The Portman Magazine Autumn 2014

THE PORTMAN
Paws for thought:
a walking tour
of art works
Autumn
2014
Living on and around
The Portman Estate
9
contents
11
As told to
Charlotte Adsett, a celebrity
stylist who runs a hotel’s new
shopping concierge team
12
Happenings
Buns, bake offs and the
most expensive cuppa in
the UK
20
COVER: OLD QUEBEC STREET’S
INDOMITABLE BEAR
PHOTO: NICK BIBBY
Art
Tour on foot A walking guide
to galleries and sculptures
SEE PAGE 20
26
Food & drink
Chiltern Firehouse Where
the real VIPs are the local
residents
The Portman is a regular journal about
life on and around The Portman Estate
Editors
Lorna Davies
Kate White
Writers
Cally Squires
Debbie Ward
Sub-editor
Gavin Hadland
Designer
Andy Lowe
Publisher
The Portman Estate
Advertising
Sam Bradshaw
020 7259 1051
sam@pubbiz.com
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32
Art
New light The Wallace
Collection’s famous Great
Gallery gets a makeover
38
Food & drink
Happy at Hardy’s The
family-run brasserie still
going strong after 30 years
44
History
Fascinating facts From
John and Yoko to air raid
shelters: Montagu Square’s
compelling past uncovered
48
Baker Street
Summer in the Square
July’s series of outdoor
events attracted more than
13,000 visitors
11
as told to
The celebrity stylist
Charlotte Adsett is in
charge of a specialist
shopping concierge team
recently launched at
The Mandeville hotel.
She talks to Debbie Ward
An exciting new look
“
Our TypiCAl lOCAl ClienT will be
bored with their wardrobe and want a
refresh. Visitors from overseas,
meanwhile, will have no idea about the
best shops or the coolest places. We may also get
business people, brides-to-be or friends of any age.
i can also source gifts like jewellery or kids’ stuff.
The difference between shopping on your own
and using my service is my little black book. it’s full
of people i know in the fashion industry who may
not even sell to the public. it’s an extension of what
i do for photo shoots or when i put together a
celebrity’s wardrobe for a TV show.
in the first instance we’ll contact clients with our
questionnaire about their style and what they want
to achieve and go from there.
We’ll usually start at The Mandeville Hotel and
have a chat. it’s an ideal location – near all my
favourite local shops and Bond Street. it has a great
vibe and is super-welcoming – and there’s an
exclusive lunch menu for shopping concierge
customers.
i dressed rachel Stevens at the hotel for an
event a couple of months ago. For red carpet dos
we’ve access to a ‘glam squad’ of celebrity hair
and makeup artists for clients. For time-poor
shoppers, a lot of boutiques will bring products to
their rooms.
We’ve negotiated some discounts, like Matches
offering 10 per cent off. They also have a Vip
service at a townhouse on Welbeck Street, where
they’ll bring whatever we need from their stores.
i don’t impose my own style on people. it’s
about what suits them and how the clothes are
going to fit into their lives. Someone with no idea
would be my favourite, a blank canvas. i love giving
someone a look and their being confident that they
can do fashion for the first time.
My favourite style icons include Audrey
Hepburn, Sophia loren, Jane Birkin and lauren
Bacall. i think the most stylish women today are
Olivia palermo, Kate Moss and Alexa Chung.
My dream celebrity styling project would be
the Duchess of Cambridge. While she always
looks perfectly groomed and appropriate,
i’d steer her away from her classic styles
and mix it up with some different
shapes, bold accessories and shoes
by new designers. ”
The Mandeville hotel is at Mandeville place.
info: 020 7009 2200, www.mandeville.co.uk
12
happenings
Full steam ahead
New school opens
A new restAurAnt serving steamed food has opened on
Baker street.
that’s Vapore is a Milanese brand that promises quick,
simple, healthy and delicious dishes. they are cooked by
steaming, which retains up to 50 per cent more nutrients than
boiling or frying.
Open for breakfast and lunch, that’s Vapore will offer a daily
selection of more than 16 steam baskets, including pasta,
seafood, meat and vegetarian options.
Customers can pick up a hot basket from the grab-and-go
counter. there is also a choice of cold baskets, salads and a
soup of the day.
Breakfast dishes include pastries from the Artisan Bakery,
and coffee made from organic, wood-roasted coffee beans.
A new JunIOr sCHOOl has opened on
wyndham Place.
the International Community school (ICs)
admits boys and girls aged three to 18. An
International Baccalaureate world school, it is
part of the skOlA group and offers all three IB
programmes – primary years, middle years and
diploma.
ICs has two other sites in london – a primary
school for children aged between three and 11
near regent’s Park; and a secondary school for
11 to 18-year-olds in Bayswater. the wyndham
Place school will admit pupils aged from eight
to 11.
Ben toettcher, managing partner of the
skOlA group of schools, said: “we have seen
the development of Marylebone over many years,
as we have had schools in the area for more than
40 years.
“we’re opening at wyndham Place to
increase our capacity, as demand has risen for
International Baccalaureate education in london.
this will be our junior school and it’s located
that’s Vapore is at 7 Baker street. Info: 020 7935 0697,
www.thatsvapore.co.uk
between our infant and secondary school
campuses.”
ICs is at 7 wyndham Place. Info: 020 7935 1206,
www.icschool.co.uk
Buns in the oven
chestnut tagliatelle with wild mushrooms, butter
and chives.
following locatelli will be the Paris Pop-up,
which promises a variety of innovative dishes and
diverse drink pairings. It is run by Harry Cummins
and laura Vidal.
Harry has cooked at Jamie Oliver’s fifteen
restaurant, as well as Michelin-starred wild
Honey, Artbutus and Zafferano; while laura is a
Québécoise sommelier. they will be based at
Carousel from October 22 to november 1.
nOrdIC BAkery is holding a week-long
celebration of the cinnamon bun.
the scandinavian coffee shop, which is based
on dorset street, will be selling a limited-edition
cinnamon bun from september 30 until Cinnamon
Bun day on October 4.
every week nordic Bakery sells hundreds of
these buns, which are made fresh on the
premises every day.
the limited-edition buns will be made using
the cafe’s traditional bun-dough and cinnamon
recipe, but they will feature a new twist.
Cinnamon buns, which are the bakery’s
biggest seller, originate from a rustic, home-style
finnish recipe.
with a taste described as “eating a hug”, they
are baked on their sides so the sweet cinnamon
filling stays enclosed inside.
A golden, sticky glaze gives the buns a slightly
crunchy bite, revealing layer upon layer of robustly
spiced cinnamon with a hint of cardamom in a
light dough. If the buns were unravelled, the
dough would stretch a metre in length.
Carousel is at 71 Blandford street.
Info: 020 7487 5564, www.carousel-london.com
nordic Bakery is at 48 dorset street.
Info: 020 7487 5877, www.nordicbakery.com
Carousel’s autumn dining round-up
BlAndfOrd street’s new dining venue
Carousel, which hosts a rotating series of guest
chefs and pop-up events, has revealed its
autumn schedule.
Georgio locatelli and his wife Plaxy, who own
Michelin-starred restaurant locanda locatelli on
seymour street, are hosting 21 days of Pizza
locadeli until september 28. diners can enjoy
wood-fired pizza with Italian spritz, wines and
craft beer.
small dishes include Parma ham and figs,
autumn salad and an array of stuzzichini. As well
as pizza, there are pasta dishes including
spaghettini with clams, garlic and chilli; and
14
happenings
Building client dreams
sHe wAs reCently named one of Britain’s top30 interior designers by The Sunday Times – and
now eliská sapera is offering a new architectural
service to her clients.
the interior designer owns eliská design
Associates – a high-end furnishings boutique on
new Quebec street. she has joined forces with
professional architect Hannah darby to provide a
high-quality, turnkey service to clients.
Hannah has worked on house, garden and loft
extensions, multi-level basement installations and
internal reconfigurations. she has collaborated
with eliská in the past on several high-profile
cocktail bars, hotels and embassies.
their overlapping skill-sets allow the pair to
deliver an entire project, from initial design
concept, through tendering and construction
stages and onwards to the final selection of
furnishings and hand-crafted fittings.
eliská said the duo would work together to
maximise the potential of every space to enhance
a client’s lifestyle. In other words, she said, the
collaboration will be a “one-stop shop to deliver
clients’ dreams”.
New fish fare
A fIsHMOnGer is set to open in Portman Village
in October.
nic rascle, who owns la Petite Poissonnerie
in Primrose Hill, is opening a second branch of the
shop on new Quebec street.
like its sister venue, it will stock sustainably
sourced fresh fish and shellfish, which is sourced
from uk destinations including Portsmouth,
Plymouth, norfolk, Cornwall and Grimsby.
the Marylebone shop will offer customers lots
of extras, including dinners they can take home
and cook. dishes will range from seared loin of
tuna to marinated black cod with rice.
“we make all the marinade and the dressing
for you – all you have to do is cook it,” said nic,
who is originally from france. “we see ourselves
as a ‘fishmonger-plus’, offering customers lots of
different things.”
A lunch menu aimed at office workers will
include sandwiches, sushi, bento boxes and
salads of the day; and the shop will sell a range of
french wines and champagne. nic can also cater
for dinner parties.
la Petite Poissonnerie will be based at 19 new
Quebec street.
Info: www.lapetite-poissonnerie.co.uk
eliská is at 16A new Quebec street.
Info: 020 7723 5521, www.eliskadesign.com
16
happenings
Bake Off prizewinner announced
A CHef from the Grazing Goat was named
overall winner of the inaugural Portman Village
Bake Off.
neradah Hartnett, executive pastry chef at the
new Quebec street pub, won prizes for best
biscuit and tastiest cake. she was also crowned
overall bake off champion at the event, which
was held in Portman square garden.
restaurants, shops and hotels from Portman
Village submitted 30 cakes and biscuits to be
judged by an expert panel, which was led by the
reigning champion of the Great British Bake Off,
frances Quinn.
entries ranged from daisy Green’s mega
banana-bread sandwich to the lockhart’s lemon
Ice Box Pie.
Visitors enjoyed live music, food and drink,
and a raffle with prizes from prosecco at Vinoteca
to a meal at the Portman pub. the event raised
almost £400 for local homeless charity the west
london day Centre’s safety boot fund.
A spokesman said: “following the bake off,
we helped a day centre user to find work on a
construction site. we bought him a hard hat but
he needed safety boots, which the fund helped
us buy for him.
“we think we’ll need to buy about 50 pairs of
safety boots a year and so need to raise £1,000
for our safety Boot fund. the bake off played a
part in getting us at least a third of the way there.”
the west london day Centre is calling for
people to join its sponsored sleep-out on October
10. the annual event sees volunteers sleeping
rough for the night to raise money for the
homeless. If you’d like to take part, visit
www.wlm.org.uk/sleep-out
NERADAH
HARTNETT AT
THE BAKE OFF
Suits for you, sir
A new tAIlOr has opened in Portman Village.
taliare is a bespoke and made-to-measure
tailoring house, which was founded by former
savile row cutter erlend norby.
speaking of the seymour Place shop and
work rooms, he said: “Commissioning a garment
is a big investment of your time and and money.
“we will work with you every step of the way
to create a garment that perfectly matches your
requirements.”
taliare has a relaxed, salon-style environment,
where clients can consider a wide range of cloths
from the finest mills in uk and europe. Made-tomeasure garments range from suits to bespoke
overcoats and evening tails.
taliare is at 5A seymour Place.
Info: 020 7723 5100, www.taliare.com
18
happenings
Playing the game
Hunter 486 restaurant is celebrating the game
season with a different dish on the menu each
week.
foodies can feast on top-quality game dishes
including roasted haunch of Chart farm venison
with marinated red cabbage, almond potatoes,
chocolate-scented jus and caramelised parsnips.
Other dishes include roasted goose breast
with wild boar bacon and roast salsify, potato and
turnip dauphinoise; and traditional roast Berkshire
pheasant, bread sauce, roast potatoes, buttered
green cabbage and chestnut purée and glazed
apples.
until november 23 at Hunter 486, the Arch
london, 50 Great Cumberland Place.
Info: 020 7724 4700, www.thearchlondon.com
Tea with a difference
A POt Of teA that is said to be the most
expensive in the uk is now available at the royal
China Club.
According to the Baker street restaurant, the
drink is comparable to a fine wine – with the tea
leaves of da Hong Pao left to mature and gain
flavour for 80 years before being served.
the handmade tea is baked in small batches
over charcoal to create an aromatic infusion with
distinctive dark, cocoa notes.
the royal China Club is at 40-42 Baker street.
Info: 020 7486 3898, www.royalchinagroup.co.uk
Fantastic fit for women
sunsPel HAs exPAnded its presence on Chiltern
street to include a full collection of womenswear.
the British brand was founded in 1860 by
thomas A. Hill. In 1947 it became the first company
to introduce boxer shorts to the uk.
the label has supplied the rAf with issue
undergarments and was worn by daniel Craig in the
James Bond film Casino Royale.
sunspel opened its first Marylebone shop at
13-15 Chiltern street in december 2012. It has now
expanded into the premises next door, which houses a
full range of womenswear.
sunspel’s new womenswear shop is at 11 Chiltern street.
Info: 020 7009 0650, www.sunspel.com
20
art
A walking art education
From Oxford Street to Chiltern
Street, Lorna Davies is your guide
on a walking tour of The Portman
Estate that features galleries,
sculptures and artists’ homes
THE TOUR BEGINS on Oxford Street, where
you’ll see Barbara Hepworth’s sculpture on the
corner of John Lewis. The Winged Figure was
treated to extensive restoration work last year to
celebrate its 50th birthday.
Further down Oxford Street in Selfridges,
you could be standing in the former home of artist
George Stubbs (1724-1806). The painter, whose
portrait you can see at the National Portrait
Gallery, lived at 24 Somerset Street from 1764
to1806, but the street was demolished to make
way for Selfridges’ expansion north of its original
site in the 1920s. Stubbs was known for his
depictions of magnificent horses such as
Whistlejacket, which is on show at the National
Gallery.
Round the corner on Orchard Street, you’ll
find a pop-up show at The Old Selfridges
Hotel, directly above the Selfridges Food Hall.
The huge industrial space is being filled by the
Institute of Contemporary Art for its Off-Site
project from October 14 to18. The week-long
programme, to coincide with the Frieze art fair,
encompasses performance, music, art, dance
and discussion, with different events each day.
(More information at www.ica.org.uk)
‡
LEFT: GEORGE STUBBS, WHISTLEJACKET, C 1762:
©THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON
ABOVE: BARBARA HEPWORTH, THE WINGED FIGURE.
RIGHT: PALINDROME, PRESENTED BY NTS AND
CURATED BY TREVOR JACKSON,
IMAGE COURTESY OF THE ICA
22
art
Orchard Street was also home to another
well-known artist, the miniaturist Richard
Cosway (1742-1821). He lived there from around
1763 until 1768. In 1785 he was appointed
painter for the Prince of Wales, and had
considerable influence over the official image of
the prince.
Turn left onto Portman Mews. At 7 Portman
Mews South you will see Field Work by
Shauna McMullan. The carving of meadow
grasses on the building’s lower façade is a subtle
reminder that the area was used as farmland up
until the 1740s.
Walk back down Orchard Street and onto
Portman Square where you’ll see some pretty
iron gates at 43-45 and wall art work by John
Carter at 40. Inside leafy Portman Square
Gardens you can see the beautiful Emergence, a
four part sculpture by renowned artist
David Breuer-Weil.
Behind you at 30 Portman Square,
Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, there is a
life-sized bronze sculpture of Sir Winston
Churchill. In Conversation by Lawrence
Holofcener was unveiled in November 2012 on
the hotel’s terrace.
Head down Seymour Street to number 45
where at York House you’ll find Alabaster, a
sculpture by wiorld-famous artist Anish Kapoor.
Turn around and right onto Old Quebec Street.
There you’ll find a 15 foot grizzly bear waiting for
you. Indomitable is by Nick Bibby, a wildlife
sculptor collected by Damien Hirst and JK
Rowling, and was lifted into position by a crane
on June 25. “It was a gift of a commission, as I
ABOVE: DAVID BREUER-WEIL, EMERGENCE
© DAVID BREUER-WEIL
have always loved bears,” Bibby told The Portman.
Walk back to Seymour Street and at the end of
the street, turn right onto Great Cumberland
Place. The man standing in the middle of the
crescent is Swedish architect and businessman,
Raoul Wallenberg (1912-1947). During World
War Two he rescued thousands of Jews from
Nazi-occupied Hungary. The memorial was made
by sculptor Philip Jackson, who also made the
Bomber Command Memorial Sculpture in Green
Park. On the rear of the statue, there are 100,000
Schutz passes, protective passports with which
Wallenberg saved the Jews.
Continue walking down Great Cumberland
Place, through historic Bryanston Square and
onto York Street. Number 20 was home to
painter and miniaturist George Richmond
(1809-1896) (look for the blue plaque.)
At the end of the street, turn right and walk to
117 Gloucester Place, the former abode of Sir
Gerald Kelly (1879-1972). There’s a blue plaque
informing you that the portrait painter moved there
in 1916 and stayed until his death 56 years later.
Turn left onto Dorset Street and right onto
Chiltern Street until you reach number 48,
GV Art. The gallery is currently showing
Reassembling the Self (on until October 11), an
exhibition centered on a study of the condition of
schizophrenia, which weaves together art,
science, psychiatry and individual histories.
‡
BELOW: PHILIP JACKSON, WALLENBERG MEMORIAL
OPPOSITE, FAR LEFT: SUSAN ALDWORTH,
REASSEMBLING THE SELF 7, 2012
OPPOSITE, NEAR LEFT: SIR GERALD KELLY, BEACH AT
ETRETÂT, 1908 ©TATE
24
art
Further down Chiltern Street you can’t miss
Atlas Gallery on the corner of Chiltern and
Dorset Street. Visit between September 25 and
November 16 and you’ll find remarkable images
of the unseen lives and traditions of people from
35 of the world’s last indigenous tribes. Jimmy
Nelson’s landmark project Before They Pass
Away is led by the British-born photographer’s
fascination with other cultures that has led him on
a journey around the world to document some of
the oldest surviving communities.
At the end of the street, turn left onto George
Street, where you’ll find a heron peering down at
you from the corner before Thayer Street. The
sculpture was put there when the building was
built in 1967 by Heron International PLC.
Walk down Thayer Street and right onto
Hinde Street until you reach Manchester
Square, home of the world-famous Wallace
Collection, where you can enjoy masterpieces in
a whole new light. Find out more on page 32.
Elsewhere on The Estate, plans to redevelop
Marble Arch Tower to deliver 53 luxury flats,
offices, shops and a cinema were given the goahead in June. The scheme will also include a
new public realm space featuring public art. A
spokesman for Almacantar said the precise form
of the art has not yet been agreed.
ABOVE: HERON INTERNATIONAL
BELOW: JIMMY NELSON, KAZAKH,
ALTANTSOGTS, BAYAN OLGII,
MONGOLIA, 2011
© JIMMY NELSON BV
26
food & drink
“JUST HEADING OUT…to Chiltern Firehouse.”
Utter these words in a central London office and
it’s guaranteed to provoke more than a few swivel
chair spins and wide-eyed stares. “How on earth
did you get in there?” one of my colleagues asks.
Granted, I’m not Rita Ora, so was surprised when
I was offered a guided tour, drinks and a dinner
reservation this side of 2015. But when I speak to
owner André Balazs, he’s keen to emphasise that
it’s a neighbourhood restaurant, and Portman
Estate residents and those who work in the area
are treated as VIPs.
“The most important clientele are the people
who are our neighbours. I know with all the
attention it’s gotten it seems like it’s something
else, but that’s absolutely not the intent and it’s
never the long-term goal of anything we do,” he
stresses.
Since its opening in February, Chiltern
Firehouse has become a veritable beacon of
celebsville. Not a day goes by without Kate Moss,
Lily Allen, David Beckham, Harry Styles et al
being photographed slipping out of the hotel and
restaurant’s large black gates.
“Yes it’s been hugely popular,” Balazs agrees,
“which is a wonderful thing, but it’s kind of also – I
think it’s a difficult thing as well, with the
paparazzi interest. We are changing ways of
entering and exiting the building, doing what we
can, working with the neighbours and with
Westminster [City Council].”
For Balazs, working with the local community
is essential: “I think a good hotel should always
be at the centre of its community. That’s the way
a hotel survives. It becomes totally integrated into
the heart and soul of the community – certainly
that’s the way we’ve worked in the past.”
He loves the area, and he has spent time
getting to know the locals: “There are some
wonderful people on the street. We’re good
friends with the two great shopkeepers directly
across the way – Sandy, who runs the newsstand
[Shreeji Newsagents, 6 Chiltern Street] and Mario,
who runs the barber shop [Mario’s Barber Shop, ‡
Inside the Chiltern Firehouse
ANDRÉ BALAZS
Celebrities have regularly been
spotted at the Chiltern Firehouse,
but it’s essentially a neighbourhood
restaurant, says its owner. Lorna
Davies and Kate White report
28
food & drink
4 Chiltern Street].” Balazs, 57, is the owner of a
property and hotel empire comprising The Mercer
in New York, Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and
Standard Hotels across America. Chiltern
Firehouse is his first venture outside the US
(although he’s now acquired the Camden Town
Hall Annexe in Euston Road to turn into a
Standard Hotel).
He chose Marylebone because “it’s kind of like
Mayfair, but a bit different. “The street is elegant,
quiet, centrally located and very convenient,” he
says. “The Firehouse itself is just a magnificent
building, which I fell in love with. It reminded me a
lot of our place in New York [The Mercer], and a
little bit of the Chateau Marmont.”
The building, with its soaring chimneys and
gothic detailing, looks more like an aristocratic
dwelling than a former public building.
The original fire station dates back to 1888,
and Balazs and his team – Studio KO in Paris and
architect David Archer of Archer Humphreys –
have been careful in restoring and emulating the
original designs.
The restaurant itself was the appliance room,
and the flooring, columns and tile walls are all
from the original station. There’s even a fire pole
going through the middle of one of the tables in
the corner.
Renowned chef Nuno Mendes heads up the
kitchen, serving up a menu featuring delicious
dishes such as sea trout crudo, blackened
salmon and spring lamb. Breakfast and brunch
are more recent additions – French toast,
buttermilk pancakes and spiced crab omelette
feature – aimed at drawing in a local crowd.
CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:
THE RESTAURANT, A HOTEL
BATHROOM, AND AN OUTSIDE
VIEW OF THE CHILTERN
FIREHOUSE
“The most important
clientele are the
people who are
our neighbours.”
André Balazs
The pretty garden leads to the ladder shed, a
beautiful bar, complete with a decks and records
and a huge work of art by Theaster Gates,
commissioned by Balazs, made of fire hoses.
There are 26 hotel rooms, with a homely feel
and a personal, intimate service – “you dial 0 for
anything,” says Lucy McIntyre, marketing and
communications head, who has worked with
Balazs for 12 years.
McIntyre shows me round a few of the hotel
rooms and by the end I don’t want to go home.
The 1930s decor includes very plush carpets,
remote-controlled fireplaces, heaps of storage
space, international plug sockets and the most
amazing bath tubs.
All the appliances and furniture are custommade. There’s even the aroma from a bespoke
Chiltern Firehouse scented candle wafting through
the hotel stairwell and restaurant.
Balazs says the design aims to “create an
atmosphere that’s very much reflective of the
neighbourhood.
“We found a language and a design vernacular
that seemed appropriate and hence as glorious
as the building is on the outside, with its Victorian
grandeur. Inside at the end of the day it was a
very utilitarian, municipal building. The firemen
used to live there, the horses and the carriages
were on the ground floor.”
Some of the building work was “almost like an
archeological dig”, says Balazs.“We discovered
things that were inspirational and worth keeping.
For example, in what was the ladder shed we
started cleaning away this institutional yellow
colour, and suddenly discovered this amazing
colour scheme that must have been the original
one when it was built in the 1880s.”
The design is amazing, but for Balazs, a good
hotel is one that “first and foremost makes you
feel welcome and safe”. The crowning glory of
the hotel is the gothic spire, the original castle-like
watchtower from which the fireman would look
out over London to see if there was any smoke or
fires to put out.
“We’ve had many, many firemen come by who
used to be stationed here, including the chiefs,”
says Balazs.
“They’ve sent beautiful letters to us saying
how heart-warming it is for them to see a place
that they lived in for so long come to life again,
with kind of its original spirit, but in a completely
new way.”
Chiltern Firehouse is at 1 Chiltern Street.
Info: 020 7073 7676.
reservations@chilternfirehouse.com
32
art
AFTER TWO YEARS, £5 million and lots of hard
work The Wallace Collection’s Great Gallery opens
up to the public again on September 19. The
grand room, which houses masterpieces by
artists from Rubens to Velazquez, has undergone
a major makeover, boasting new interior design, a
new glass ceiling and even some new paintings.
Built between 1872 and 1875, the Great
Gallery was part of Sir Richard Wallace’s major
extension of Hertford House to accommodate his
art collection’s move from Paris to London. The
glass ceiling was a feature of Wallace’s original
gallery, but was blocked off in the 1970s when
environmental controls meant more room was
needed for the air-conditioning unit.
When deciding on a new design, the team at
the museum looked closely at Wallace’s original
space. Large picture galleries were a common
feature in his day, usually placed behind the
private living quarters, and glass ceilings were a
common element.
“Top lighting was invented around 1800 and in
the early 19th century there was still a very lively
discussion around whether it was a good thing or
whether light from the side was better,” explains
Dr Christoph Vogtherr, director of the Wallace
Collection. “We still think today that top lighting is
the best for paintings, that’s why we are very
proud that we could reintroduce it.”
But it wasn’t just the light the museum had to
think about. “We realised we are reintroducing a
large glass surface and today there are lots of
performances and guided tours and talks in this
room, so there could have been an acoustics
problem,” Vogtherr reveals.
Luckily, The Wallace Collection has some
expert neighbours in the form of the Royal
Academy of Music, housed on Marylebone Road.
“They were very helpful and came in to examine
the space and give their opinion on the new
design. They reassured us that the acoustics
would be fine,” Vogtherr adds.
The ceiling means the stunning pieces in the
room are, quite literally, being seen in a new light.
Visitors can again enjoy some of the museum’s
most treasured pieces, including Frans Hals’s
world-famous The Laughing Cavalier, often
described as “one of the most brilliant of all
Letting in the light
WIth a new glass ceiling about to be
revealed at the Wallace Collection’s
Great Gallery, masterpieces by
Rubens and Frans Hals can be seen
in a new light, writes Lorna Davies
PETER PAUL RUBENS, THE RAINBOW LANDSCAPE, C.1636
© BY KIND PERMISSION OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE WALLACE COLLECTION
34
art
Baroque portraits”; Thomas Lawrence’s
monumental portrait George IV; and Paris by Van
Dyck, intended by the 3rd Marquess of Hertford
as a bequest to the king.
As Vogtherr explains, moving and storing
world-class masterpieces is a delicate task.
“The most important works we had put into
other rooms in the building, except two or three
that were just simply too large and wouldn’t go
into any other room,” Vogtherr tells me. “Some of
them were stored at the Tate Gallery and for some
paintings we used the opportunity to have them
cleaned and restored because they were off show
anyway, so it was the perfect moment.”
This included the four large Dutch still-life
paintings (three by Jan Weenix and one by
Melchior d’Hondecoeter). “We had them cleaned
and they are now back and hanging in much
more prominent positions because they are just
so much nicer to look at,” Vogtherr says.
Some new pieces have been introduced into
the collection, including two by François Lemoyne
– Perseus and Andromeda and Time Saving Truth
from Falsehood and Envy – “because we had no
French 18th-century paintings in there and now
we’ve made that part of the story again.”
With so many masterpieces in one room, does
Vogtherr have a favourite? “It’s always very hard to
pick out one or two, but maybe The Rainbow
Landscape by Rubens, that is very iconic, it’s very
much part of our identity.”
The room itself boasts a new design by the
ABOVE: THE GREAT GALLERY WILL
FEATURE NEW INTERIOR DESIGN
AND NEW PAINTINGS
LEFT: TITIAN, PERSEUS AND
ANDROMEDIA
© BY KIND PERMISSION OF THE TRUSTEES OF
THE WALLACE COLLECTION
RIGHT: FRANS HALS, THE LAUGHING
CAVALIER, 1624
© BY KIND PERMISSION OF THE TRUSTEES OF
THE WALLACE COLLECTION
Wallace’s regular designer John O’Connell. The
old wall fabric, a coral-coloured cotton damask
from the 1970s, has been replaced with a striking
crimson silk damask.
“For many details, colours and patterns on the
silk we looked at photos of other great galleries in
London townhouses in the Victorian age and we
found they had quite a bit in common. For
example, the silk pattern was always very similar
in all of these spaces and different grand houses
at the time, so we were quite confident that we
had picked the right pattern and the right type of
silk. It’s a much more sympathetic space for the
works,” says Vogtherr.
The Great Gallery has a key feature among
London museums in that it combines paintings
from different schools in one room.
“That’s very much the character of a private
collection and we’ve kept that because we think
it’s actually a great opportunity to talk about
exchanges between different schools and regions
about how painters knew each other, visited each
other,” Vogtherr says. “Rubens went to Madrid
and saw Velázquez there, and our Titian painting
was owned by Van Dyck – there are all these very
personal relationships between them.”
Vogtherr became director of the Wallace in
2010 – taking over from Dame Rosalind Savill,
who had led the museum for 23 years – and has
been working out a plan for the museum ever
since. The team has defined three particular aims
over the next ten years: to broaden its visitor base
to younger age groups and lower income groups;
to improve its internal infrastructure; and to raise
its research profile. “Particularly in 18th-century art
and arms and armour because they are our two
world-class specialties,” says Vogtherr.
The director’s job is to “motivate and ensure a
strong direction for the museum”, something
Vogtherr says he finds particularly important
because of budget cuts. “Like all museums, we
have to think about money more carefully and
generate more, but without losing sight of what
it’s all about. I need to keep everybody thinking
about what we are here for, and that’s the art, the
public and the enjoyment and the access of it,” he
says. The Great Gallery project was funded by a
£5 million donation from the Monument Trust.
It’s the end of a huge project, one that
Vogtherr and his team are excited about showing
to the public. However, he’s not finished with the
makeovers: “We have three rooms left on the first
floor on the west side of the building, and those
will be refurbished next. Then we can move to the
ground floor. It’s an ongoing project because just
as one finishes we can start on another!”
38
food & drink
With classic dishes such as fish and
chips, shepherd’s pie and fishcakes,
this family-run brasserie in Dorset
Street has found a reliable recipe for
success. By Cally Squires
A Hardy’s act to follow
THREE DECADES in the restaurant business is a
feat that should certainly be celebrated, especially
in London, where new restaurants and cafes
seem to spring up on a daily basis.
Fortunately it is an achievement that Hardy’s on
Dorset Street has reached with relative ease.
Approaching its 30th year in business this
October, Hardy’s is a family-run brasserie and bar.
What’s the secret of their success? Owner,
manager, part-time sommelier and self-confessed
masochist Dominique de Bastarrechea cites the
“very personal and friendly” atmosphere.
DOMINIQUE DE
BASTARRECHEA
“There are not that many independent places
left in the centre of London. We’re lucky to now
be serving the second generation of our regular
customers. We have the privilege of having
history, but at the same time work hard to keep it
relevant, so it doesn’t become a relic. Obviously
it’s a fine balance – we can’t change too much
otherwise people would be up in arms.”
The local neighbourhood restaurant is British
at heart. “We’ve had the classics on for ever – fish
and chips, fishcakes and a really great shepherd’s
pie.” Surely not during the summer? “We tried to
take the shepherd’s pie off for a few months but
people were very upset. They didn’t seem to mind
that it was 30°C outside!”
Although pies aside, English chef Sam Hughes
does change the menu every month. “We’ve been
doing quite a lot of shellfish recently after he went
to Brittany on holiday and came back inspired,”
says Dominique. Trained under Rowley Leigh at
Kensington Place, Hughes worked at the
Michelin-starred Sir Charles Napier in Oxford for
several years, and was put up for the job by a
local patron and master chef himself,
Raymond Blanc.
Selecting the wine is a team effort by
Dominique and James the barman. “We try to
work with several different suppliers to find
interesting bottles that generally overdeliver, as
customers are always eager to try new things.
We let them sample it, and if they don’t like
it, they can change. We do a few natural wines –
not the extreme ones – but we’ve been
40
food & drink
“We tried to take shepherd’s
pie off the menu for a few
months but the customers
were very upset. They didn’t
seem to mind that it was 30
degrees outside”
selling a lovely Cabernet Franc recently.”
Dominique’s parents took over Hardy’s from
founder Simon Boyle, and she thinks the
inherited name was linked to Thomas Hardy,
who was born in Dorset. Although this is purely
conjecture, there has been at least one customer
who was quietly disgruntled not to find any
memorabilia of the novelist inside the restaurant.
“My father had never been in the restaurant
business. He simply came home one day and
announced that he’d bought a restaurant,” she
recalls. “Luckily my mother embraced it.” As too
did Dominique herself. “It was very small when
they started, just one dining room downstairs
with peach carpet and chintz upholstery. But my
father was a brilliant maître d’, and built up the
clientele by word of mouth.”
In the beginning, the bulk of customers
worked in advertising agencies or the music
industry, with EMI based in Manchester Square
and Warner Brothers in Gloucester Place.
“The restaurant just sort of established itself.
We’ve never really done any traditional
marketing,” says Dominique.
As Dorset Street isn’t a through-street, there
is surprisingly little foot traffic for a road based
just off Oxford Street. “There are probably a lot of
people in the area who’ve never been down
here, but that means the people who do know it
feel like it is their own special place, and they
really become our champions,” she explains.
Will all that change with the buzz of hotelier
André Balazs’s Chiltern Firehouse on the next
street? Staff say they are not basking in the
limelight. “Of course we see all the comings and
goings – and have had some famous faces
popping in – but happily we don’t have to deal
with paparazzi on our doorstep,” says
Dominique.
And unlike Balazs, de Bastarrechea is not
looking to expand her empire. “It would be very
difficult to replicate Hardy’s. This building has so
much character, and we don’t have an
overarching brand, so people can really be
themselves here. I like romance, and unlike many
London restaurants, commerciality is not our
sole driver.”
To celebrate the restaurant’s 30th
anniversary, there will be a retro menu at the end
of September with prawn cocktail, steak Diane
and coq au vin – which, funnily enough, have
started to come back into fashion now anyway –
on at £19.84 for three courses.
Have any dishes, besides the beloved
shepherd’s pie, stood the test of time?
Off the top of her head, Dominque recalls
arctic roll as a long-time crowd pleaser, but
42
food & drink
insists “food is very much about fashion – last
month it was all about kale and in the early
Noughties it was rocket salad.”
Any regulars whose cravings for nostalgia
aren’t satisfied by arctic roll can take a peek at the
private dining room where old menus have been
lovingly framed and displayed.
Local customers will also be pleased to hear
that having taken a short break, the Hardy’s
literary suppers are also making a comeback.
“We’ve got some fun ones planned – including a
dinner in October on the wisdom of psychopaths,
with a madness menu,” says Dominique. Kevin
Dutton, an academic and expert on positive traits
of psychopaths, is the speaker.
“The first talk we ever did was my friend Niki
Segnit’s book The Flavour Thesaurus, which went
on to become a bestseller. It’s really fantastic if
authors have an obvious connection with food –
which is why Waitrose Kitchen editor William
Sitwell was brilliant.”
Dominique’s dream authors are an eclectic list
of Professor Mary Beard, actor Stephen Fry,
comedian Eddie Izzard and artist Grayson Perry.
Somehow, I am not surprised.
Hardy’s is at 53 Dorset Street.
Info: 020 7935 5929, www.hardysbrasserie.co.uk
44
history
IN THE 1930s, 48 Montagu Square was burgled –
and the silver inkwell was stolen from the desk in
the library.
“A trail of ink led across the hall, down the
front steps, along the street, and into the house
three doors down,” recalls Lord Mancroft,
grandson of the former owner. “The footman there
was the culprit, and he went to prison.
“After he was released he used to call round
every Christmas, with the unusual greeting, ‘Good
morning, m’lord. I’m your burglar’. Grandfather
would give him a golden guinea, wish him a
happy Christmas and send him on his way.”
The anecdote is one of many fascinating tales
in a new book on the history of Montagu Square,
published by the Montagu Square Residents’
Association. It is edited by Ben Baglio, a former
children’s book creator and publisher.
The 74-page tome contains an amusing and
The colourful history of Montagu Square
It was the setting for John
Lennon and Yoko Ono’s
controversial nude
photograph, but there are
many other fascinating
tales in the history of the
square. Kate White on a
fascinating new book
ABOVE: JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO LEAVING THEIR FLAT
AT 34 MONTAGU SQUARE © REX FEATURES
LEFT: PRESENT-DAY MONTAGU SQUARE GARDEN KAY & CO
affectionate foreword by the author and journalist
Peter York, who lived in the square for 19 years
and was chairman of the garden committee for a
time. It also features a detailed history of the
square, which was written by Thomas Whipham
in 1990. There are memories of residents past
and present, and new material that brings the
story up to the present day.
The book tells how, before Montagu Square
was built, London enjoyed a wave of prosperity
after the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763.
The city expanded rapidly, and Marylebone soon
gained a reputation as a fashionable place to live.
The land that is now Montagu Square was
formerly known as Ward’s Field, which was home
to a cluster of cottages called Apple Village. In the
1700s, one of its residents was executed at
Tyburn for murder.
Montagu Square took its name from Mrs
Elizabeth Montagu, who lived in Montagu House
in Portman Square. It was constructed by former
chimney-sweep David Porter and the architect
Joseph Parkinson.
Porter and Parkinson built the houses of
Montagu Square in the traditional Georgian style,
with a basement, ground and three upper floors.
Rate books at the time suggest that construction
was completed in about 1812.
Each house in the square had a mews
property at the rear, where grooms and
coachmen lived in crowded conditions. The 1821
census showed 14 adults and children living in a
single mews house.
George Fletcher, who resided at 28 George
Street, was the first gardener employed to tend
the garden in the centre of the square. He was
paid £100 a year but had to bring his own tools.
From the outset, the garden was seen as a
peaceful place for residents to enjoy. Livery
servants were not allowed to use the space, and
children were banned from playing with bats, balls
or bows and arrows.
In 1935 a number of improvements were
made to the square to commemorate the Silver
Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. The
works cost £250 and residents were asked to
make voluntary contributions.
The Second World War brought about big
changes to the square. An air raid shelter was
built at the south end, and some of the houses
were requisitioned and occupied by the US army.
The square was badly damaged in the war,
with five houses destroyed or demolished
because they were unsafe. Arthur Portman, editor
of Horse & Hound for 50 years, was killed in a raid
in October 1940.
Lord Manford recalls: “Mr Turner, my father’s
46
history
secretary, extingushed an incendiary device which
had landed in the garden in 1941, by putting it in
a fire bucket full of water, before going back to his
typing.
“One of the consequences of the bombs was
that the house always had a slight tilt. This meant
that the butler could not lay the dining room table
until five minutes before lunch, or the silver would
start to slide down the polished tabletop.”
Like many other London squares, Montagu
Square had its railings removed to be melted
down as part of the war effort. They were
replaced with an ugly fence that was camouflaged
by a privet hedge.
In the 1960s an attempt to raise money to
install new railings failed; and by the mid-1990s,
the fence had badly disintegrated and the hedge
was dying. It meant the garden was left with little
security.
As a result, the garden committee formed a
sub-group to reinstate the railings, which would
be made to look as similar as possible to the
original design. Following a series of grants and
donations, the new railings were installed in 1999.
The square has been home to a number of
famous faces over the years. An early resident
was Rear Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland,
who captured Napoleon at Rochefort in 1815 and
took him to Plymouth, before he was transported
to St Helena.
Novelist Anthony Trollope also lived there for a
time. In his autobiography he wrote: “Early in
1873 I took a house in Montagu Square, in which
I hope to live and die.” In the end he passed away
in a nursing home on Welbeck Street in 1882.
In 2010, English Heritage unveiled a blue
plaque for John Lennon on the outside of 34
Montagu Square. It recognises the property’s
strong links to the music scene of the 1960s,
when the ground and lower-ground flat was
leased to Ringo Starr.
Paul McCartney recorded demo songs there
and worked on hits including Eleanor Rigby. Jimi
Hendrix and his manager later lived in the
apartment, and it was during this time that
Hendrix composed The Wind Cries Mary. In
1968, the apartment was rented by two other big
names in the rock world, John Lennon and Yoko
Ono. The controversial nude photograph of the
couple which later became the cover of their Two
Virgins album, was snapped here.
The apartment was later raided by police
looking for drugs, and the landlord took out an
injunction against Starr to prevent the property
from being used for anything illegal. Starr
eventually sold the lease in 1969.
Ben Baglio’s own home at 30 Montagu Square
has had its fair share of interesting residents. The
first leaseholder was Thomas Bulkeley, and in
1868, Percy Bulkeley of that address was
charged and convicted with four counts of
defrauding cabmen.
In 1919 Dr Charles Samuel Myers moved into
the house. Myers was a founding member and
first president of the British Psychological Society,
and introduced the term “shell shock” to medical
literature in an article for The Lancet in 1915.
After the war, the house was split into three
flats, and in 1975, Claire and William Frankel
moved in. William edited The Jewish Chronicle
and was credited by The Guardian for turning it
into a “vibrant, often highly controversial
newspaper”.
The square has several popular social events
ABOVE: DESTRUCTION OF NUMBERS 28 AND 29
MONTAGU SQUARE, NOW THE SITE OF MONTAGU
COURT. DECEMBER, 1940. THE PORTMAN ESTATE
RIGHT: THE DIAMOND JUBILEE SUMMER GARDEN
PARTY, JUNE 2012. DOROTHY OSBORNE
“It must still be one of the nicest places in
London to live, and I am very jealous of
all those live there today.”
Lord Manford
throughout the year, including the annual summer
garden party on the south lawn. The event is
always a sell-out, and raises money for local
homeless charity the West London Day Centre.
The garden also hosts Shakespeare in the
Square, and an evening of Christmas carols
performed by the choir of Wetherby School and
the Baker Street Quartet. Proceeds from both
events go to the St Marylebone Rotary Club’s
Newpin charity.
In some senses, life in Montagu Square has
changed a lot for residents since the 1960s. Lord
Manford recalls: “Ours was the last house in the
square after all the others were converted into
flats.
“When my parents married in 1951, my father
was living there alone with six indoor servants, no
central heating and only one bathroom. The
servants bathed in an iron tub in front of the
kitchen range.”
However, from the outside, the square has
barely changed, he adds. “It must still be one of
the nicest places in London to live, and I am very
jealous of all those live there today,” he concludes.
“I wish I did.”
Montagu Square – A History costs £15.
To buy a copy, please email
secretary@montagusquare.com.
48
baker street quarter
Crowds flocked to five free
outdoor events in July which
offered everything from golf
competitions to a screening of
Casablanca. By Kate White
VISITORS AND LOCALS alike attended Summer in
the Square this year – a series of sport, culture and
social outdoor events brought to The Portman
Estate by the Baker Street Quarter Partnership
(BSQP).
During July, five events took place in Portman
Square garden, which were free to attend, open to
the public, thanks to the kind permission of the
Garden Committee. Deckchairs, cushions and
blankets were all free of charge to visitors.
The series began with Wimbledon Live, where
residents and workers watched all the action in
SW19 on a big screen.
Next was the Summer Festival, which expanded
on the BSQP’s food market to include
entertainment, games and even a pop-up beach.
More than 25 food stalls ensured there was plenty to
eat, and there were competitions and games.
Golf in the Garden, held in conjunction with the
British Open, got everyone practising their putting
and swing. Crazy golf, chipping and nearest-the-pin
competitions saw crowds competing to win prizes
awarded by local businesses.
The spectacular Sunset Cinema showed the
classic 1942 film Casablanca, starring Humphrey
Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, in a setting like no
other. As soon as the gates opened, people hurried
in to find their perfect positions, and there was not a
bare patch of grass by the time the film started.
Casablanca was truly captivating and, despite
the central London location, you could hear a pin
drop during some of the scenes. With a full round of
applause when the film credits rolled, it was clear
that it was enjoyed by all.
The final event, Games in the Garden, brought
the spirit of sporting competition to the square once
again, this time for the Commonwealth Games. Live
action was broadcast on the screen, and Fitness
First helped with tug-of-war, sprint, relay and tabletennis contests.
More than 13,000 people in total attended these
events, with more than 6,000 people alone
attending the Wimbledon screenings. Sunny
Taking a shine to the square
LEFT: A JENGA CONTEST KEPT THE PUNTERS AMUSED
RIGHT: TABLE TENNIS WAS ANOTHER ATTRACTION IN
THE SQUARE
weather and the BSQP’s ambassadors, who were
on hand to meet and greet everyone, put a smile on
visitors’ faces.
Kirsty Jones, marketing and communications
manager for BSQP, was delighted with the success
of the series. “We were ambitious with our first
series of summer events and had so many ideas for
what to do that we decided to offer a range of
everything,” she said.
“We were blown away with how many people
attended and it was great to see people of the
Quarter, whether workers, residents or visitors,
coming together and enjoying themselves.
“It’s our goal to create a vibrant Quarter and with
such great feedback about Summer in the Square
we are hopefully on our way to doing that.”
BSQP hopes to continue to host events next
year. In the meantime, its popular monthly food
market can be found at 55 Baker Street on the
second Wednesday of each month.
Info: 020 3056 5910, www.bakerstreetquarter.co.uk