Marylebone On-demand Audio tour
Listen to Open House’s new on-demand audio tour of Marylebone, one of central London’s most attractive and atmospheric neighbourhoods and home to The Howard de Walden Estate
This fun and engaging walking tour led by expert guide Mike Althorpe — an urban historian, architectural researcher, educator and story teller — follows the route of our popular real-life tour exploring the architecture and history of this urban village.
Despite being located right in the heart of a vast international city, just minutes from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street, Marylebone sits within an oasis of relative tranquillity, while still offering the dynamism of a modern urban village. As the steward of 92 acres of Marylebone, central London, The Howard de Walden Estate is responsible for overseeing a diverse community of residents and businesses, including the shops and restaurants of Marylebone Village and the world class healthcare providers of the Harley Street Medical Area.
Providing a safe and fun way for enthusiastic urbanists to explore the city in our post-pandemic era, this on-demand audio tour explores the architecture and history of this urban village. With its unique make up, The Howard de Walden Estate retains the beauty of its period buildings, whilst repurposing and reinventing them for the requirements of the 21st century. From modern residential and office buildings, independent retailers, to cutting edge medical technology, The estate preserves the history and celebrates the beauty of this community, ensuring it remains an attractive place for generations to come.
Listen along with the track below, and use the map to navigate to the listening point for each audio clip.
Click play to listen to the audio:
Navigate to the listening points using the map below:
Listening point 1: St Marylebone Parish Church
1817 landmark by architect Thomas Hardwick in a grand classical style. It is the fourth such building to serve the parish of Marylebone and symbolic of early 19th century urban changes
Listening point 2: Devonshire Street
Development of Portland Estate summary close to fine examples of 18th century streets and speculative building pattern and site of old Marylebone Gardens - a popular rural entertainment spot
Listening point 3: Marylebone High Street
Home to Marylebone Village. It started life as a rural lane between the highway of Oxford Street and the Manor House. In recent decades careful curation by The Haward de Walden Estate has created a retail destination with genuine balance and character. – unlike so many other cookie cutter high streets.
Listening point 4: Grotto Passage
Behind the scenes Grotto Ragged and Industrial School opened in 1846 and Ossington Estate model dwellings1888 and 1892 - landmarks of the urban diversity of the area and shifting pattern of living
Listening point 5: Paddington Street Gardens
Historic 1880s landscaped gardens and former site of 18th century Marylebone workhouse - important story of urban change on the edge of the historic estate and life of the parish
Listening point 6: Manchester Square
Landmark square developed with Hertford House in the 1760s, home to international Wallace collection since 1900. Former site of EMI offices and iconic Beatles photo shoot
Listening point 7: Hinde & Mandeville Streets
Landmark neoclassical Hinde Street Methodist church 1887 by James Weir created in aftermath of impressive 1870s urban clearance projects in French renaissance style at bottom of high street
Listening point 8: Scheon Clinic
Landmark new development with hidden depths on site of former ironworks with sculpture marking gateway to Marylebone High Street from south
Listening point 9: Debenhams & Wigmore Hall
Colossal department store designed by architects William Wallace and James Gibson in 1907 in an grandiose Edwardian Baroque style and covered in dolton carrara ceramics. And celebrated 1901 concert venue by Thomas Edward Colcutt.
Listening point 10: Henrietta Place
Former private estate chapel of St Peters, 1724 by James Gibbs and nearby Royal Society of Medicine
Listening point 11: Cavendish Square
First move of the historic Portland estate in 1719, mixed fortunes landmark architectural set pieces, sculpture and new development as part of public realm enhancements
Listening point 12: Chandos House
Speculatively landmark house built between 1769 - 1761 by Robert Adam, the most prominent architect in Georgian Britain. Rare London house in Edinburgh quarried stone.
Listening point 13: Harley Street
The Harley Street Medical Area (HSMA) is a community of Marylebone-based hospitals, clinics and specialists, renowned for their outstanding patient care, pioneering treatments and use of cutting-edge technologies. – The Centre of which is Harley Street which was first laid out in 1729
Listening point 14: Portland Place
Landmark urban space laid out by the brothers Robert and James Adam as part of second wave of historic Portland estate surviving terraces of 1780s, transformed in 1820s as part of Nash’s royal route, remade in 1930s with apartments and office. RIBA landmark headquarters at heart of this special space
Meet the tour guide!
Mike Althorpe is an urban historian, architectural researcher, storyteller and guide 'The London Ambler' With a background in Fine Art and architectural history, between 2006 - 2009 Mike was part of architectural think tank Building Futures and from 2011-2015 was public programmes curator at the RIBA. Since 2016 he has worked with Karakusevic Carson Architects and in 2017 co-authored the practice-led book ‘Social Housing’ and curated the exhibition of the same name in London in 2017 and at New York’s Center for Architecture in 2018. In 2019 he was the recipient of RIBA Research Fund and published ‘Revolutionary Low Rise’ – a publication exploring international low rise, high density housing with Abigail Batchelor.
Mike has produced tours and walking events for five years with collaborators and clients including; Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), The Architecture Foundation, Northbank BID, AA Night School, the London Festival of Architecture, Grosvenor, The London Society and Facebook.
The production of this tour and audio guide was sponsored by the Howard de Walden estate.
