Belgravia's mews – the stable streets behind London's whitest façades

Behind Belgravia's white stucco-fronted palaces lie narrow cobbled streets where coachmen and horses once lived. Today, the mews are among London's most sought-after addresses. Here is the story of Thomas Cubitt's Belgravia and a walk through its mews streets – with figures from VERA PI.

Belgravia is located south-west of Buckingham Palace in London, between Knightsbridge to the north and Pimlico Road to the south, and is known for its long rows of white stuccoed houses around Belgrave Square and Eaton Square. But those who only walk along the wide streets miss half of the district. Behind the facades run mews – narrow streets with two-storey houses that were once stables.

Five Fields – Belgravia before Belgravia

During the Middle Ages, the area was grazing land, known as Five Fields and criss-crossed by footpaths. The Westbourne stream was crossed by Bloody Bridge, which probably got its name from all the robberies there, and it was dangerous to cross the fields after dark. The distance from London made the place popular for duels. During the day, market gardens were located here.

The name comes from the village of Belgrave in Cheshire, a few kilometres from the Grosvenor family seat of Eaton Hall, and one of the Duke of Westminster's titles is Viscount Belgrave. Eaton Square and Grosvenor Place bear the same family memory.

Thomas Cubitt and the stucco palaces

In 1826, Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, received parliamentary permission to develop the land, and he came to an agreement with the master builder Thomas Cubitt to design a new area. The grand terraces in white stucco were built between 1830 and 1847, centred around Belgrave Square and Eaton Square, and Belgravia was from the very first day one of London's most sought-after addresses. Large parts are still owned by the Grosvenor Group, although the Leasehold Reform Act of 1967 has forced the estate to sell many freeholds to former leaseholders.

What is a mews?

A mews is a row or yard of stables and carriage houses, with living quarters above, built behind large townhouses before the car replaced the horse in the early 1900s. On the ground floor stood the horses and the carriage, and above lived the coachman and the stable staff. Often the row was mirrored by an identical one on the other side of the narrow street, and most mews are named after the main street they lie behind.

The word comes from the Royal Mews in London, the royal stables built at Charing Cross on the site of the king's hawk houses – mews from the French muer, to moult, since the hawks were kept indoors while they changed their feathers. The British system differed from that of the Continent, where the stables were usually located in a courtyard in front of or inside the house; in London, the noise and smell were kept away from the family.

A walk through the mews of Belgravia

Start at Eaton Square and seek out Eaton Mews North, South and West, which run behind the rows of houses on the square. Continue north towards Belgrave Square, where Belgrave Mews North, South and West lie behind the grand houses. Groom Place, whose name says it all about its origins, is nearby. Then turn towards Knightsbridge, to Wilton Row and Old Barrack Yard, and finish at Kinnerton Street, one of the longer streets in the area. To the south, Ebury Mews reaches down towards Pimlico.

The best thing about the walk is the contrast: from Eaton Square's monumental porticos to a cobbled street where garage doors have replaced stable doors and the façades are painted in pastel shades. Mews are private residential streets – walk quietly and respect the residents.

Belgravia's mews in numbers according to VERA PI

Source: VERA PI's street files, built on HM Land Registry's sales. Eaton Mews South has, according to VERA PI, a median price of £4.1 million for 2016–2025, Ebury Mews £2.6 million over the same period and Kinnerton Street £1.85 million for 2023–2025. See the streets yourself in VERA PI's files for Eaton Mews South, Wilton Row, Kinnerton Street and Eaton Square, or start in VERA PI's London guide.