Qualla: Portman Square https://qualla.com/portman-square en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:15 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/portman-square-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Portman Square https://qualla.com/portman-square Portman Square: Introduction https://qualla.com/portman-square/ Photo credit Magnus Manske, CC BY-SA 3.0. Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, lived at No. 15 Portman Square from 1889 until her death in 1931 — forty-two years in the same house. That kind of long residency was exactly what the square was built for: large, well-proportioned townhouses on private leases, with communal gardens for the exclusive use of residents. Portman Square was not built for spectacle. It was built for permanence.

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Image: Magnus Manske | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/portman-square-wp/gcpv-portman-square-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Portman Square: Building a Square https://qualla.com/portman-square/ Photo credit Andrew Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0. Henry William Portman began developing this land in Marylebone in 1765, and the construction of the square's terraced houses extended until 1784. The Portman Estate — which still owns the private communal gardens at the centre — leased the properties on long terms with ground ren...

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Image: Andrew Wilson | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/portman-square-wp/gcpv-portman-square-building-a-square.mp3 0:06 2 full Portman Square: Notable Houses https://qualla.com/portman-square/ Photo credit RichTea, CC BY-SA 2.0. The square's north side contains some of its most distinguished architecture. Nos. 11–15, built between 1773 and 1776 by architect James Wyatt in collaboration with his brother Samuel Wyatt, were among the first houses in Britain to use Coade stone, an artificial stone manufactur...

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Image: RichTea | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/portman-square-wp/gcpv-portman-square-notable-houses.mp3 0:06 3 full Portman Square: Aristocrats and Their Addresses https://qualla.com/portman-square/ Photo credit PAUL FARMER, CC BY-SA 2.0. The list of early occupants reads like a roll call of Georgian aristocracy. Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, leased here; so did Sir Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet; Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne; George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle; Sir Charles Asg...

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Image: PAUL FARMER | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/portman-square-wp/gcpv-portman-square-aristocrats-and-their-addresses.mp3 0:06 4 full Portman Square: A Square That Endures https://qualla.com/portman-square/ Photo credit Basher Eyre, CC BY-SA 2.0. At the eastern end of the garden stands the Hamilton Memorial Drinking Fountain, provided by Mariana Augusta in memory of her late husband Sir John James Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, who had briefly served as MP for Sudbury. The fountain is Grade II listed. It is the kind of civic gest...

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Image: Basher Eyre | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/portman-square-wp/gcpv-portman-square-a-square-that-endures.mp3 0:06 5 full