Best Things to do in Marylebone: An Insider’s Area Guide

The Wallace Collection 

The Wallace Collection is one of London’s most fabulous free museums – an extensive collection of art and furniture in a beautiful stately home on Manchester Square. 

The collection was put together by four subsequent Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace (widely thought to be the illegitimate son of the fourth Marquess of Hertford – seemingly borne out by the fact the Marquess left him the family collection and extensive property on his death) and bequeathed to the nation by Wallace’s wife. 

Interesting as the history of the collection is, it’s the collection itself that draws visitors time and time again – over 5,500 items are displayed in 25 beautifully-decorated galleries. Expect to see works by artists such as Velazquez, Titian, Rembrandt and Canaletto hung on jewel-coloured damask walls, hovering over baroque furniture. 

You’ll find the most famous work Franz Hal’s The Laughing Cavalier in the aptly-named Great Gallery. 

Marylebone Parish Church 

Marylebone’s population expanded rapidly in the 18th century – with the result that a new parish church was needed to replace the now-destroyed St Mary-by-the-Bourne (aha, we sense the origins of a name) church. 

The grandeur of the new Marylebone Parish Church may be diminished by its unattractive location on the heaving Marylebone Road but it’s an imposing building with a lot of history and well deserving of a spot in any Marylebone guide. 

In fact, Marylebone Parish Church played a pivotal role in the Victorian romance of the century – between the poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barret Browning. They got married in secret here after a quiet romance hidden from Barret Browning’s controlling father – ask in advance and you can see the Browning Chapel. 

British Dental Association Museum 

You know how we love a weird museum and it just so happens that Marylebone is blessed with two that our editor, Julianna, featured in her Unusual London Book. 

The first, the small museum in the British Dental Association is a jaw-clenchingly frank jaunt through the (sometimes unpleasant) history of dentistry. 

Think dentists are something to be scared of today? How about the time when it was common practice for your blacksmith to try their hand at yanking out uncooperative teeth? 

We dare you not to shiver as you thumb through the brute instruments on display. There are even small interactive exhibits where you can practice drilling and pulling teeth. 

Anaesthesia Heritage Centre 

You’ll find the second of Marylebone’s quirky museum offerings in the basement of the Association of Anaesthetists. If the name didn’t give it away, the Anaesthesia Heritage Centre is dedicated to all things in the world of anaesthesia and pain relief. 

Don’t knock it – it’s surprisingly interesting – walking you through the evolution of one of the most important developments in modern medicine through an extensive collection of displays. 

BBC Broadcasting House 

The grand art-deco buildings of BBC Broadcasting House are nothing if not controversial – even now, coming on to a century after its completion. Designed by G Vaal Myers, the Portland-stone clad structure was the first purpose-built broadcasting building. Totally worth seeing, if only for the giant sculptures on its exterior – Prospero and Ariel by Eric Gill. 

Regent’s Park 

The grandest of London’s Royal Parks, Regent’s Park is a purpose-built pleasure ground enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. Where else in the city can you find a park with an extensive rose garden, zoo, canal, outdoors theatre and boating lake? 

Realistically, only the southern reaches fall within Marylebone itself but it would be a shame not to explore the whole if you have the time. 

Sherlock Holmes Museum

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective famously resided at 221B Baker Street – the very location where you’ll now find The Sherlock Holmes Museum. As the name suggests – the space is dedicated to the deerstalker wearing, cigar puffing detective – complete with recreations of the residence lived in by Holmes and his famous sidekick, Dr John Watson. 

St James Spanish Place 

You have the architect Edward Goldie to thank for the striking Gothic beauty of St James church. Eye-catching as it is from the outside – the inside hides one of the most artistic English Gothic interiors in the city and which looks much older than it is (it was finished in 1890). 

The Spanish Place is a reference to the time when Hertford House – now home of The Wallace Collection – was the home of the Spanish Embassy. At a time when it was difficult for Roman Catholics to worship openly, the Embassy and its chapel provided a place where they could practice their faith. 

Wigmore Hall

The relatively small confines of Wigmore Hall may not quite be where you’d expect to find one of London’s best concert halls but hey, nothing is ever quite what it seems. The hall was first built in 1901 (when it went by the name of Bechstein Hall) and is famed for its near-perfect acoustics. Those acoustics – and the plush interior – have made it a favourite for chamber recitals ever since. 

Wimpole Mews 

Like most posher parts of London, Mayfair is dotted with a number of mews. Wimpole Mews is the prettiest of the area’s offerings. It also stands out for being the location where many of the key events of the scandalous Profumo Affair played out in the sixties.