Today evening met my nephew Saurabh, who took us around the Mayfair area and we had dinner out here. May fair is situated on the edge of Hyder Park in between the city of Westminster and Oxford Street. A very upfront area and this it is one of the most expensive area not only in London but in the world. There are many pubs and restaurants with names like Hakkason, Sexy Fish, Annabel, Coya Maifair, Roka Mayfair. The earliest reference that, we have to this area is that when the Roman's attacked Britain in 43 A.D. they built a fort here. Slowly down the years it became an area for the aristocracy to settle. A Shephard market would have an annual fair once a year from 1686-1786.The sixth Earl of Coventry found this to be a nuisance and a public opinion was created against it and the fairs closed down. However, the area is still called Shephard Market. Another unique thing about this area is that Savile Row has the best tailors for making suits. A number of shops here make shoes and clothes to order. This reminded me of my Medieval Societies Course, when I speak of Medieval markets, I tell my students that these markets did not have a concept of ready made and things were made to order. A medieval merchant would have been very shocked with a fit for all clothes or shoes. This tradition is still alive out here. This area has some off the oldest shops and buildings. When I saw 1526,written on a wall, I said to myself, My God we were fighting Babar at that time. Even Charles has a Palace whose backyard is on one of the streets. A great experience and thanks Saurabh for showing me the old London which, I could not have discovered on my own.
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