Mercato Mayfair: The Market Inside A Converted Church

Walking along North Audley Street in Mayfair you will come across a lovely Greek revival style entranceway, standing out from its red-brick Victorian neighbours. 

Starting life as a church, this building went through a period of decline in the second half of the 20th century, but has in recent years been revived as a market. 

St Mark’s Church

Mayfair had grown rapidly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was thought however that the area was spiritually unserved. St Mark’s church was therefore constructed on North Audley Street from 1825-1828, on the site of what had previously been a timber yard.

North Audley Street is part of the Grosvenor Estate, land owned by the Duke of Westminster. 

The history of the Grosvenor family owning huge swathes of West London goes back to 1677, when Mary Davies married Sir Thomas Grosvenor. Mary had inherited 500 acres of marshy farmland to the West of London via her Great Uncle Hugh Audley.

The Grosvenor family then began to develop the area in the 1720s. Today, the Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, who inherited the estate aged 25 in 2016, owns roughly half of Mayfair and half of Belgravia. He, as head of the family, has a net worth of just under £10 billion. 

Two Architectural Styles

St Mark’s was designed by John Peter Gandy, in the Greek revival style, popular at the time. It followed in the footsteps of what were known as the ‘Waterloo’ churches, a series of churches constructed after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. One such example is St John’s Waterloo, also designed in a Greek Revival Style. 

Today you can very much see that Greek Revival style on the exterior, with its two Ionic columns and square bell tower. The frontage was designed to be the same width as a standard Mayfair townhouse, to fit into the streetscape. It leads, underneath the portico to a porch area transitioning into the church behind. 

Heading inside though you are met with a very different style of architecture. In 1878 the church interior was remodelled by Arthur Blomfield in a Romanesque style, with neo-Gothic elements.

Blomfield added in a timber roof and rounded Norman arches. The narrower entranceway also widens out into a larger church.

An American Connection

In 1938 the American Embassy moved to 1 Grosvenor Square. During World War Two, 1 Grosvenor Square housed the offices of general Dwight D Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander and also the European headquarters of the US navy. 

St Mark’s, therefore, became nicknamed the ‘American Church’, due its use by many Americans who worked in the area. Eisenhower and Eleanor Roosevelt are both known to have attended services here. 

The Church At Risk

The church survived from the Second World War unscathed. It was Grade I listed in 1958, giving it the highest level of protection from any changes to the historic fabric of the building. 

However, in the post-war years its congregation dwindled and in 1974 it was deconsecrated. Until 1994 it was unused and fell into disrepair. It was on English Heritage’s ‘Buildings at Risk’ register for over twenty years.

Various planning applications were put in to turn it into a shopping arcade, a restaurant, an auction house, a gallery, but nothing came to fruition. It returned to religious purposes from 1994-2008 when it was leased to the Commonwealth Christian Fellowship (CCF) for services. 

The long lease was sold by the Diocese of London to Hammer Holdings in 2009. George Hammer, the owner of the company, wanted to turn the church into a health and wellness centre. A campaign led by the Save St Mark’s Action Group, headed by Lady Sainsbury, successfully managed to stop this plan. Hammer Holdings Ltd used the church as a conference, exhibition centre with some religious and community use.

Mercato Mayfair Opens

The Grosvenor Estate then bought the long lease for the building in 2014. Planning permission and listed building consent were granted in 2016 to use the building as a retail and food market. Before this though, a project to fully refurbish and restore the building was carried out costing £5 million. 

Mercato Metropolitano was the company given permission to run the market and Mercato Mayfair opened to the public in late 2019. Their aim is to be a community hub and only local and ethical suppliers are used. They also have a community space that can be hired by local groups for free. The building with its beautiful features remain conserved and maintained as part of the agreement for many to enjoy.

I know some may be reading this finding it sad in a way to see it no longer used for its original religious purpose. I think however that if the choice is between a bustling market and community hub, or the building not getting the investment it needs and falling into rack and ruin, this is the far preferable option. 

It is open seven days a week, all day. At the moment they also have a Christmas counter and roof top terrace bar, set up for the festive season. You can find their website here for more information and exact opening times.

Thank you for reading, more stories of London’s historic survivors below!