Property Description
Down Street Mews is a cul-de-sac off Down Street in Westminster. The Mews contains only a few properties used for both residential and commercial purposes and it is oriented in a south-west to north-east direction. It is located on the site of an original Mews but has been re-developed to a degree that it no longer contains any surviving Mews properties. The existing properties were built in 1920.
In 1940, a high explosive bomb is recorded directly onto Down Street Mews, resulting in the properties having to be rebuilt. When the London Poverty Maps were published, the area was noted as having comfortable living conditions with average household salaries.
The Mews is part of Westminster City Council’s Mayfair Conservation Area. First designated in 1969, it derives its name from a fair held in the month of May in fields around the site of today’s Shepherd Market. The area is dominated by fashionable town-houses (and their mews) reflecting the history of English domestic architecture from the early 18th to the early 20th century.
The three storey properties in the Mews have painted brickwork facades and a mixture of mansard and pitched roof styles. The road surface is tarmacadam and parking is restricted.
Everchanging Nature
The Mews originally contained 3 properties until quite recently when Number 3 was demolished and numbers 1 and 2 were joined together and used as a builder’s office and storage for a temporary period whilst the demolition and construction of a new Number 3, Down Street Mews property is carried out.