Grosvenor Square (pronounced "Groves-nuh Square") is a large garden square in the exclusive Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Duke of Westminster's Mayfair property, and takes its name from that of the duke's family, the Grosvenors.

Sir Richard Grosvenor obtained a licence to develop Grosvenor square and the surrounding streets in 1710, and development is believed to have commenced in around 1721. Grosvenor Square was one of the three of four most fashionable residential addresses in London from its construction until World War II, with numerous dukes and other leading members of the aristocracy in residence. The early houses were generally of five or seven bays, with basement, three main stories and an attic. Some attempt was made to produce impressive groupings of houses, and Colen Campbell produced a design for a palatial east side to the square featuring thirty corinthian columns but this was not carried out and in the end most of the houses were built to individual designs. There were mews behind all four sides.

Many of the houses were rebuilt later in the 18th century or during the 19th century, generally acquiring an extra storey when this happened. Number 26 was rebuilt in 1773-74 for the Earl of Derby by Robert Adam, and is regarded as one of the architect's finest works and as a seminal example of how grandeur of effect and sophisticated planning might be achieved on a confined site. It was demolished and rebuilt again in the 1860s.

The central garden, which was originally reserved for the use of the occupants of the houses as was standard in a London Square, is now a public park. Nearly all of the houses were demolished during the 20th century and replaced with blocks of flats in a neo-Georgian style, hotels and embassies. Access to the western side of the square is severely restricted by the very obvious security measures around the U.S. Embassy.

American presence

The western side of Grosvenor Square is now occupied by the U.S. Embassy, a large and architectually significant modern design by Eero Saarinen, completed in 1960. It is however a controversial insertion into a mainly Georgian and neo-Georgian district of London.

Grosvenor Square has been the traditional home of the official American presence in London since John Adams established the first American mission to the Court of St. James in 1785. In World War II General Eisenhower established an HQ at 20 Grosvenor Square, and there is now a statue of him in the square. The US Navy continues to use this same building as its headquarters for Europe and West Africa.

The ambassador's official residence, Winfield House, is a couple of miles away in Regent's Park.

Reference

Georgian London by John Summerson.