History of ‘The Row’

The mecca for aficionados of bespoke tailoring, Savile Row occupies a quiet corner of Mayfair (London) that runs parallel with Regent Street. It was created during the development of the Burlington Estate in the early 1730s and named after the Earl of Burlington’s wife, Lady Dorothy Savile. The street was mainly occupied by military officers and their wives until tailors started to take premises in the 1800s. The first major incursion of tailoring into Savile Row was made by Henry Poole in the late 1840s. Through the remainder of the Victorian age and into the twentieth-century, Savile Row firmly shifted its character from a residential enclave to a thriving street of suit makers – enjoying the custom of many high-profile clients including royalty, statesmen, sporting stars, and literary and theatrical celebrities. Today, it continues to thrive as the heartland of British tailoring.