45 Albemarle Street W1

15 November 1940

By Alice Hollingsworth-Hallett

Albemarle Street in Mayfair W1 was bombed the night after the Luftwaffe famously reduced Coventry to rubble. 

A high explosive bomb fell on 45 Albemarle Street at around 8.40pm. No civilians were hurt or killed but damage to property was extensive. Fire broke out along Albemarle Street which was also flooded by a damaged water main. Gas and electricity mains were also hit but fortunately there was no leakage of gas. 

The bomb left a 20ft crater in the ground and left minor damage to the properties nearby – one being 47 Albemarle Street. Despite the impact of the bomb, no one was hurt; local residents had sought refuge in a nearby deep shelter during the raid.

The site of 45 Albemarle Street was so successfully redeveloped after the war, that the new building on the site now holds a Grade 2 architectural listing.