Modern Britain

The horrors of the Great War, and the subsequent Great Depression, dealt huge blows both to the aristocracy and the plutocrats who found that they could no longer afford to run their vast luxurious homes.

As a result, during the 1920s and 1930s, some twenty-five vast mansions and palaces in Mayfair, and additional smaller townhouses, in all over £2 billion worth of property at current values, was ruthlessly torn down and replaced by hotels, offices, and modern apartment buildings.

The aristocracy and even the plutocrats were forced to dramatically 'downsize', moving into flats or smaller houses, and selling off their artwork and cutting down on their staff, hangers-on, and rich-man's toys...

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Main Sources

Adapted by Jayne Weldon to promote the publication of the book, The Story of Mayfair, by Peter Wetherell, Erik Brown and Oliver Bradbury, London 2014, which looks at the social, financial and physical development of Mayfair, one of the world's most famous addresses over 350 years. Reproduced with permission.

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