50 Berkeley Square is a reportedly haunted townhouse on Berkeley Square in Mayfair, in Central London. In the late 19th Century, it became known as "The Most Haunted House in London". Modern interest in the site was spurred by its inclusion in Peter Underwood's 1975 book, Haunted London.
History and occupants
The four-story brick town house was constructed in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century. Until 1827 it was the home of British Prime Minister George Canning, commemorated by a plaque on the house today. The house was then bought by the Viscount Bearsted, who rented the property to one Mr Myers. It was later bought by BP.
From 1937 to 2015, the building was occupied by Maggs Bros, a firm of antiquarian book dealers. In 1998 the building was thought to be the oldest unaltered building in London.
Legend
Legend varies, but mostly states that the attic room of the house is haunted by a spirit of a young woman who committed suicide there. She purportedly threw herself from the top floor windows after being abused by her uncle; and is said to be capable of frightening people to death. The spirit is said to take the form of a brown mist; though sometimes it is reported as a white figure. A rarer version of the tale is that a young man was locked in the attic room, fed only through a hole in the door, until he eventually went mad and died. One story states that the attic room is haunted by the ghost of little girl that was killed by a sadistic servant in that room.
The gardens in the centre are open to the public, and their very large London Plane trees are among the oldest in central London, planted in 1789.
Description
Whilst Berkeley Square was originally a mostly residential area, there now remains only one residential block on the square – number 48. The square is mostly offices, including a number of hedge funds and wealth management businesses.
The buildings around the square include several by other notable architects including Robert Adam, who designed Lansdowne House (since 1935 home of the Lansdowne Club) in the southwest corner of the square on Fitzmaurice Place. The daring staircase-hall of No. 44 is sometimes considered William Kent's masterpiece.Gunter's Tea Shop, founded under a different name in 1757, is also located here.
The film was thought to have been lost until it was rediscovered in the 1970s. A newly restored 35mm print has been made, and the restored version was first shown at the 2011 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.
Plot
In 1784, shortly after the United States wins its independence, American Peter Standish (Leslie Howard) sails from New York to England to marry his cousin. Upon hearing of a Frenchman crossing the English Channel in a balloon, Peter regrets that he will not be able to see the marvels the future has in store.
The play premiered in London in 1926. The 1929 Broadway production was an enormous success with Leslie Howard (who also co-produced and co-directed the play with Gilbert Miller) in the role of time traveler Peter Standish and ran for 229 performances, a substantial run for its time.
The play was later adapted into a 1933 film version with Howard repeating his stage role of Peter Standish, winning him an Academy Award nomination. The play was also produced for a 1959 BBC television production and the 1951 film The House in the Square (released in the United States as I'll Never Forget You).
Berkeley Square is a 1998British dramatic television series that was originally broadcast by BBC One. Set in 1902, it focuses on three young women who are employed as nannies by wealthy families living on exclusive Berkeley Square in the West End of London.
Lydia Weston, a farm girl from a large family in Devon, is hired by Lord George and Lady Constance Lamson-Scribener after her local vicar asks for their help to find a suitable position. Lady Lamson-Scribener, an American and the Earl's second wife, is concerned about aging Nanny Collins's abilities and hires Lydia to assist her, particularly after learning that she helped her mother raise 11 children.
Hannah Randall is a young Irishwoman who comes to London from Yorkshire with her illegitimate son, Billy, after the child's father, son of aristocrat Lord Harmsworth, dies in an accident. The locals, outraged by her loose behaviour, had forced Hannah to leave. In London, she finds lodgings in the Limehouse home of Mrs. Bronowski, who offers to watch Billy while Hannah searches for employment. She meets Lydia, who advises her of an available position as a nursemaid with the family of Elspeth and Nathaniel Hutchinson. When she is hired, Mrs. Bronowski suggests Billy stay with her for sixpence per week.
The presenter, 36, dazzled in a skin-tight dress adorned with hundreds of silver gems as she posed up a storm at the A-list bash to celebrate fashion and film, hosted at private members' club Annabel's in London'sBerkeleySquare.
Tony Bennett swings through BerkeleySquare in London, May 4, 1972, where he's filming his own television series ... Tony Bennett swings through Berkeley Square in London, May 4, 1972, where he's filming his own television series.
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Dispatch Argus
22 Jul 2023
Dispatch Argus
22 Jul 2023