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by Simon Barnes

London’s Garden Squares & Secret Spaces

London is full of garden squares – Chester Square, Grosvenor Square, Berkeley Square – the list is endless and the majority of garden squares are located in London’s prime central postcodes. 

Berkeley Square

The flats and apartments that are positioned around communal garden squares will always be attractive because of their green outlook and light aspect; looking out onto any well maintained green space in a city comes at a price.  Those who wish to live on a garden square in London have expectations about the kind of property that matches such a desirable location and of course, remove the square from the equation and the property’s value will shift. 

Personally, my favourite when it comes to garden spaces is less obvious; secret gardens tucked away in unlikely places like the gardens backing onto houses in Green Street and Wood Mews in Mayfair, for me these are special properties . 

Mount Street Gardens, Mayfair

Little do passers-by realise that behind the period frontages of Mayfair townhouses are generous long secluded private gardens to the rear.  The houses benefit from direct garden access making them perfect for parties, entertaining and ideal for children to be able to play safely away from roads or prying eyes.  Ladbroke Square offers similar, although less private garden space with houses on one side enjoying their own gardens directly accessible from the rear. 

Practicality, security and desirability of having your own private garden in London are three important factors that will make these properties in demand and increase their value compared with their counterparts, which lack that secret outdoor space.

Entering a London Garden Square
Entering a London Garden Square

This weekend Grosvenor Square hosts a May Fair: 11am-6pm, 5-6 May 2019 – and his year there’s a British seaside theme with helter skelters, fish and chips, live music and Morris dancing. Details here (from Country & Town House)

Filed Under: LIfestyle, London Tagged With: Berkeley Square, garden square, Grosvenor Square, London Garden Square, Mount Street Gardens

by Simon Barnes

How lateral space in London adds up

“In Prime Central London (PCL) one thing is a fact; lateral space is rare, sought after and expensive.” says Simon Barnes of H. Barnes and Co. “Around Hyde Park Corner one can expect to pay around £5000 per square foot, as you move further out the land becomes cheaper and that is reflected in the asking price.

Traditionally London is full of tall narrow townhouses, deemed by overseas buyers to be quintessentially English and desirable; in reality everyday life is better lived over two floors than five. Asian buyers prefer new build, Eastern Europeans prefer the imposing stucco-fronted grand townhouses found in Belgravia and Knightsbridge. Space here is at a premium and finding a good lateral house is extremely hard.

Lateral space
Hyde Park Corner and Belgravia – credit Google Maps


Buyers in search of a more practical lateral floorplate find it hard to secure anything suitable in the heart of Prime Central London, so they start to widen their search and compromise on location. Hampstead and Highgate offer a better choice for those wanting detached family houses laid out over two or three floors, which can easily accommodate Middle Eastern and Indian families, with maybe three generation or several families under one generous roof.

The problem across PCL is that invariably many substantial properties are listed and therefore works and reconfiguration of the living space is restricted, meaning that rooms look out of proportion when carved up, partition walls don’t work and you end up spending vast sums of money for a second rate layout. The truth is that narrow buildings do not convert well. Today, Grosvenor Square in Mayfair is a rare example of a reconfigured building converted into great lateral space.

Eaton Square Belgravia
Eaton Square Belgravia


This is where mansion blocks tick the right box; purpose built, practical, well built and designed, with efficient heating, plumbing, good sound proofing and insulation. Eaton Square and Eaton Place offer some good flats for those in search of a premier postcode.

Years ago, I recall the best flat in London at the time in Eaton Square being sold – it was a first floor apartment spread out across four buildings. Recently, a flat in Knightsbridge comprising around 7,000 square feet sold for around £10,000 per square feet, double the going rate, because it offered exceptional rare lateral space in such a prestigious location.”

Filed Under: Advice, London Tagged With: lateral space, PCL, Prime Central London, Simon Barnes

by Simon Barnes

Stuck on stucco in prime central London

Simon Barnes explains why the stucco fronted house in Prime Central London is seen as a status symbol by international buyers

stucco fronted building London

“Regent’s Park offers some of London’s most desirable and iconic stucco-fronted houses; crescents of period Nash built properties looking out across the vast green space of Regent’s Park. For international buyers London’s stucco fronted homes represent a status symbol with their imposing grand facades, pillars and ornate front doors.

stucco fronted London


The Royal Parks and Crown Estate who manage the buildings are most diligent about the upkeep and external appearance, so the properties are immaculately presented with paint in a uniform shade and all kept in tip top condition.

The quiet streets of Belgravia with Eaton Square and Chester Square boast grand stucco facades, long favoured by the aristocracy and the great and the good, including the Late Baroness Thatcher, who was a long term resident of a stucco townhouse in Chester Square.

stucco fronted belgravia

Over the centuries, these traditional period townhouses have remained largely unchanged in layout. They tend to be tall and narrow with similar floorplates – staircases leading off a narrow deep hallway and a main L-shaped reception room; neither particularly inspiring or practical and because they are usually listed, alterations and reconfiguration is very restricted.


Stucco fronted ‘trophy homes”

Buyers from overseas are seduced by the symmetry and grandeur of the stucco facades, which they consider typical of London’s finest residential offering. They overlook the impractical design, lack of lateral space and listed status and perhaps because many of them do not use the property as a main home, but own several homes around the world, they are able to accept the imperfections safe in the knowledge that they are happily stuck with one of London’s trophy homes.”

About Stucco – from Wikipedia

Stucco is a material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture.

Read more here

Filed Under: Advice, London Tagged With: Prime Central London, Stucco, stucco fronted, trophy homes

by Simon Barnes

Cycling in Mayfair – pedalling in style

Cycling in Mayfair and other prime central London areas can be a more relaxed affair than one might imagine, taking in some of the city’s most cultural and artistic sights.  There are a wonderful selection of attractive tree-lined streets and vast expanses of green parks and spaces with cycle paths meandering through.

cycling in Mayfair

From the courtyard of Westminster Abbey School, which offers a privileged view of Westminster Abbey and some of its hidden quarters, it’s just a quick ride to Horse Guard’s Parade, a historic sporting ground where Henry VIII once hosted jousting tournaments, followed by a pedal through Hyde Park, Henry’s private hunting ground, before Buckingham Palace was built.

Cycling in London

Factor Bikes

A growing  culture of cycling in Mayfair, an area normally associated with luxury shops, galleries and exclusive clubs, is illustrated by the fact that it is also home to cycling cafes and bespoke cycle shops. While there has been an increase in the demand for London’s hire bikes which are available to anyone, the rise of cycling in the capital and the UK in general has also seen the growth in the world of luxury cycling. Foremost among the high-end bike manufacturers in this market are  Factor Bikes.

Factor Bikes was conceived from a commitment to innovation, speed and performance through advanced engineering; our soul lives in technology and integration and our heritage is derived from advanced motorsport and aviation

Factor Bikes

Factor Bikes is the brainchild of designers Baden Cooke and David Millar – British Road and TT champion and Australian multiple Grand Tour stage winner.  The new generation of innovatively designed Factor Bikes focus on our innovative heritage and luxury performance using only the very highest quality materials, fit, and finishing. Originally a spin-off of b1systems, a leading engineering firm in Norfolk dedicated to working at the highest levels of design with some of the fastest, most prestigious brands in the world including Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Maserati and many F1, Moto GP and WRC teams.

Baden Cooke comments: “We work closely with BF1 Systems on a lot of the technical parts of the design and engineering. We want to bring that race heritage into that technology already established by BF1 systems, to make the best bikes in the world”.

Originally BF1 Systems was looking to involve a more critical, race-proven, eye. It was the perfect opportunity to start working with Tour de France Green Jersey winner Baden Cooke. Baden was a top professional for 14 years winning over 50 races. In 2003 Baden sprinted his way to a stage win and the overall Green jersey in the Tour de France beating the likes of Robbie McEwen and Erik Zabel. Baden, an Olympian, rode for powerhouse squads such as Orica GreenEDGE and Saxo Bank.

Joshua Buckley of H. Barnes & Co. and Baden Cooke of Factor Bikes
Joshua Buckley of H. Barnes & Co. and Baden Cooke of Factor Bikes


Baden’s experience and feedback working with the b1systems design team made him passionate about what Factor Bikes http://www.factorbikes.com/ was seeking to achieve and the epiphany came when he took the Vis Vires out for a test ride.  This culminated in Baden developing a partnership with some cycling industry experts and, along with Rob Gitelis, purchasing Factor Bikes from bf1systems.  Baden Cooke says:  “Now that I am retired, for the first time in my life I can actually ride whatever bike I want.  One of our main goals at Factor is to create a bike so good that everybody will aspire to ride it”.

Bespoke Cycling in Mayfair

Joshua Buckley at H Barnes & Co says: “London is a great city for cycling; The Thames affords some of the best views across the city, with level safe cycling routes stretching across the capital and of course the green spaces and parks mean you can cut through and feel like you’re a million miles away from the urban hustle and bustle.

hbc_taylorstbaristas02

Our office is in Mayfair and so I’m always checking out interesting retailers and Bespoke Cycling in Jermyn Street is one of my haunts.  Bespoke is all about the fit of a bike; every purchase begins with a comprehensive fitting session, as well as fits for existing bikes.  Achieving a correct fit is crucial for not only performance but also comfort, efficiency and preventing injury.  The fitters use 3D motion capture to gain highly accurate data. Another key element is Bespoke Cycling’s biomechanics, involving a physical assessment to adapt the bike to a rider’s ideal position as a future goal.”

Filed Under: LIfestyle, London, Simon Barnes’ Property Scrapbook Tagged With: baden Cooke, Bespoke Cycling, BF1 Systems, cycling, cycling in Matfair, Factor Bikes, GreenEDGE, Mayfair, Orica, Saxo Bank, Vis Vires

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