Mews

Mews
Dunworth Mews, a street of mews houses in Notting Hill, London

Mews is a primarily British term formerly describing a row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above, built around a paved yard or court, or along a street, behind large city houses, such as those of London, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The word may also refer to the lane, alley or back street onto which such stables open. It is sometimes applied to rows or groups of garages or, more broadly, to a narrow passage or a confined place. Today most mews stables have been converted into dwellings, some greatly modernised and considered highly desirable residences.

The term mews is plural in form but singular in construction, and arose from "mews" in the sense of a building where birds used for falconry are kept. Originating in London, its use has spread to parts of Canada and the United States (see, for example, Washington Mews in Greenwich Village, New York City).

From 1377 onwards the king's falconry birds were kept in the King's Mews at Charing Cross. The name remained when it became the royal stables starting in 1537. It was demolished in the early 19th century and Trafalgar Square was built on the site. The present Royal Mews was then built in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. The stables of St James's Palace, which occupied the site where Lancaster House was later built, were also referred to as the "Royal Mews" on occasion, including on John Rocque's 1740s map of London.

Horbury Mews, located near Ladbroke Road in Notting Hill

The term "mews" is not used for large individual non-royal British stable blocks, a feature of country houses. For example the grand stable block at Chatsworth House is referred to as the stables, not the mews. Instead the word was applied to service streets and the stables in them in cities, primarily London. In the 18th and 19th centuries London housing for wealthy people generally consisted of streets of large terraced houses with stables at the back, which opened onto a small service street. The mews had horse stalls and a carriage house on the ground floor, and stable servants' living accommodation above. Generally this was mirrored by another row of stables on the opposite side of the service street, backing onto another row of terraced houses facing outward into the next street. Sometimes there were variations such as small courtyards. Most mews are named after one of the principal streets which they back onto. Most but not all have the word "mews" in their name. This arrangement was different from most of Continental Europe, where the stables in wealthy urban residences were usually off a front or central courtyard. The advantage of the British system was that it hid the sounds and smells of the stables away from the family when they were not using the horses.

Mews lost their equestrian function in the early 20th century when motor cars were introduced. At the same time, after World War I and especially after World War II, the number of people who could afford to live in the type of houses which had a mews attached fell sharply.[citation needed] Some mews were demolished or put to commercial use, but the majority were converted into homes. These "mews houses", nearly always located in the wealthiest districts, are themselves now fashionable residences.

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  • mews — [myo͞oz] pl.n. 〚after the Mews, the royal stables in London, built on the site where royal hawks were mewed: see MEW1〛 [usually with sing. v.] Chiefly Brit. a) stables or carriage houses, now often converted into dwellings, grouped around a court …   Universalium

  • mews — meaning ‘a set of buildings around an open yard’, is usually called a mews and is treated as a singular noun. (The word is originally the plural of mew meaning ‘a cage for hawks’.) It is often used attributively (before a noun) to describe a… …   Modern English usage

  • Mews — Mews, n. sing. & pl. [Prop. pl. of mew. See {Mew} a cage.] An alley where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place. [Eng.] [1913 Webster] Mr. Turveydrop s great room . . . was built out into a mews at the back. Dickens. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • mews — [ mjuz ] (plural mews) noun count MAINLY BRITISH a small street with houses, especially one where there used to be STABLES (=buildings for horses) …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • mews — (n.) stables grouped around an open yard, 1630s, from Mewes, name of the royal stables at Charing Cross, built 1534 on the site of the former royal mews (attested from late 14c.), where the king s hawks were kept (see MEW (Cf. mew) (n.2)).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • mews — ► NOUN (pl. same) Brit. ▪ a row of houses or flats converted from stables in a small street or square. ORIGIN from MEW(Cf. ↑mew): first referring to the royal stables on the site of the hawk mews at Charing Cross, London …   English terms dictionary

  • mews — [myo͞oz] pl.n. [after the Mews, the royal stables in London, built on the site where royal hawks were mewed: see MEW1] [usually with sing. v.] Chiefly Brit. a) stables or carriage houses, now often converted into dwellings, grouped around a court …   English World dictionary

  • mews — [mju:z] n [plural] BrE [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: mew place where hawks are kept (14 20 centuries), from French mue, from muer to have the feathers fall out ] a small street or area surrounded by buildings in a city, where horses used to be kept,… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • mews — [[t]mju͟ːz[/t]] N COUNT: oft in names (mews is both the singular and the plural form.) A mews is a street or small area surrounded by houses that were originally built as stables. [BRIT] The house is in a secluded mews. ...her London mews house …   English dictionary

  • mews — UK [mjuːz] / US [mjuz] noun [countable] Word forms mews : singular mews plural mews British a small street with houses, especially one where there used to be stables (= buildings for horses) …   English dictionary

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