Stratford Place
Stratford Place is a short, gated cul-de-sac running north off Oxford Street in Marylebone, directly opposite Bond Street Underground station. It falls within the W1C postal district and represents one of the most complete surviving Georgian enclaves in this part of central London. The street was built from around 1774 on ground previously occupied by the Lord Mayor of London's Banqueting House, and takes its name from Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, who commissioned the development and paid £4,000 for the site.
The centrepiece is Stratford House, built between 1770 and 1776 as the Stratford family's London town house. The central range was designed by Robert Adam and features interiors of notable quality, including a hall paved in stone and black marble, arcaded walls and plasterwork ceilings. The flanking terrace houses at Nos 2-7 were built in 1774 by Richard Edwin. Among the house's historical associations, Clementine Hozier, later the wife of Winston Churchill, was born there. Since 1960, Stratford House has been the home of the Oriental Club and is Grade I listed.
The wider street also accommodates high commissions and diplomatic missions today. The gate at the Oxford Street entrance preserves the character of a private Georgian precinct, set apart from the retail activity of Oxford Street directly outside. Few comparable Georgian set-pieces survive so close to the city's busiest shopping street.
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