Coordinates: 51.5126°N 0.

1448°W

Bond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the
south to Oxford Street in the north. It has been popular for retail
since the 18th century as the home of many fashion outlets that
sell prestigious or expensive items. The southern section is Old
Bond Street and the longer northern section New Bond Street—
a distinction not generally made in everyday usage.

The street was built on fields surrounding Clarendon House on

Piccadilly, which were developed by Sir Thomas Bond. It was
built up in the 1720s, and by the end of the 18th century was a
popular place for the upper-class residents of Mayfair to
socialise. Prestigious or expensive shops were established along
the street, but it declined as a centre of social activity in the 19th
century, although it held its reputation as a fashionable place for
retail, and is home to the auction houses Sotheby's and Bonhams
(formerly Phillips) and the department store Fenwick and Old Bond Street looking south
jeweller Tiffany's. It is one of the most expensive and sought after
strips of real estate in Europe.

Contents
Geography
History
Properties
Cultural references
References
External links

Geography
Bond Street is the only street that links Oxford Street and Piccadilly.[1] Old Bond Street is at the southern
end between Piccadilly and Burlington Gardens. The northern section, New Bond Street, extends to
Oxford Street.[1] The entire street is around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long.[2] Many shop frontages are less than
20 feet (6 m) wide.[3]

The nearest tube stations are Green Park in Piccadilly, and Bond Street station in Oxford Street. Bond
Street station does not directly connect to either New or Old Bond Street. No buses use the street,
although the C2 service crosses New Bond Street.[4] Part of New Bond Street is numbered B406 but the
remainder and all of Old Bond Street is unclassified.[5] New Bond Street is pedestrianised between
Grafton Street and Clifford Street to prevent through traffic and to stop the road being used as a rat run.[6]

History
There is evidence of Roman settlement around what is now
Bond Street. In 1894, a culvert made from brick and stone
was discovered in the area.[7] The street was named after Sir
Thomas Bond, the head of a syndicate of developers who
purchased a Piccadilly mansion called Clarendon House
from Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle in 1686,
and proceeded to demolish the house and develop the area.[8]
At that time, the house backed onto open fields, known as
Albemarle Ground, and the development of estates in
In High-Change in Bond Street (1796), Mayfair had just begun.[1]
James Gillray caricatured the lack of
courtesy on Bond Street (young men New Bond Street was laid out during the second phase of
taking up the whole footpath), which was a construction 14 years after Bond's syndicate began
grand fashionable milieu at the time. developing the area.[8] Most of the building along the street
occurred in the 1720s, on what was the Conduit Mead
Estate.[1][3] John Rocque's map of London, published in
1746, shows properties along the entire length of Bond Street, including the fully constructed side streets.
The two parts of the street have always had separate names, and a plan by the council to merge the two
into a singular "Bond Street" in the 1920s was rejected by locals.[9]

During the 18th century, the street began to be popular with the bourgeoisie living around Mayfair. Shop
owners let out their upper storeys for residential purposes, attracting lodgers such as Jonathan Swift,
George Selwyn, William Pitt the Elder and Laurence Sterne.[1] In 1784, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess
of Devonshire, an active socialite, demanded that people boycott Covent Garden as its residents had
voted against Whig member of parliament Charles James Fox. This had caused him to lose his seat in
parliament, leading to the dissolution of the Fox–North Coalition. She insisted people should look for
nearer shopping streets, and encouraged people to go to Bond Street. Consequently, the street became a
retail area for people living in Mayfair. By the end of the century, an upper-class social group known as
the Bond Street Loungers had appeared, wearing expensive wigs and parading up and down the street in
a pretentious manner.[8]

Lord Nelson stayed at temporary lodgings in New Bond Street between 1797 and 1798, and again from
1811 to 1813.[10] Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford lived in Bond Street and was unhappy about the
presence of the Bond Street Loungers.[8] Already notorious for a violent and abusive temper, on 7
October 1801 he refused invitations to join in celebrations of peace between Britain and France (which
led to the Treaty of Amiens), resulting in an altercation with several Loungers at his doorstep. Camelford
retreated upstairs and fired upon the crowd with a pistol.[11]

During the 19th century, Bond Street became less known for its social atmosphere but increased its
reputation as a street for luxury shopping. The auctioneer Phillips was established in 1796 at No. 101
Bond Street, specialising in stringed instruments and sheet music.[12] The jewellers Asprey originally
opened in 1830 at Nos. 165–169 New Bond Street.[1][13] Opposite Asprey was the luxury luggage and
trunk maker Finnigans, originally established in Manchester in 1830.[14] The house of Finnigans opened
their New Bond Street shop in 1879.[15] The Jewish practice of
Kabbalah has been associated with the street after former East
End trader Sarah Levenson opened a shop on No. 50 New Bond
Street in 1856 which immediately became profitable, albeit
through exaggerated and questionable product claims.[16]
Levenson was twice taken to court and prosecuted for fraud; each
prosecution resulted in a five-year prison sentence. She died
midway through the second.[13] Nevertheless, the practice
regained popularity and a Kabbalah Centre remains on the Bond Street has always been divided
street.[16] into two sections: Old Bond Street to
the south and New Bond Street to
The Royal Arcade links Old Bond Street with Albemarle Street. the north. The London branch of the
It was originally proposed in 1864 as a longer link between Old jeweller Tiffany & Co. is next to the
Bond Street and Regent Street, but this plan was rejected because divide, on the Old Bond Street side.
of the scale of proposed demolition and reduced access to
existing properties.[17] It was subsequently redesigned in its
current layout, opening in 1879[18] and replacing the Clarendon Hotel, which had been demolished in
1870.[19]

The Grosvenor Gallery opened on New Bond Street in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay. It cost over £100,000
to build and included a restaurant and library downstairs, and two exhibition rooms upstairs.[20] A
negative review by John Ruskin of exhibits by James McNeill Whistler led to Whistler suing Ruskin for
libel, winning a farthing in compensation. This case was satirised in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, with
the line, "greenery-yallery, Grosvenor Gallery".[21]

The street has maintained its reputation for luxury shopping into the 21st century, and has on occasion
been regarded as the best retail location in Europe.[22] In 2011, Bloomberg News reported that New Bond
Street was the most expensive retail street in Europe after the Champs-Élysées in Paris.[23] As a
consequence, though, the street has many times suffered from armed robbery, as robbers are attracted by
the high value of the goods. The Graff Diamonds robbery in Bond Street in 2009 resulted in an estimated
loss of £40 million.[24][25][26]

Properties
According to Westminster City Council, Bond Street has the
highest density of haute couture stores anywhere in the world,
attracting "the rich, the famous, and the simply curious".[27] The
entire length of Bond Street has been part of the Mayfair
Conservation Area controlled by Westminster City Council since
1969. Building alterations and constructions are tightly controlled
to ensure the street's appearance and upkeep are unaltered. Many
buildings are listed.[3] The council regulates the style and
materials used on shop front advertising.[28]
The Royal Arcade on Old Bond
Street.
At one time, Bond Street was best known for top-end art dealers
and antique shops that were clustered around the London office
of Sotheby's auction house, which has been at Nos. 34–35 Bond Street since 1917,[29] and the Fine Art
Society, founded in 1876.[30] The sculpture over the entrance to Sotheby's is from Ancient Egypt and is
believed to date from around 1600 BC. It is the oldest outdoor sculpture in London.[30]

Some dealers and antique shops remain, but others are fashion boutiques or branches of global designer
brands. The street still has a reputation as a fashionable place for shopping, including the flagship stores
of Ralph Lauren and Cartier.[30] Fenwick have had a department store on Bond Street since 1891.[30] The
Phillips building at No. 101 is still used for auctions; the company was bought in 2001 by Bonhams, who
spent £30 million expanding and refurbishing the premises.[23] In 2015, Valentino announced plans to
build a new flagship store on Old Bond Street.[31]

The street features Allies, a statue of Winston Churchill and

Franklin D. Roosevelt, who are portrayed sitting in conversation
on a park bench, sculpted by Lawrence Holofcener. The statue,
popular with tourists, was erected by the Bond Street Association
to commemorate 50 years since the end of World War II,[32] and
was unveiled in May 1995 by Princess Margaret. In 2013,
maquettes of the sculpture (which are replicas, as Holofcener did
not make any as part of the original artwork or design) were sold
at Bonhams.[33] Henry Moore has four sculptures engraved into
The Allies sculpture on Bond Street
the building work of no.153 (a Loro Piana branch),[34] which he portrays Winston Churchill and
subsequently attempted to buy back when he felt no one noticed Franklin D. Roosevelt.
them.[35]

The construction of Crossrail, part of which runs between Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road
stations, involved demolition of property in nearby Hanover Square, some of which backs onto New
Bond Street.[36] This affected Nos. 64–72, which required refurbishment.[37]

Cultural references
Bond Street has been mentioned in several works of literature, including Jane Austen's novel Sense and
Sensibility[38] and Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway.[39] The plot of the 1948 film Bond Street
is based on items purchased from shops in the street.[40] In Suzanna Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange &
Mr. Norrell, Bond Street is described as having "the most fashionable shops in all the kingdom".[41]

Bond Street is also a square on the British Monopoly board and is the most expensive of the green-
coloured set that also includes Regent and Oxford Streets. The three streets are grouped together because
of their shared retail history.[42]

References
Citations

1. Hibbert & Weinreb 2010, p. 81.

2. "1, Vere Street to 46, Old Bond Street" (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/51.5146834,-0.1
469577/51.5080914,-0.1400622/@51.5120203,-0.1424823,16z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e2).
Google Maps. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
3. Westminster 1992, p. 3.
 4. "Central London Bus Map" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150705012142/https://tfl.gov.uk/c
dn/static/cms/documents/bus-route-maps/central-london-bus-map.pdf) (PDF). Transport for
London. Archived from the original (https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/bus-route-m
aps/central-london-bus-map.pdf) (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
5. West London (sheet 176) (Map). Ordnance Survey Landranger Map. 2015.
6. Westminster 1992, p. 8.
7. " 'Inventory of Roman London: Structures outside the walls" (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/
rchme/london/vol3/pp145-151). An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in London.
London: Roman London. 3: 145–151. 1928. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
8. Moore 2003, p. 264.
9. Moore 2003, p. 263.
10. Hibbert & Weinreb 2010, pp. 81–82.
11. Moore 2003, p. 265.
12. Foreman & Foreman 2005, p. 153.
13. Moore 2003, p. 268.
14. Halstead, Ivor (1952). Bond Street. Barcliff Publishing. pp. 168–169.
15. Desebrock, Jean (1978). The Book of Bond Street Old and New. Tallis Press. pp. 146–153.
16. Moore 2003, p. 267.
17. Smith-Stanley, Edward (22 February 1864). "Royal Arcade Bill" (http://hansard.millbanksyst
ems.com/lords/1864/feb/22/royal-arcade-bill). Hansard (House of Lords). Retrieved 14 July
2015.
18. Dennis 2008, p. 301.
19. Walford, Edward (1878). Piccadilly: Northern tributaries (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-
new-london/vol4/pp291-314). Old and New London. 4. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin.
pp. 291–314. Retrieved 9 July 2015 – via British History Online.
20. Wheatley 1891, p. 161.
21. Teukolsky 2009, p. 113.
22. "New Bond Street crowned the most expensive retail street in Europe" (http://europe-re.co
m/new-bond-street-crowned-the-most-expensive-retail-street-in-europe/65879). Europe
Real Estate. 14 November 2018.
23. Callanan, Neil (28 November 2011). "Bonhams Auction House Gets Approval for New
London Headquarters" (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-11-28/bonhams-auc
tion-house-gets-approval-for-new-london-headquarters). Bloomberg Business. Retrieved
13 July 2015.
24. "Shoestring budget for £23m gem robbery" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3909911.stm).
BBC News. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
25. "Jewellery raid haul put at £40m" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8195740.stm). BBC News. 11
August 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
26. "London Prada store smash and grab raid" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-
25047869). BBC News. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
27. Westminster 2008, p. 6.
28. Westminster 1992, p. 9.
29. Sotheby's-About us (http://www.sothebys.com/en/inside/about-us.html). Sotheby's (Report).
Retrieved 19 March 2012.
30. Hibbert & Weinreb 2010, p. 82.
31. "Valentino snaps up spot on Old Bond Street for new UK flagship store" (https://www.standa
rd.co.uk/business/business-news/valentino-snaps-up-spot-on-old-bond-street-for-new-uk-fla
gship-store-10073046.html). London Evening Standard. 26 February 2015. Retrieved
14 July 2015.
32. Baker 2002, p. 62.
33. Osley, Richard (25 April 2013). " 'Allies' sculptor Lawrence Holofcener reveals how he sat in
front of his own famous work to create maquettes" (https://web.archive.org/web/201507150
12112/http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2013/apr/%E2%80%98allies%E2%80%99-
sculptor-lawrence-holofcener-reveals-how-he-sat-front-his-own-famous-work-cre). Camden
New Journal. Archived from the original (http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2013/ap
r/%E2%80%98allies%E2%80%99-sculptor-lawrence-holofcener-reveals-how-he-sat-front-hi
s-own-famous-work-cre) on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
34. "Urban Geology" (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucfbrxs/Homepage/UrbanGeology.htm#London).
www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
35. Mason, M (2013). Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground. London: Arrow
Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-099-55793-7.
36. Westminster 2009, p. 8.
37. "Hanover Square" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150716180710/https://www.london.gov.u
k/priorities/planning/strategic-planning-applications/mayors-planning-decisions/hanover-squ
are). Greater London Council. 22 April 2015. Archived from the original (https://www.london.
gov.uk/priorities/planning/strategic-planning-applications/mayors-planning-decisions/hanove
r-square) on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
38. Spacks 2013, Footnote to p.209.
39. "A Mrs. Dalloway Walk in London" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150516182337/http://ww
w.virginiawoolfsociety.co.uk/vw_res.walk.htm#). The Virginia Woolf Society. Archived from
the original (http://www.virginiawoolfsociety.co.uk/vw_res.walk.htm) on 16 May 2015.
Retrieved 14 July 2015.
40. "BFI | Film & TV Database | BOND STREET (1948)" (http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/27171).
Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
41. Clarke 2004, p. 321.
42. Moore 2003, p. 241.
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Austen, Jane (2013) [1811]. Spacks, Patricia Meyer (ed.). Sense and Sensibility: An
Anotated Edition. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-72455-6.
Clarke, Susanna (2004). Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-
1-408-80374-5.
Baker, Margaret (2002). Discovering London Statues and Monuments (https://books.google.
com/books?id=pVJLa5jgzQ4C&pg=PA62). Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7478-0495-6.
Dennis, Richard (2008). Cities in Modernity: Representations and Productions of
Metropolitan Space, 1840–1930. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46470-3.
Foreman, Lewis; Foreman, Susan (2005). London: A Musical Gazetteer. Yale University
Press. ISBN 978-0-300-10402-8.
Hibbert, Christopher; Weinreb, Ben (2010). The London Encyclopedia. Pan MacMillan.
ISBN 978-1-405-04924-5.
Moore, Tim (2003). Do Not Pass Go. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-099-43386-6.
Teukolsky, Rachel (2009). The Literate Eye: Victorian Art Writing and Modernist Aesthetics
(illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 113.
Wheatley, Henry Benjamin (1891). London, Past and Present: Its History, Associations, and
Traditions (https://archive.org/details/londonpastandpr01cunngoog). J. Murray.
Bond Street – A Guide to Shopfronts & Advertisements (http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/s
pgs/publications/Bond%20Street.pdf) (PDF) (Report). City of Westminster. 1992. Retrieved
15 July 2015.
 Oxford, Regent and Bond Street Action Plan (http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/p
ublications_store/Adopted_ORB_Action_Plan_March2008.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Westminster
City Council. March 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
Crossrail: Bond Street Station (Eastern Ticket Hall) : Adopted Planning Brief (http://transact.
westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Bond_Street_East_Adopted_Crossrail_Pla
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Further reading

London's Mansions by David Pearce (1986). ISBN 0-7134-8702-X. (Development details.)

External links
Official website (http://www.bondstreet.co.uk)
Bond Street (https://curlie.org//Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/London/Westmin
ster/) at Curlie

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