Place Name
Marylebone stonemason John Waddilove built this street as the mews for Alfred Place and North Crescent in 1806. He named it after his son Alfred, who was still collecting profits from the enterprise many years later. The area remained undeveloped until the beginning of the 19thCentury. It was part of a small estate which had been owned by the City of London Corporation since the 17thCentury. In 1841, according to the Post Office directory, its occupants were those of a typical mews: carman, wheelwright, carpenter, coach and harness maker and livery stables. By 1861 there were also farriers, cabinet makers, a timber merchant, a smith and gas fitter, and an iron bedstead maker. In 1900 The Times reported on plans by the Corporation to change the layout of the estate when most of its leases expired in 1902. These plans involved abolishing the two crescents, described as “quite out of date,” and extending Alfred Place northwards to Alfred Mews, which was to be widened, and southwards to a new, also wide street, running into Tottenham Court Road. Although plans were approved by the old St Giles District Board of Works and the new London County Council, for some reason, they were never carried out. The Mews buildings were all demolished and replaced by 20thCentury non-residential buildings.