1989 Birley established the Bath & Racquets Club on Brook's Mews.

Personal life

On 10 March 1954, he married Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart (born 1934), daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry (1902–1955). Annabel Birley became the mistress of Birley's former friend Sir James Goldsmith (1933–1997), and gave birth to two of Goldsmith's children while she was still married to, but separated from, Birley. The Birleys divorced in 1975. Mark and Annabel had three children: *Rupert Birley (1955–1986; presumed dead), who disappeared whilst working in

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

, West Africa in 1986. * Robin Birley (born 1958) * India Jane Birley (born 1961), who married Jonty Colchester (div. 1985). She later married Francis Pike. As a child Birley's son Robin was mauled and badly scarred for life by a tiger at the private zoo of family friend John Aspinall (1926–2000). In 1986, Birley's other son, Rupert, disappeared in

and was never found. He is assumed to be deceased. In his last years, Birley himself was disabled and needed to use a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

. For a time, he turned over the reins of his businesses to his two surviving children. In 2006, however, Birley dismissed his son Robin and returned to the helm of his empire, which until his death he ran with his daughter India Jane. Birley lived at Thurloe Lodge in

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

for 30 years. India Jane sold Thurloe Lodge in 2011 for £17 million. An auction of 500 of Birley's possessions from the house was held at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in March 2013. The auction realised £3.85 million.

Death

He died on 24 August 2007, aged 77, following a stroke. His memorial service was held at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge.

References

Sources

Annabel's: A tale of love, snobbery, revenge... and some jolly good cocktails
by Liz Hoggard, ''The Independent'', 15 October 2006

Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart *Orth, Maureen. "Hurly Birley". Vanity Fair. p. 152 (6 pages in online edition). 1 February 2008. . Retrieved 30 August 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Birley, Mark 1930 births 2007 deaths British people of English descent British people of Irish descent People educated at Eton College Alumni of University College, Oxford Businesspeople from the City of Westminster British restaurateurs Mark Birley 20th-century English businesspeople People from Marylebone