In 1731 some of the nearby houses and tenements were demolished and the square was renamed Pickering Court from its previous name of Stroud Court. It was renamed after William Pickering, a coffee merchant and son-in-law of Widow Bourne, founder of Berry Bros & Rudd, who's wine merchants is still in operation today. Later it was changed again to Pickering Place, its current name.
After walking down the wood panelled alleyway you will find the court, still it by the original gas lanterns and surrounded by the original iron railings, its feels as though you have taken a step back in time by a couple of hundred years.
The square was lined by large houses but despite this and Mayfair's upmarket reputation, the dark secluded square became notorious as a place of gambling dens, bear baiting, cock fighting, bare knuckle fighting, and of course duals. The most famous person said to have had a dual in the square is said to be Beau Brummel, Regency-era dandy, friend of the king and in today's language - 1880's fashion influencer. He invented the cravat! His statue stands by the entrance to Piccadilly arcade, still keeping an eye on the fashions of the day!
Other famed inhabitants of the square are Graham Greene, esteemed writer of Brighton Rock, and Our man in Havana to name just two, and former Prime Minister Lord Palmerston.
But, on to the main event, tonight's headline fight - the Final Dual in London. It took place supposedly with swords, the size of the square and surrounding houses meant there would not be room for back-to-back, ten paces and shoot! Pistols were the more popular method of duals on the 1800's. There is also no record of who our two final duellers were, or the reason for their dual. We do though have record of a dual on 1843 in a field outside of Camden, that took place between
So perhaps this final dual is just an old fashioned urban myth, but unknown does not mean untrue, so perhaps in a dusty book somewhere is the truth of this tale.
Truth or not though, this does not take away from the charm and romance of the history that has taken place within this small square in London.
