17 Facts About Pickering Place, London

It was cute, old, and full of history, Pickering Place, a small (the smallest) London square just off St James's Street.

Wanna know more, here ya go:

1. The courtyard is the covered remains of a garden that existed when houses were first built here in the mid-1660s when the Earl of St Albans secured a lease from King Charles II.
2. It was originally called Stroud’s Court.
3. In 1731, some of the nearby houses and tenements were demolished.
4. By 1734 it was renamed Pickering Court, after William Pickering, and contained the five current dwellings, with his family living at No.5.
5. Pickering was a coffee merchant and son-in-law of Widow Bourne, founder of Berry Bros & Rudd Ltd wine merchants, whose shop still operates on the premises.
6. The passageway from the street still has it's original 18th century wood panelling.
7. The square was renamed Pickering Place in 1810.
8. It is the smallest square in London.
9. The square is Grade II listed.
10. This is the last known place in London where a duel was fought.
11. It was home to the Texan Republic’s legation, similar to an embassy but smaller.
12. When Texas joined the USA in 1845 it abandoned the place and left an unpaid rent bill of £160 to its landlords at Berry Bros. In 1986 a group of Texans travelled to London to repay the debt of their forefathers.
13. In the 18th century it was notorious for its gambling dens, bear baiting and duels.
14. Beau Brummel, close friend to King George IV and inventor of the cravat, once fought here.
15. It’s still lit by gas light.
16. The author Graham Greene lived here and based his character Colonel Daintry, from The Human Factor, in a flat here.
17. Lord Palmerston, the former UK Prime Minister lived here.

Sources:

Firstly and foremostly Joolz Guides most excellent Rather Splendid London Walks Book.

And then:

• https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Pickering-Place/
• https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attraction_Review-g186338-d19770201-Reviews-Pickering_Place-London_England.html
• https://www.londonxlondon.com/pickering-place/
• https://memoirsofametrogirl.com/2017/10/15/pickering-place-london-smallest-square-history/