Savile Row, the name of the street is synonymous with bespoke tailors. The street itself and the surrounding areas are warren of tailor’s shops both bespoke and off the peg. Since the early 19th Century tailors have flocked to the area and established businesses; businesses that favour quality and style above all else.
To the north of Savile Row is the mad hustle and bustle of Oxford Street and to the east lays the grand sweeping vistas of Regent Street. Squeezed into this enclave in Mayfair is the delight for the style conscious that is Savile Row.
The land on which the Savile Row now stands was formerly the gardens of the Burlington House. Construction of the houses started in 1733. The street was christened after the Earl of Burlington’s wife, Dorothy Savile. A number of wealthy residents soon moved in, including William Pitt and The Countess of Suffolk. It wasn’t until much later in the 19th century that houses where built on the west side.
In 1846 the founding father of Savile Row, Henry Poole opened for business at number 32 after relocating from Brunswick Square. The company is famous for amongst other things inventing the tuxedo. The arrival if Henry Poole and Co is the catalyst for a rapid expansion of the number of tailors in the row. Henry Poole and Co are still in the premises today.
There is more to the street than history, the area still hosts a number of tradsnisonal bespoke tailors including Ede and Ravens, Davies and Sons, Dege and Skinner, Anderson and Sheppard and Norton and Sons. Mixed in with the classic bespoke tailors is a number of more modern firms include the bespoke designer Ozwald Boateng and the strangely named Nutters!
Nutters of Savile Row have been a fixture since 1969. The firm opened in blaze of publicity and wild window displays. The firm had two to young designers, Tommy Nutter and Edward Sexton, hence the wacky name. Nutters dressed the stars of the day from the Beatles and The Rolling Stones through to members of the political establishment.
The Beatles based the headquarters of Apple Corp’s at number 3, Savile Row. It was from the rooftop that they played their last gig. On 30th January 1969 the preformed a brief set lasting about three quarters of an hour. They played nine full songs; three versions of “Get Back,” two takes of “Don’t Let Me Down,” two versions of “I’ve Got A Feeling,” “Dig A Pony,” and “One After 909.” The songs where filmed for the document Get Back.
The police station that stands at the northern end of the street was built in 1939-40 it six stories high, it has a very plain frontage and seems out of place in the grandury that surrounds it. It was to this police station that the notorious Kray Twins where taken after their arrest in 1968.
Tony Heywood ©