Discover London’s hidden mews streets and their secrets
One of the intriguing things about London’s mews streets is that they are not obvious to the casual passer-by; they lie off the beaten track from where the city’s busy daily life happens. Mews streets are discreet, peaceful enclaves, within convenient touching distance of the metropolis, yet under the radar from incessant traffic, urban noise and heavy footfall.
Tucked away in quiet, cobbled mews streets far from the busy crowd sit rows of highly coveted mews houses. Over many years, many residents have lived behind these pretty facades – some with colourful pasts, interesting tales to tell, secrets to keep and extraordinary talents.
So, while you may think you know Prime Central London well – the shopping hubs, the parks, garden squares and impressive landmarks – we are going to introduce you to a selection of mews streets, alleyways and cul-de-sacs hidden from view, all of which, for surprising reasons, are well worth a visit.
Hidden mews streets for foodies
Located behind Claridges in one of Mayfair’s discreet mews streets is Brook’s Mews, a most surprising spot to discover. The restaurant La Petite Maison brings La Belle Epoque of the French Riviera into a mews in the heart of central London. Inside, there is an unusually shaped triangular dining room, with a chic zinc-covered seafood/cocktail bar behind. It will transport you to the Côte d’Azur while you savour the authentic flavours of the Mediterranean.
Groom Place sits in a quiet cobbled corner of Belgravia, SW1 between Chester Street and Chapel Street, and opposite Wilton Mews. Made up of only 26 properties, it is not where one might expect to find a Michelin-starred restaurant, a wonderful neighbourhood pub, and an abundance of history.
In 2020, the talented chef Tom Aikens opened his 23-cover dining room – aptly named ‘Muse’, in a converted Georgian mews house at Number 38. The corner building was a local General Store called L. Binelli revealed in photos dating back to 1985. From day one, the restaurant was heralded by food critics and Aikens was quickly awarded a Michelin star. Everything at Muse is expertly selected, from the tableware to ingredients and wonderful produce. Seasonally created menus reflect Tom’s personal life, culinary influences and love of cooking.
Further along Groom Place at Number 7 is The Horse & Groom pub. Owned by the Shepherd & Neame brewers and run by a wonderful landlord, this traditional pub retains plenty of character. Inside, you will see wood panelling and etched glass reflecting its Georgian origins dating back to the 1820s, when this mews was known as ‘Chapel Place’. The pub is equally welcoming to locals and visitors on a cold winter day or in the summer, when you can sit outside at the front in the cobbled mews and tuck into traditional British dishes – their fish and chips and Sunday roast are both legendary.
Look Out for Famous Faces at the Bar
Don’t be surprised to spot a few famous faces at the bar. Pop superstar Rihanna and her entourage have enjoyed a few drinks here, and several actors live locally. When former local resident Brian Epstein managed The Beatles, he would regularly bring them to the pub for a drink. The Horse and Groom is also no stranger to films, TV adverts and dramas; most recently it appeared in the ‘Ab Fab’ film and ‘Belgravia’, a TV series written by Julian Fellowes. Have a look on YouTube and you can enjoy watching the hilarious Armstrong and Miller’s RAF pilot spoof, that includes a scene shot in The Horse and Groom.
Notting Hill
If you want to combine a love of food with exploring some of London’s prettiest hidden mews, head to Notting Hill in W11. Venture just a few minutes away from the vibrant hub of Portobello Road Market and turn off the main thoroughfare, and it will lead you to a medley of gorgeously painted leafy mews. Its lush greenery and pastel exteriors evoke the sense of being transported to a quaint, quirky English village.
Dunworth Mews is a no-through road located directly off Portobello Road and home to a mix of 22 residential and commercial properties in a gated cul-de-sac. What you probably don’t know is that this hidden mews street is very near to music icon Ed Sheeran’s restaurant Bertie Blossoms at 323 Portobello Road. Sheeran acquired the premises in 2019 and established the successful eatery with his business partner, who continues to manage it. This cosy bar/restaurant offers an authentic Spanish-inspired fusion menu with tempting cocktails and great Spanish wines.
Holland Park Mews – approached via a Grade II listed archway, this long mews is totally picture-perfect with its Victorian lampposts and properties with wrought-iron steps and balconies. Many may not realise that actor Sir Ian Holm lived here and Catherine Whild, a London-based food content creator and writer, has featured Holland Park Mews in her content, frequently highlighting this area in her London neighbourhood guides. Head from here to The Farm Girl for delicious sandwiches and salads or to Sally Clarke’s for a fabulous sweet or savoury pastry.
Hidden mews for mystery & scandal-cafés
Their concealed, discreet locations have made mews a convenient backdrop for some secretive events. Some made headlines at the time and are still fascinating to read about years later…
The Profumo Affair – In the 1960s, Britain’s biggest political sex scandal unravelled at Number 17 Wimpole Mews lying just west of bustling Marylebone High Street, and owned by the infamous landlord Peter Rachman. Back then, his tenants were Mandy Rice Davies and Christine Keeler, and it was here that her former lover fired shots through the front door. The incident known as ‘The Profumo Affair’, led to the exposure of Keeler’s relationships with John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War and a Soviet attaché. Ultimately, this lead to Profumo’s resignation and at least partly contributing to the fall of Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government.
The Great Train Robbery – At Number 6 Belgrave Mews West in Belgravia is The Star Tavern. In 1963 in a room above its main bar, Ronnie Biggs and Buster Edwards planned the Great Train Robbery. The 15-man gang stole £2.6m (equivalent to £48m today) from a mail train in Buckinghamshire; it remains one of the most infamous crimes of the 20th century.
Rillington Place Serial Killer – If you ever visit Barton Mews and Ruston Mews just off Ladbroke Grove, W11 it won’t strike you as out of the ordinary. However, the mews are very close to the former site of 10 Rillington Place, where the notorious serial killer John Reginald Christie committed his crimes and buried his female victims’ remains under the floorboards. Ladbroke Grove tube station was just a two-minute walk from Rillington Place, the short dead-end street which was the scene of Christie’s gruesome multiple murders in the ’40s and ’50s. Ruston Close may have disappeared, but the name lives on with Ruston Mews, which today sits within the triangle of St. Marks Road, Lancaster Road and the Westway.
On a far lighter note and something few people know, is that Ruston Mews had a famous resident – the late comedian Peter Cook. It’s understood that he and his second wife lived at 3 Ruston Mews in the new houses that were built in the early 1970s.
The “Queen of Crime” – Agatha Christie
While definitely not a real-life killer, the prolific murder mystery writer Agatha Christie lived at 22 Cresswell Place, The Boltons in Chelsea. After her divorce, she bought the small mews property as a home for her and her young daughter, and Christie’s assistant/nanny. The author used her own mews home as the setting for the Hercule Poirot short story ‘Murder in the Mews’.
Hidden haunted mews streets
Cedric the Cheating Soldier
The Grenadier is a popular Belgravia pub in Wilton Row frequented by locals, residents and passers-by; it’s also said to be haunted by a Grenadier officer named Cedric. Having supposedly been caught cheating at cards, he was beaten to death in the month of September. Ghostly sightings of poor Cedric appear at this time, and visitors still pin money to the ceiling to help pay off his supposed gambling debts.
Ghost of Old Mary
The Mitre pub at the entrance of Lancaster Mews is reputedly visited by the ghost of Old Mary, a scullery maid who worked in the public house and was murdered by the landlord’s jealous wife.
Hidden mews for art & artisans
Sign of the Times
South Kensington’s Kendrick Place is a little oasis of calm to the north of Brompton Road and has always been frequented by antique dealers and artists. Approaching Kendrick Place, adjacent and connected to Reece Mews, you will be struck by the most unusual street art on the side of a building. The large mural painted by Johny Midnight pays homage to former Reece Mews resident Francis Bacon, who is included in the picturesque ski scene. This eye-catching mural was commissioned in June 2015 by the long-standing ski property specialists, Erna Low Property. Started by an enterprising young Austrian woman in the 1930s, the company operated in Reece Mews for over 60 years; they were one of the first businesses to create a basement level office space. You can find our video on this mews here.
Francis Bacon Found Inspiration at Reece Mews
Number 7 Reece Mews was lucky for Francis Bacon, who said ‘the moment I saw this place I knew that I could work here.’ He moved into the tiny first floor of the South Kensington mews in the autumn of 1961. The chaotic, paint-splattered studio became Bacon’s artistic haven, where he produced his finest work until his death in 1992. A blue plaque outside Number 7 celebrates Bacon as one of the most important artists of the last century.
Britannia Rules in a Notting Hill Mews
Before relocating her business to Sloane Street and Somerset, fashion designer Alice Temperley’s bridal boutique and workshop was intentionally based in a quiet Notting Hill mews away from the bustle. The tucked-away location allowed for greater privacy when celebrity brides-to-be visited. That said, there was no mistaking where her proudly British designer boutique was upon arriving at Colville Mews; its entire front façade was painted with the iconic union jack mural and with a gold crown.
Time for a Mews Trim
Drayson Mews off Holland Street and close to Kensington Gardens, W8 boasts pretty mews houses with lovely architecture. What makes it especially intriguing, is the ‘Hairdresser’ sign painted on one of the walls making for a quirky sight. It’s also a reminder that mews residents need not travel far for a haircut, given that Number 1 is a salon!
Notting Hill’s Colville Mews – Museum of Brands
No more than a five-minute walk from Dunworth Mews is Colville Mews in the heart of Notting Hill. A peaceful enclave dating back to the 1860s-1870s, originally built as stables and coach houses for the large residences in Colville Terrace. Number 2 Colville Mews is a most fascinating mews house, home to the Museum of Brands. A trip to the museum takes visitors through a fascinating journey of 200 years of consumer behaviour. Robert Opie is a consumer historian, who started collecting with a packet of Munchies aged 16. Since then, he has collected over 10,000 pieces including fashion, design, packaging, advertising, toys, and comics.
Clerkenwell’s Doughty Mews
Doughty Mews is a little haven of traditional mews houses quietly nestled in Clerkenwell, just behind the Dickens Museum situated in Doughty Street. At Number 3 Doughty Mews stands the unassuming mews house and the office of The Egyptian Exploration Society, founded by Amelia Edwards in 1882. Following a visit to Egypt in 1873-74, she developed a passion for documenting, exploring, and preserving the country’s unique heritage; her legacy lives on through the EES, which continues to operate today.
Hidden mews for film & music
To the rear of Number 57 Wimpole Street is Number 10 Browning Mews, where Sir Paul McCartney lived with his then-girlfriend Jane Asher at her family home. It was here, that he wrote Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby, along with the Beatles’ first US number one I Want to Hold Your Hand.
Notting Hill not only has a rom-com named after it, but the 2003 film Love Actually ensured adorable St Luke’s Mews would be forever etched in our minds. Once a best-kept secret mews backwater, the famous pink house at Number 27, where Mark confesses his love with cue cards to Juliet (Keira Knightley), put paid to that. Now, it is firmly on the Instagram map; one of the houses even has a sign asking for ‘£1 per camera for charity’, such is the attraction for tourists on a daily basis – the secret of this mews is definitely out…
South Kensington hides many exclusive mews, which is probably the reason why mews are often chosen as filming locations. Kynance Mews is both beautiful and really tucked away. It has been used in productions such as Netflix’s You and the 1992 film Damage. The exterior of a mews house in the much sought-after Stanhope Mews South was featured as the character Harry Hart’s home in the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service.
Visit more ‘Blink and Miss’ Mews
All undeniably charming, these are some of central London’s best-kept secret spots, where the mews houses here are hidden, their luxury appeal is highly visible and their values consistently reflecting their quiet, prime location:
St Ann’s Close Mews in Belgravia; Princes Gate Mews, Atherstone Mews, and Queen’s Gate Mews in South Kensington; Bathurst Mews in the Hyde Park Estate; and Conduit Mews, Paddington.
A final word on the delights of hidden mews streets
London provides such a richly woven landscape intertwined with its endless hidden mews streets and it’s one of the city’s greatest secrets. These characterful and desirable cobbled mews with their heritage houses create another world separate from the urban chaos beyond. Once you discover one mews, we guarantee that you will want to explore more. Mews streets will take you into a village-like community, where you will catch a glimpse of charming architecture, intriguing history and see things you never knew existed – riding stables, a recording studio, classic car garages and more – all unique to the mews streets. They’re all out there – you just need to explore!
