Harcourt Street
Harcourt Street is a short W1H street connecting York Street to the Old Marylebone Road, situated on the western portion of Marylebone within the Portman Estate and its associated conservation area. Modest in scale, it carries an outsized cultural distinction through its long association with London's Swedish community.
The street is named after John Simon Harcourt, a local landowner and Member of Parliament for Westbury between 1800 and 1802. Its built fabric dates primarily from the early nineteenth century, with the pub building now housing The Harcourt constructed around 1820. The pub itself, established by 1826, was historically known informally as the Swedish pub on account of its Scandinavian clientele, who gathered here close to the Swedish church opposite.
That church, the Ulrika Eleonora Church, stands at 6 to 11 Harcourt Street and was built in 1911, designed in reference to London's original Swedish church in Wapping which had opened in 1728. The parish it serves dates to 1710, making it one of the longest-established Scandinavian communities in London. The church remains an active congregation and continues to anchor the street's identity. Portman Square lies a short distance to the north, and the wider neighbourhood retains the low-rise, residential grain characteristic of the Portman Estate's western streets.
The Our Gazette
Delivered weekly to your inbox
Join 12,000+ Our insiders
