Belgravia is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s. Most of the houses were occupied by 1840. The square takes its name from one of the Duke of Westminster's subsidiary titles, Viscount Belgrave. The village and former manor house of Belgrave, Cheshire, were among the rural landholdings associated with the main home and gardens of the senior branch of the family, Eaton Hall. Today, many embassies occupy buildings on all four sides.
The Embassy of Germany in London is the diplomatic mission of Germany in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located at Belgrave Square, in Belgravia. It occupies three of the original terraced houses in Belgrave Square and a late 20th-century extension.
St Etheldreda's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Ely Place, off Charterhouse Street in Holborn, London. The building is one of only two surviving in London from the reign of Edward I, and dates from between 1250 and 1290. It is dedicated to Æthelthryth, or Etheldreda, the Anglo-Saxon saint who founded the monastery at Ely in 673. It was the chapel of the London residence of the Bishops of Ely.
The Embassy of Mexico in London is the diplomatic mission of Mexico in the United Kingdom. Mexico also maintains a building at 8 Halkin Street in Belgravia which serves as the Ambassador’s Official Residence.
The Embassy of Serbia in London is the diplomatic mission of Serbia in the United Kingdom. The building is part of a single group of Grade I listed buildings at 25—36 Belgrave Square.
Wilton Crescent is a street in central London, comprising a sweeping elegant terrace of Georgian houses and the private communal gardens that the semi-circle looks out upon. The houses were built in the early 19th century and are now Grade II listed buildings. The street is the northern projection of Belgravia and is often taken to fall into the category of London's garden squares.
The High Commission of Barbados in London is the diplomatic mission of Barbados in the United Kingdom. Among the initial diplomatic missions to be established by Barbados after the attainment of independence from Britain, the office was initially located at 28 Cockspur Street where it shared a joint mission with Guyana. In the early 1970s the mission relocated to 6 Upper Belgrave Street, London. Barbados' High Commission remained at that location until the mid 1980s when it moved to its present location at the corner of 1 Great Russell Street in London's Bloomsbury neighbourhood.
Chesham Place is a street in Belgravia, London UK, running between Belgrave Square and Pont Street. It is home to several embassies and has had many distinguished residents.
49 Belgrave Square is a Grade II* listed house in Belgrave Square, Belgravia, London.
St James' Church is a large English Gothic Catholic church in George Street, Marylebone, London. Although currently situated in George Street, the church maintains its connection with Spanish Place, the road opposite the current church, because of its historic connection with the Spanish Embassy. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The Embassy of Italy in London is the diplomatic mission of Italy in the United Kingdom. The front entrance is located on a private cul-de-sac in Mayfair, though there is also an entrance at the back on Grosvenor Square.
The Embassy of Austria in London is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Austria in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located at 18 Belgrave Mews West in the Belgravia area of London, and the residence of the ambassador is located at 18 Belgrave Square.
The Embassy of Belgium in London is Belgium's diplomatic mission to the United Kingdom. It is located at 17 Grosvenor Crescent, having moved from its historical location in Eaton Square in 2006.
The Embassy of Portugal in London is the diplomatic mission of Portugal in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located on Belgrave Square, Belgravia, in two separate buildings, and there is also a Portuguese consulate in Portland Place, Fitzrovia.
The Embassy of Turkey in London is the diplomatic mission of Turkey in the United Kingdom. There was an embassy of the Ottoman Empire in London dating from 1793; this was suspended in 1914 following the outbreak of the First World War and replaced by the embassy of the new Republic of Turkey in 1924. From 1901-1954 the embassy was located at 69 Portland Place before moving to its current location; however this building was kept and is currently used as the Ambassador's Residence.
The Embassy of Norway in London at 25 Belgrave Square is the diplomatic mission of Norway in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located on Belgrave Square in a building it has occupied since 1949.
The Embassy of Romania in London is the diplomatic mission of Romania in the United Kingdom. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1880. The embassy is one of several located in Kensington Palace Gardens, at 4 Palace Green.
An embassy chapel is a place of worship within a foreign mission. Historically they have sometimes acted as clandestine churches, tolerated by the authorities to operate discreetly. Since embassies are exempt from the host country's laws, a form of extraterritoriality, these chapels were able to provide services to prohibited and persecuted religious groups. For example, Catholic embassy chapels in Great Britain provided services while Catholicism was banned under the Penal Laws. A similar role was filled for Protestants by the Prussian embassy chapel in Rome, where Protestantism was unlawful until 1871. Upon laws granting freedom of religion, these embassy chapels have often become regularized churches and parishes, such as that of the Dutch embassy chapel to the Ottoman Empire, now The Union Church of Istanbul.
