![]() The spirit is said to take the form of a brown mist, though sometimes it is reported as a white figure. She purportedly threw herself from a top-floor window after being abused by her uncle and is said to be capable of frightening people to death. The square's gardens have very large London Plane trees that are among the oldest in central London, planted in 1789, and 50 Berkeley Square is allegedly haunted - The legend about the house varies, but most versions state that the attic room of the house is haunted by the spirit of a young woman who committed suicide there. Laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Kent, the square is named after John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton, an English admiral of the fleet. 'Berkeley Square' appears with different spellings online, but the correct spelling has 3 'e's. Since then the song has gone on to be recorded by countless vocalists and musicians. Here is a re-mastered issue of her 1940 recording. Eric Maschwitz died in 1969.Īnd a nightingale sang in Berkeley Squareĭame Vera Lynne was one of the first to record the song during the Second World War. ![]() His other work included writing an adaptation of Goodbye Mr Chips, editing the Radio Times, and becoming Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC. Married to actress Hermione Gingold his other famous song is These Foolish Things, with music by Jack Strachey. Manning Sherwin died in 1974.Įric Maschwitz OBE, lyricist, actor and broadcaster, was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham a year before Manning in 1901. He went on to write for other less well-known musicals before finally returning to Los Angeles. He came to live in the UK in 1938, just a year before the song was written for New Faces, a 1940 review at London's Comedy Theatre. Manning Sherwin was born in Philadelphia in 1902 and had a career in musical theatre and films. Although the song has become a standard, not much is known generally about the composer or lyricist. In 1939, Manning Sherwin wrote A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz. Songbirds sing and winter turns to springĮvery winding street in Mayfair falls beneath the spell And no doubt Jim Stark and his friends found the Square's wide roadway an irresistible strip for popping wheelies and playing chicken.When two lovers meet in Mayfair, so the legands tell In any case, it seems that the scourge of many American private streets had set in on Berkeley Square: It was becoming a popular cut-through for commuters living beyond the Square, late for work in the morning or in need of a martini in the evening. According to a Square resident of the 1940s, as traffic on Western Avenue increased-indicating the need for the wider, faster arterials to points south and west of downtown that would eventually arrive in freeway form-the main gates at that end were kept closed to limit public access other sources indicate that the gate closures alternated between east and west ends. Figurative gates to ownership in Burke's new subdivision, by the way, included a test of ethnicity and the requirement to spend, beyond the price of your lot, at least $20,000-about $500,000 today, which actually doesn't seem like much-to build your new house. The French Renaissance–inspired limestone-and-iron designs spread wide to include central vehicular drives flanked by pedestrian paths. ![]() ![]() Rosenheim to design impressive gates for each end of Berkeley Square, entrances meant to be both welcoming and restrictive. Burke decided to turn his barley field into the gold coast, he commissioned Alfred F. ![]()
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