|
Marylebone makes the people come together
Marylebone is rapidly becoming the hottest area of central London. Property prices are rising faster than anywhere else in the capital and the Howard de Walden estate is masterminding the regeneration of Marylebone Village into the West End's most wanted location. The Howard de Walden Estate, the area's principal landlord since 1889, is a family company which controls a 100-acre tract of the district, owning 1,200 properties there with an estimated value of £700 million.
But never mind the property boom, the fabulous fashion and interior boutiques (Aveda, Yo no Bi, agnès b., Skandium, etc), the thriving restaurants or the Marylebone Village developments - the strongest proof of an actual trend is when the Queen of Pop is directly associated with it. And who's a new resident of Marylebone? Yes, Madonna, her director husband Guy Ritchie, Madonna's daughter Lourdes and the couple's son Rocco live in a recently acquired multi-million pound Regency terraced mansion in the area behind Oxford Street.
As a destination on the British version of the Monopoly board, Marylebone station is a familiar name, but where exactly is Marylebone? It is located to the south and west of Regent's Park, north of Mayfair, west of Fitzrovia and east of Bayswater. The natural boundaries are roughly Edgware Road (west), Oxford Street (south), Great Portland Street (east) and Marylebone Road (north).
It was in the 1930's that the now world-famous medical district of Harley Street became known as 'Pill Island' but only in the 1940's and 1950's did the consulting rooms in family houses give way to establishments with a dozen medical men sharing the same front door. Approximately 1,500 private medical practitioners are active in the area today.
Marylebone is the setting for (to name but a few attractions) the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street, Madame Tussaud's wax museum, RIBA, the Wallace Collection, the BBC radio station, and the London Planetarium.
Despite the area's village atmosphere, you need a whole day to discover Marylebone. MyVillage recommends:
FASHION:
agnès b.
40-41 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7935 5556
French timeless chic.
Jesus Lopez
69 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7486 7870
Boots, shoes, handbags.
Rachel Riley
82 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7935 7004
Vintage 1950's look. For girls and women of all ages.
Parallel Shoes
22 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7224 0441
Italian and Spanish designer ranges for men and women.
INTERIORS/HOME ACCESSORIES:
Century
68 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7487 5100
Mid-century American design.
The Conran Shop
55 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7723 2223
Everything for the stylish home - and cheap, too.
Shaker
72-73 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7935 9461
New furniture made to the exact standard of the original Shakers.
Sixty 6
66 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7224 6066
Furniture and clothes from 1930-1970.
Yo no Bi
35d Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7224 2071
Sleek furniture, as well as complete interior design and feng shui services.
RESTAURANTS:
Aveda
28-29 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7224 3157
Organic restaurant inside Aveda, this temple of "natural" beauty (good for celeb-spotting).
Blandford Street
5-7 Blandford Street, W1
Tel. 020 7486 9696
New restaurant with great, unpretentious food.
Orrery
55 Marylebone High Street, W1
Tel. 020 7616 8000
Famous restaurant on the top floor of the Conran shop.
RK Stanley
6 Little Portland Street, W1
Tel. 020 7
Sausage palace.
Villandry
170 Great Portland Street, W1
Tel. 020 7631 3131
Popular restaurant and large, tempting food store.
ATTRACTIONS:
The London Planetarium
Marylebone Road, NW1
Tel. 0870 400 3000
Madame Tussaud's
Marylebone Road, NW1
Tel. 0870 400 3000
The Sherlock Holmes Museum
221b Baker Street, NW1
Tel: 020 7935 8866
Read the history of Marylebone here!
Read a feature on the interiors shop Skandium in here! |
West
End Features
