Marylebone unmasked!

Marylebone has always presented a very handsome and respectable face to the world. That’s because it was largely built up in the 1700’s as a wealthy suburb in which lovely terraces led to grand squares, with mews behind which are now regarded as very attractive. But behind this façade lie some interesting and more complex stories. The majority of the wealth which built and bought the houses came from slave-driven commerce in the West Indies and the exploitation of the wealth of India by a private company. Colourful and sometimes scandalous frequenters of those handsome streets include a famous eloping couple with a secret marriage, the illegitimate child of a national hero being quietly baptised and the domestic affray which led to the uncovering of the Profumo affair. Add to this London’s first curry house, the flat where many of the Beatles’ best songs were written and the office where their first album sleeve was photographed, the site of the workhouse where local resident Charles Dickens was on the jury on an infant death inquest, three successive Anglican churches and a glorious (but little known) Catholic one, and you have an area which is fascinating to explore (and, as always, handsome to look at!). NB if the dates below don't suit you, email me (andrew@whoknewtours.com) to let me know what you want to do: most times I can rearrange the schedule to suit demand.