Park Lane

Park Lane is a major road in the City of Westminster, in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from Mayfair to the east. The road has a number of historically important properties and hotels and has been one of the most sought after streets in London, despite being a major traffic thoroughfare.

The road, 0.7 miles (1.1 km) in length, was originally a simple country lane on the boundary of Hyde Park, separated by a brick wall. Aristocratic properties appeared during the late 18th century, including Breadalbene House, Somerset House and Londonderry House. The road grew in popularity during the 19th century after improvements to Hyde Park Corner and more affordable views of the park, which attracted the nouveau riche to the street and led to it becoming one of the most fashionable roads to live on in London. Notable residents included the 1st Duke of Westminster's residence at Grosvenor House, the Dukes of Somerset at Somerset House and the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli at No. 93. Other historic properties include Dorchester House, Brook House and Dudley House. In the 20th century, Park Lane became well known for its luxury hotels, particularly The Dorchester, completed in 1931, which became closely associated with eminent writers and international film stars. Flats and shops began appearing on the road, including penthouse flats. Several buildings suffered damage during World War II, yet the road still attracted significant development, including the Park Lane Hotel and the London Hilton on Park Lane, and several sports car garages. A number of properties on the road today are owned by some of the wealthiest businessmen from the Middle East and Asia. Current residents include business mogul Mohamed Al-Fayed and former council leader Dame Shirley Porter.

Dudley House, London

Dudley House is a Grade II* listed house with 44,000 square feet (4,100 m²) located at 100 Park Lane in Mayfair, London. It is one of the few surviving aristocratic private palaces in London. Dudley House is named after the Ward family, holders of the titles Baron Ward, Viscount Dudley and Ward, and Earl of Dudley.

History

An earlier house with stabling on the site was acquired by the John, 6th Baron Ward in 1742. In 1759, the 3rd Viscount Dudley and Ward undertook substantial alterations to the property. Between 1827 and 1829 the 1st Earl of Dudley, of the first creation, rebuilt the house to the plans of the architect William Atkinson. The Earl died childless and insane in 1833, and the house was leased to the 2nd Marquess Conyngham, and then to the 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. In 1847 the Earl's cousin, the 11th Lord Ward took over the house, and remained until his death in 1885, by which time he had become 1st Earl of Dudley, of the second creation. In 1855 he commissioned alterations from architect Samuel Whitfield Daukes that were most impressive, including an 81 ft picture gallery and a 50 ft ballroom. After inheriting from his father, the 2nd Earl of Dudley extended the conservatory over the porch.

77 Park Lane

77 Park Lane is a 1931 British thriller film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Dennis Neilson-Terry, Betty Stockfeld and Malcolm Keen. At an upmarket gambling house in Park Lane, a woman tries to save her brother from ruin. A French-language version 77 rue Chalgrin was made at the same time.

Cast

References

External links

Park Lane (DART station)

Park Lane is a DART Light Rail station on the Red Line located in north Dallas, Texas (USA) at Park Lane and Greenville Avenue, just east of Central Expressway. It opened in January 1997 and served as the northern terminus of the Red Line until 2002. The original station, which was at ground level, was demolished for the extension to North Dallas and Richardson, and as such, a new elevated station was completed on July 1, 2002. The original station's tracks are still present, as storage tracks. It serves NorthPark Center, nearby shops and a Doubletree Hotel.

External links

Dickens' London

Charles Dickens' works are especially associated with London which is the setting for many of his novels. These works do not just use London as a backdrop but are about the city and its character.

Dickens described London as a Magic lantern, a popular entertainment of the Victorian era, which projected images from slides. Of all Dickens' characters 'none played as important a role in his work as that of London itself', it fired his imagination and made him write. In a letter to John Forster, in 1846, Dickens wrote 'a day in London sets me up and starts me', but outside of the city, 'the toil and labour of writing, day after day, without that magic lantern is IMMENSE!!'

However, of the identifiable London locations that Dickens used in his work, scholar Clare Pettitt notes that many no longer exist, and, while 'you can track Dickens' London, and see where things were, but they aren't necessarily still there'.

In addition to his later novels and short stories, Dickens' descriptions of London, published in various newspapers in the 1830s, were released as a collected edition Sketches by Boz in 1836.

London (Samuel Johnson poem)

London is a poem by Samuel Johnson, produced shortly after he moved to London. Written in 1738, it was his first major published work. The poem in 263 lines imitates Juvenal's Third Satire, expressed by the character of Thales as he decides to leave London for Wales. Johnson imitated Juvenal because of his fondness for the Roman poet and he was following a popular 18th-century trend of Augustan poets headed by Alexander Pope that favoured imitations of classical poets, especially for young poets in their first ventures into published verse.

London was published anonymously and in multiple editions during 1738. It quickly received critical praise, notably from Pope. This would be the second time that Pope praised one of Johnson's poems; the first being for Messiah, Johnson's Latin translation of Pope's poem. Part of that praise comes from the political basis of the poem. From a modern view, the poem is outshined by Johnson's later poem, The Vanity of Human Wishes as well as works like his A Dictionary of the English Language, his Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, and his periodical essays for The Rambler, The Idler, and The Adventurer.

List of minor planets: 8001–9000