The Savile Row in London

Friday, 2 February 2018 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Great Britain / Großbritannien
Category/Kategorie: General, London, Shopping Reading Time: 4 minutes

Gieves & Hawkes © Gryffindor/cc-by-sa-3.0

Savile Row is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society at 1 Savile Row, where significant British explorations to Africa and the South Pole were planned; and more recently, the Apple Corps office of the Beatles at 3 Savile Row, where the band’s final live performance was held on the roof of the building. Savile Row runs parallel to Regent Street between Conduit Street at the northern end and Vigo Street at the southern. Linking roads include New Burlington Place, New Burlington Street, Boyle Street, and Clifford Street.

Tailors started doing business in the area in the late 18th century; first in Cork Street, about 1790, then by 1803 in Savile Row itself. In 1846, Henry Poole, later credited as the creator of the dinner jacket or tuxedo, opened an entrance to Savile Row from his tailoring premises in Old Burlington Street. In 1969, Nutters of Savile Row modernised the style and approach of traditional Savile Row tailoring; a modernisation that continued in the 1990s with the “New Bespoke Movement”, involving the designers Richard James, Ozwald Boateng, and Timothy Everest. The term “bespoke” as applied to fine tailoring is understood to have originated in Savile Row, and came to mean a suit cut and made by hand.

►

The first house in what would become Savile Row was “a fine House and Ground”, built in 1674 on the site of what is now No. 1, and occupied by a series of nobles until it was demolished in 1730 in preparation for the laying out of the houses on the east of Savile Row in 1731. Savile Row was built between 1731 and 1735, on freehold land known as Ten Acres belonging to a merchant tailor, William Maddox, as part of the development of the Burlington Estate, and is named after Lady Dorothy Savile, wife of the 3rd Earl of Burlington. Maddox’s land, consisting mainly of fruit and other trees covering what would become Savile Row and the streets around, some of which is still owned by his descendants as the Pollen Estate. When initially laid out – under the name Saville Street – Savile Row ran from Burlington Gardens (then Vigo Lane) to Boyle Street, with houses only on the east side, but in the 19th century, houses were built on the west side.

Originally named Savile Street, it was built between 1731 and 1735 as part of the development of the Burlington Estate. It was designed under the influence of Burlington’s interpretation of Palladian architecture, known as “Burlingtonian”. Henry Flitcroft, under the supervision of Daniel Garrett, appears to have been the main architect – though 1 and 22–23 Savile Row were designed by William Kent. Initially, the street was occupied mainly by military officers and their wives; later William Pitt the Younger and Irish-born playwright and MP, Richard Brinsley Sheridan were residents.

Read more on VisitLondon.com – Savile Row and Wikipedia Savile Row (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

Recommended posts: