MARLBOROUGH STREET

 

     Marlborough Street doesn’t exist. But it can safely be assumed that in 1935 the managing director of Waddingtons Victor Watson and his secretary Marjory Phillips had Great Marlborough Street in mind when designing the British version of Monopoly.

    The error is probably down to the fact the former courthouse in Great Marlborough Street was simply called Marlborough Street Magistrates Court. It’s now (another) hotel, The Courthouse ....

       Marlborough Street Magistrates Court, which closed in 1998, was the scene of many high-profile trials – (inevitably) Oscar Wilde, Christine Keeler, Boy George and, on separate occasions, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. John Lennon’s court case in 1970 regarding the display of sexually explicit photos of Yoko was thrown out on a technicality.

    So instead it’s Lancashire hotpot in the Argyll Arms, a definitive Victorian pub in Argyll Street with oodles of original features ….

     Dating back to 1760, the Argyll Arms was named after the second Duke of Argyll. He lived in a mansion opposite where The Palladium now stands. This isn’t the original building but much of the interior remains from when it was rebuilt in 1866.

    The London Palladium built its reputation as a great variety theatre by persuading big-name American stars to perform there.

     The London Palladium ‘Wall of Fame’ is by the stage door in Great Marlborough Street. Nearly all those pictured are dead.  The rest are very old (i.e. older than me), apart from the relatively youthful Julian Clary (60), a pantomime regular at the theatre.

    Liberty department store was founded in Regent Street by Arthur Lasenby Liberty in the 1880’s as an oriental warehouse .....

     In 1925, unable to extend along Regent Street, Lasenby built a huge annex along Great Marlborough Street. It is the exact length of two warships, having been constructed from HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan and held together with wooden pegs, not nails.  

     The exterior of Liberty was being renovated when I was there so the picture on the left is just a big painted screen. The bit they’d finished is on the right.

March 16, 2023

    Well, the new Vasco and Piero's Pavilion didn't disappoint - everything was spot on: food (Umbrian), service, ambiance. It was fairly quiet at lunchtime. But I imagine booking will be essential once the word gets around they are open for business again. Another nice idea is to pop in after 14.30 for coffee and some antipasto or desserts.

     Finally, here are a couple more stories associated with Great Marlborough Street worth a mention ….

    John Elwes was Charles Dickens’s inspiration for Ebenezer Scrooge. Elwes was a very wealthy man and owned over 100 London properties including a dilapidated house in Great Marlborough Street where he died. To save on candles he went to bed when it got dark. His clothes were so ragged many mistook him for a beggar and would put a penny in his hand as he passed. Rather than pay for a coach he would walk in the rain then sit in wet clothes rather than light a fire. He thought nothing of eating putrefied food. He never married, thinking it a waste of money. Having lived like a vagrant on £50 a year, Elwes left £860,000 (£100 million today) to his two illegimate sons.

    Marlboro, the world’s largest selling brand of cigarettes, were named after Great Marlborough Street where they were first manufactured in the original Philip Morris factory. The building no longer exists.  Five men who appeared as the rugged cowboy in Marlboro ads are believed to have died of smoking-related diseases, thus earning Marlboro cigarettes, specifically Marlboro Reds, the nickname "cowboy killers".  A couple of years ago Philip Morris announced they had made a takeover of Vectura for £1 billion pounds. Vectura make inhalers to treat asthma and respiratory diseases. I hesitate to, yet again, use the word ‘ironic’ but, having checked the Thesaurus, I can’t find a better fit.

   Postscript: Apart from Great Marlborough Street, no less than six other Monopoly properties are also been names of cigarette brands - Pall Mall, Strand, Bond Street, Piccadilly, Mayfair and Vine Street.