Cabinet Member Report
Date:
9 July 2010
Subject:
Commemorative Green Plaque for the Mont Blanc
Restaurant, 15-16 Gerrard Street, W1
Summary
Number 16 Gerrard Street was once occupied by the Mont Blanc Restaurant
where Edward Garnett writer and critic and publisher’s reader fostered the
careers of many literary figures through his Tuesday lunches.
Recommendation
That the nomination for a commemorative plaque for the Mont Blanc Restaurant
be approved subject to sponsorship in full.
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CABINET MEMBER REPORT
Cabinet Member
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Cabinet Member for Built Environment
9 July 2010
For General Release
Commemorative Green Plaque for the Mont Blanc
Restaurant at 15-16 Gerrard Street, W1
Strategic Director, Built Environment
West End
The commemorative Green Plaques scheme
complements a number of Council strategies: to
improve the legibility and understanding of
Westminster’s heritage and social history; to
provide information for Westminster’s visitors; to
provide imaginative and accessible educational
tools to raise awareness and understanding of
local areas, particularly for young people; to
celebrate the richness and diversity of
Westminster’s former residents.
The Green Plaque Scheme depends on
sponsorship. Sponsorship has been secured for
the plaque.
Report Author:
Chris Stanton
Contact details
Chris Stanton c/o Barry Smith
Telephone 020 7641 2923
bsmith@westminster.gov.uk
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1.
Background
Green Plaques Scheme
1.1
Westminster is rich in its heritage of buildings and the people who have lived
and worked here. Launched in 1991, The Green Plaque Scheme draws
attention to particular buildings in Westminster associated with people of
renown who have made lasting contributions to society. They commemorate
people:

who are regarded as eminent by most members of their profession or
calling;

have genuinely contributed to human welfare or happiness and deserve
recognition for it and are reasonably well known;

and where sufficient time has elapsed since their life to show their lasting
contribution to society.
1.2
The manufacture and installation of Westminster’s Green Plaques is funded
entirely by the sponsor of each individual plaque.
1.3
It is not considered that planning permission or advertisement consent is
required for Westminster’s Green Plaques. Listed building consent has been
granted for the installation.
15-16 Gerrard Street
1.4
The present building was first erected in 1730 on the site of a house leased to
William Gillingham in c.1678. It was let in 1730 to John Meard of St. Anne's for
sixty-one years. The first occupant was William Wasey, who lived in No. 16
from 1731 to 1738 and was a physician to the Westminster Hospital and then
to St George’s Hospital. He later moved to a new house at No. 36. Before
alteration the front of No. 16 would have been characteristic of the 1730's and
appears to have been altered uniformly with that of No. 17. The three storeys
above, each with three windows, were originally of plain brickwork with raised
bandcourses between the storeys. The windows, now fitted with transomed
casements, have partly visible frames recessed in segmental-headed
openings, originally plain but now dressed with stucco architraves.
1.5
For much of its history the site has been occupied by restaurants and coffee
houses and at the beginning of the Twentieth Century No. 15 was occupied by
William Hewson’s Coffee Rooms. The Mont Blanc Restaurant, owned by
Alphonse Pasquier, was present at No. 16 up until 1928. One restaurant guide
of 1927 had written: The Soho Restaurants, though often situated in mean
streets, with unpretending exteriors and simple table-appointments, enjoy a
considerable vogue on account of their foreign air and cooking (mostly French
or Italian) and their moderate prices. A meal of several courses is obtainable
for 2/-3/6.
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Edward Garnett (1868-1937)
1.6
Edward Garnett (1868-1937) was an English writer and critic and son of
Richard Garnett, writer and bibliographer and keeper of printed books at the
British Museum. His wife was Constance Garnett, known for her translations
of Russian literature. He was more influenced by his family’s literary interests
than by his slight formal education and through extensive reading Garnett
developed a nearly unerring ability to recognize genuine and original literary
talent. His influence through his encouragement of leading authors exceeded
by far that of his own writing. His literary contacts and correspondents spread
far and wide, from Petr Kropotkin to Edward Thomas. He was a significant and
personally generous literary editor and reader for the London publishing
houses of T. Fisher Unwin, Gerald Duckworth and Company, and then
Jonathan Cape.
1.7
He brought together in 1898, Joseph Conrad, an Unwin author to whom he
acted as a mentor as well as a friend, and Ford Madox Ford and they
collaborated in the first few years of the twentieth century. Garnett befriended
D. H. Lawrence, and for a time influenced him in the direction of realist fiction
and was instrumental in getting Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers published. He
also had a role in getting T. E. Lawrence's work published. One of his failures
was to turn down for Duckworth James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a
Young Man, in 1915. He was a strong supporter of John Galsworthy, and The
Man of Property in the Forsyte Saga was dedicated to him. He also
championed American writers Stephen Crane and Robert Frost and
Australia's Henry Lawson, and helped the Irish writer Liam O'Flaherty.
Garnett’s published his banned play, The Breaking Point (which dealt with an
unmarried mother), with an open letter to the Lord Chamberlain’s Office, as a
part of a campaign being waged at the time, under the generalship of Bernard
Shaw, to free the stage of censorship.
1.8
Garnett fostered the careers of many literary figures and at the Mont Blanc
Restaurant hosted weekly Tuesday literary lunches for many writers. Two of
the restaurant’s most famous frequenters were G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire
Belloc, who met for the first time in Gerrard Street in 1900. The meeting,
without which a close friendship may never have blossomed, took place at the
Mont Blanc Restaurant and was celebrated with a bottle of Moulin-a-Vent.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936)
1.9
Chesterton was born in Campden Hill, London. Educated at St Paul’s School,
London, he went on to study at art schools, principally the Slade, rather than
Oxford. In 1899, after working as a freelance art and literary critic he launched
himself into journalism, writing widely and voluminously on politics and social
issues. He became a prolific author of biographies, essays, articles and
novels, plays and poems but is best remembered for his fifty two Father Brown
stories about a Catholic priest turned detective. The stories were based on a
real Irish Roman Catholic priest, Father John O'Connor of St Cuthbert's,
Bradford, who guided Chesterton through his own conversion to Roman
Catholicism in 1922. Chesterton had moved to Beaconsfield in 1909 and lived
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there until his death in June 1936. The Crucifix over his grave is the work of
Eric Gill.
Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953)
1.10
Anglo French writer and historian Hilaire Belloc was born near Paris but
moved to England when he was two years old. After being educated at the
Oratory School, Birmingham, he served in the French Army before becoming
a student at Balliol College, Oxford. He was one of the most prolific writers in
England during the early twentieth century, most notable for his Roman
Catholic faith, which impacted on most of his writing. Belloc wrote on myriad
subjects, from warfare to poetry to the many current topics of his day. He has
been called one of the Big Four of Edwardian Letters along with H.G.Wells,
George Bernard Shaw, and G. K. Chesterton, all of whom debated with each
other into the 1930s. Belloc suffered a stroke in 1941 and never recovered
from its effects. He died on 16 July 1953 in Guildford, Surrey, following a fall,
and is buried in West Grinstead,
1.11
After their Gerrard Street introduction Chesterton and Belloc became close
friends and they united together to combat corruption in public life. Before long
Bernard Shaw had coined the phrase “The Chesterbelloc” and Chesterton
dedicated his first novel, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, published in 1904, to
Belloc. Their friendship remained strong and deepened when Chesterton
entered the Catholic Church.
1.12
Other regulars at the Tuesday lunches included Joseph Conrad (novelist),
Norman Douglas (novelist and essayist), John Galsworthy (novelist and
playright), W.H. Hudson (author and naturalist), John Masefield (poet and
novelist), Stephen Reynolds (Writer), Edward Thomas (poet and nature
writer), H.M. Tomlinson (novelist and travel writer), W.B.Yeats (poet) and Ford
Madox Ford (novelist, editor and poet).
2.
Legal Implications
2.1
None
3.
Consultation
3.1
The freeholders of the property support the proposal.
Ward Members have been consulted and no objections have been raised.
4.
Financial Implications
4.1
The cost of the plaque is approximately £300.00 ex vat which will be borne by
the sponsors, Shaftesbury Chinatown Ltd. There will also be an installation
charge to the sponsor of £216 ex vat should they wish to use the City
Council’s contractors. No provisional date for the unveiling ceremony has
been set but it is likely to be late July 2010. There is no cost to Westminster
City Council.
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5.
Outstanding Issues
5.1
There are no other outstanding issues. Listed Building Consent for the plaque
has been approved
6.
Conclusions for the Proposed Decision
6.1
The proposed plaque to commemorate the Mont Blanc Restaurant continues
the City Council’s celebration of Soho’s unique artistic and cultural legacy.
Due to its distinctive and evolving character over the centuries, no other
district in any UK city has nurtured such a wealth of talent and had a greater
influence on British culture.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES ABOUT THIS REPORT OR WISH TO INSPECT ANY
OF THE BACKGROUND PAPERS PLEASE CONTACT: Toby Cuthbertson, 020
7641 8705. tcuhbertson@westminster.gov.uk
Background Papers
Background Paper 1
15-16 Gerrard Street, Location Plan at 1:1250
Background Paper 2
Photo-montage showing proposed location of plaque to the Mont Blanc
Restaurant
Background Paper 3
Wording of Mont Blanc Restaurant Plaque
The documents referred to in compiling this report are: 1. Historical details provided by Rolfe Judd, architects on behalf of Shaftesbury
Chinatown Ltd., Tony Hutt of Four Communications and web site material
sourced by report author.
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For completion by Cabinet Member for the Built Environment
Declaration of Interest

I have no interest to declare in respect of this report
Signed ……………………………. Date ………………………………
NAME: Robert Davis DL, Cabinet Member for the Built Environment

I have to declare an interest
State nature of interest ……..……………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………..
Signed ……………………………. Date …………………………………
NAME: Robert Davis DL, Cabinet Member for the Built Environment
(N.B: If you have an interest you should seek advice as to whether it is appropriate
to make a decision in relation to this matter.)
For the reasons set out above, I agree the recommendation(s) in the report entitled
Commemorative Green Plaque for the Mont Blanc Restaurant at 15-16 Gerrard
Street, W1.
Signed ………………………………………………
Cabinet Member for Built Environment
Date …………………………………………………
For Ward Specific Reports Only
In reaching this decision I have given due regard to any representations made
by relevant Ward Members.
Signed ………………………………………………
Cabinet Member for the Built Environment
Date …………………………………………………
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If you have any additional comment which you would want actioned in connection
with your decision you should discuss this with the report author and then set out
your comment below before the report and this pro-forma is returned to the
Secretariat for processing.
Additional comment: …………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………….
NOTE: If you do not wish to approve the recommendations, or wish to make an
alternative decision, it is important that you consult the report author, the Head of
Legal Services, the Director of Finance and, if there are staffing implications, the
Director of Human Resources (or their representatives) so that (1) you can be made
aware of any further relevant considerations that you should take into account before
making the decision and (2) your reasons for the decision can be properly identified
and recorded, as required by law.
Note to Cabinet Member: Your decision will now be published and copied to
the Members of the relevant Policy & Scrutiny Committee. If the decision falls
within the criteria for call-in, it will not be implemented until five working days
have elapsed for any call-in request to be received.
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