Mayfair Through Time

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Mayfair has changed and developed over the last century.

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Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today. Until 1686, the May Fair was held in Haymarket, and after 1764, it moved to Fair Field in Bow because the well-to-do residents of the area felt the fair lowered the tone of the neighbourhood. The district is now mainly commercial, with many offices in converted houses and new buildings, including major corporate headquarters, a concentration of hedge funds, real estate businesses and many different embassy offices, namely the U.S.'s large office taking up all the west side of Grosvenor Square. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. There remains a substantial quantity of residential property as well as some exclusive shopping and London's largest concentration of luxury hotels. The renown and prestige of Mayfair could have grown in the popular mind because it is the most expensive property on the British Monopoly board set.