Very few exciting livable alleys exist today in North America, unlike Europe where alleys have become havens of human habitation after many years of commercial use. In the video below note the homogeneity of the collections of buildings and the traces of their original use as stables. These were abused buildings that have been reclaimed. In many instances the brickwork was "bodged" prompting owners to paint over the brick. Few have retained their original brick facade. These are especially precious.
Mews is a primarily British
term formerly describing a row of stables, usually with carriage houses below
and living quarters above, built around a paved yard or court, or along a
street, behind large city houses, such as those of London, during the 17th and
18th centuries. The word may also refer to the lane, alley or back street onto
which such stables open. It is sometimes applied to rows or groups of garages
or, more broadly, to a narrow passage or a confined place. Today most mews
stables have been converted into dwellings, some greatly modernized and
considered highly desirable residences.
The term mews is plural in form but
singular in construction. It arose from "mews" in the sense of a
building where birds used for falconry are kept, which in turn comes from
birds' cyclical loss of feathers known as 'mewing' or moulting.
From 1377 onwards the king's falconry birds
were kept in the King's Mews at Charing Cross. The name remained when it became
the royal stables starting in 1537 during the reign of King Henry VIII.[1]
It was demolished in the early 19th century and Trafalgar Square was built on
the site. The present Royal Mews was then built in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The
stables of St James's Palace, which occupied the site where Lancaster House was
later built, were also referred to as the "Royal Mews" on occasion,
including on John Rocque's 1740s map of London.
YouTube Photos are courtesy of E/L Studio
No comments:
Post a Comment