Motcomb Street is a street in the City of Westminster's

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

district in London. It is known for its luxury fashion shops, such as

Christian Louboutin Christian Louboutin (; born 7 January 1964) is a French fashion designer. His stiletto footwear incorporates shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. Initially a freelance designer for fashion houses, he started his shoe salo ...

shoes,

Stewart Parvin Stewart Charles Reginald Parvin (born September 1966) is a British fashion designer, best known for his couture gowns. Early life and education Stewart Parvin was born in September 1966, in Wokingham, Berkshire, to Dennis and Juliana V. Parvi ...

gowns, and the jeweller

Carolina Bucci Carolina Bucci (born October 1976) is an Italian fine jewelry designer. Born in Florence, Italy, she lives between London and New York City and is the first female to lead her family's jewelry company. Early life Carolina Bucci was born in O ...

, and was the location of the original

Pantechnicon A pantechnicon was originally a heavy furniture removal van drawn by horses and used by the British company The Pantechnicon for delivering and collecting furniture which its customers wished to store. The name is a word largely of British Engl ...

department store. The street runs south-west to north-east from

Lowndes Street Lowndes Square is a residential garden square at the north-west end of Belgravia, London, SW1. It is formed of archetypal grand terraces of light stucco houses, cream or white. The length of the central rectangular garden is parallel with Sloane ...

to a junction with

Wilton Terrace Wilton Crescent is a street in Belgravia, Central London, comprising a sweeping Townhouse (Great Britain), elegant terrace of Georgian architecture, Georgian houses and the private communal gardens that the semi-circle looks out upon. The h ...

Wilton Crescent Wilton Crescent is a street in Belgravia, Central London, comprising a sweeping elegant terrace of Georgian houses and the private communal gardens that the semi-circle looks out upon. The houses were built in the early 19th century and a ...

, and

Belgrave Mews North Belgrave may refer to: Places *Belgrave, Cheshire, an English village *Belgrave, Leicester an English district *Belgrave, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia **Belgrave railway line **Belgrave railway station, Melbourne **Belgrave (Puffing B ...

. Kinnerton Street joins it on the north side and Halkin Mews is on the south side.

19th century

The street first appeared on a map in the 1830s, and was originally called Kinnerton Mews, but soon became Motcomb Street. Although built as houses, many soon became shops, and by 1854 included cow keepers, bakers and grocers, and

Richard Gunter Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and i ...

had his confectionery shop there at the corner with

. It was the location of the original

, a large building designed by

Joseph Jobling Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

and constructed by

Seth Smith Garry Seth Smith (born September 30, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles. He ...

in 1834 as a bazaar or department store, mainly for the sale of carriages and household furniture and which covered two acres, bounded by

and Kinnerton Street. It was destroyed by fire in 1874, and rebuilt behind the facade, which was all that remained.

20th century and later

In 1986,

Thea Porter Dorothea Noelle Naomi "Thea" Porter (24 December 1927 – 24 July 2000) was a British artist, fashion designer and retailer who in the 1960s brought opulent Middle East fashions to London. Early life She was born Dorothea Noelle Naomi Seale, ...

had a short business partnership with Princess Dina of Jordan in a smaller shop, Arabesque, on Motcomb Street.

Zandra Rhodes Dame Zandra Lindsey Rhodes (born 19 September 1940), is an English fashion and textile designer. Her early education in fashion set the foundation for a career in the industry creating textile prints. Rhodes has designed garments for Diana, Pr ...

has stated, "Sadly, one didn't hear of her after that". The first

Jimmy Choo Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat (born 15 November 1948) is a Malaysian fashion designer based in the United Kingdom. He co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd, which became known for its handmade women's shoes. Early life Choo was born in 1948 in the Crown Colony ...

shoe store was opened in 1996 on Motcomb Street.

opened his first shoe store at no 23, and it is still trading there. In 2015, it was announced that the Pantechnicon building would be redeveloped while maintaining its neo-classical façade. In September 2017, following work to the street, it was reopened with a street party.

Gallery

File:Motcomb Street Ordnance Survey map 1895.jpg, Motcombe Street on an 1895 Ordnance Survey map showing the Pantechnicon on the north side File:Pantechnicon, Motcomb Street (geograph 4722322).jpg, The Pantechnicon facade, north side File:Halkin Arcade, Motcomb Street (geograph 4720571).jpg, Halkin Arcade, south side

References

External links

{{Coord, 51, 29, 59, N, 0, 9, 21.69, W, scale:1563_region:GB, display=title Belgravia Streets in the City of Westminster