Hardware and DIY
Fabric
Music

Local hardware and DIY stores
Lewis & Lewis, 46 Marylebone High Street, tel 0207 935 6434 (Mon-Fri 7am-5.45 pm, Sat 7am-4 pm) As well as the unpromising array of small electrical goods in the window, this shop houses an amazing range of DIY, plumbing, ironmongery, carpentry and decorating products, plus a huge number of different makes of vacuum cleaner bags. Also service, Sales and spares for electrical goods. Claims "24 hour service" (presumably will do the repair within 24 hours, rather than 24-7 service!) Thanks Michael for alerting us to this one!

The Tool Shop, 24 Crawford Street, Tel 020 7935 9396 (NB shuts at 4pm on Saturdays). They have a very good stock including electrical goods, hand and power tools, DIY products and tools, ironmongery, paint and varnishes, timber, keys cut, lock and security, mastics and silicones, plumbing, gardening products.

Websters 53 Chiltern Street, Tel 0207 935 8221 (NB shuts at noon on Saturday)

Penton's, 64 Marylebone Lane Tel 0207 935 7253 (open on Saturdays till 5)

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Stores selling furnishing and other fabrics
Here are some stores worth visiting. (All opinions expressed are entirely my own biased ones - Linda)

Macculloch & Wallis Ltd

25-26 Dering Street, London, W1S 1AT  Tel: 020 7629 0311  Fax: 020 7491 2481
E-mail: macculloch@psilink.co.uk

 Monday-Wednesday 10am-6pm
Thursday 10am-7pm
Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 10.30am-5pm
 http://www.macculloch-wallis.co.uk/FrameStatic.aspx/TheStore.htm (includes shop details)

 

Very reasonably priced fabrics, dressmaking, tailoring and millinery supplies and equipment

 

Hidden down a back street (Dering Street) two seconds away from Oxford Street this is a traditional fabric and haberdashery supplier to the trade where professional dressmakers, tailors and theatrical costume makers go for their supplies.    Combined with old-school fabric strips hung on boards which you can snip bits off to take as samples, this organisation has a 21st century online shop and catalogue http://www.macculloch-wallis.co.uk/FrameStatic.aspx/TheStore.htm.  Fabrics are very reasonably priced and include silks ( a huge range of silk dupion tartans) and satins, wedding brocades, shirtings, a large range of printed cottons, quilting prints, cotton drills, linings and a small (exclusive but fairly expensive!) range of furnishing cottons and linens, curtain linings and curtain accessories.  Spread over several floors, McCulloch & Wallis is good for difficult to find buckrams, interfacings and interlinings, and millinery supplies, as well as needles, zips and threads in all colours and lengths, fastenings, bindings  and pattern drafting supplies, tailors chalk, whalebones and the modern equivalents, feathers and trims. This is a true Aladdin’s cave for the converted and well worth a clatter across the bare wooden floorboards to experience a world a million miles removed from its near neighbour John Lewis.  There is a useful notice board with cards offering professional dressmaking, tailoring, millinery and related services.

 

John Lewis
Oxford Street, London W1A 1EX, 020 7629 7711
Monday-Wednesday 9.30am-8pm
Thursday 9.30am-9pm
Friday 9.30am-8pm
Saturday 9.30am-7pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm

 

A comprehensive supplier of furnishing fabrics and curtain linings in the middle price range and upwards.  Limited dressmaking fabrics, and wide range of paper patterns

 

As well as the furnishing fabrics in the store you can order from many different suppliers’ catalogues which works out much more expensive.  Every sort of curtain and blind-making accessory is available on display and to purchase. 
Dressmaking fabrics are in a different department and the range is a skeleton of John Lewis’  former glory.  There are a few ranges of bridal type fabrics, a few linens, a few cottons, a small range of sheetings, a reasonable range of quilting fabrics, and a few bits and pieces, but really the choice is very limited, so unless you happen to chance upon something you like, or are stuck, this is not the place to come to choose dressmaking fabric.   On the other hand there is a very well stocked paper pattern section with patterns from all the major companies – quite difficult to find these days.  

 

Alexander Furnishings
51-61 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 1PU  020 7935 8664

 

Mostly furnishing fabrics, but also some unusual dressmaking fabrics, also cushions, curtains, blinds and accessories. Some bargains, and also medium –higher price fabrics

 

Worth visiting first if you are looking for fabric for a particular project, as there are always a selection of “end-of-line” fabrics on rolls inside the door.  Some of these are amazingly good value, but you must buy all you are likely to need as they are not repeatable (the down side of bin ends!).  Apart from the real bargains there are also usually some good value fabrics on rolls towards the middle of the shop.  I have found these to be in a similar or slightly lower price range to John Lewis. As usual there are many fabrics which you can order from sample books if you can’t find what you want amongst the stock, but also as usual this is much more expensive as you will be paying the full manufacturer price and not profit from the canny buying strategy of the shop’s buyers.  The staff here really know their business both in terms of the fabrics and sewing and construction savvy.  They can advise you of how much fabric you are likely to need for any particular project (with some leeway I might add, but nothing wrong with that!) as well as whether it meets fire standards for upholstery projects and so on

 

Joel & Son
75-83 Church Street, London, NW8 8EU   020 772 46895  (near the one-stop shop)

High end dressmaking fabrics.  Very expensive

This shop specialises in exclusive exquisite fabrics such as embroidered silks, satins and chiffons, sequined and beaded fabrics, and ruched and pin-tucked fabrics at prices to make you gasp.  (Apart from window shopping I visit this shop if I am looking for a small piece of fabric to be used as a decoration in and of itself, such as a textile wall-hanging or a piece of framed textile art).

 

The Curtain Factory Outlet
269 Ballards Lane, North Finchley N12  020 8492 0093
Mon-Sat  9-6
Sun 10-4
www.curtainfactoryoutlet.co.uk  (make sure you don’t put “.com” by mistake)

This is not strictly speaking “local”, (being in North Finchley) but a place you should know about if you are planning to embark on a furnishing project.  I have not been there myself, but I have it on the best authority (my mum, who has been making her own curtains and loose covers since black-out days)  that this is the place to go for knock-down prices on one-off rolls of top quality upholstery and curtain fabric.  Everything costs £6.99 plus VAT a metre instead of £20 to £50 which these fabrics would normally go for.  Staff are extremely knowledgeable and apparently there is now a complete making, measuring and fitting service.
Update: I went there myself last weekend and can now vouch personally for its wide reputation. Behind the slightly sleazy looking flaking painted brick exterior with a handwritten sign pointing you round the side, you pass through several windy ante-chambers (outside spaces covered with corrugated plastic roofing) full of amazing bargains on interesting and normally very expensive and intricate fabrics. Needless to say I had already bought two fabrics to add to my own home fabric warehouse before I got to the main warehouse which was crammed with so many worthwhile fabrics that you are hard-pressed to make a choice, but staff will cut you a swatch to take home, if you need to check a match. Anyone interested in fabric or contemplating a project should make a visit. (next to Waitrose)

Music shops
Howarth of London, 31 Chiltern Street (020 7935 240)
Specialists in woodwind instruments.  They supply new and used instruments, repair and have sheet music available for woodwinds. AN online service is available on their website.

The Early Music Shop, 34 Chiltern Street (020 7486 9101)
Specialists in instruments for early music.  A comprehensive supply of all instruments in the recorder family as well as small harps and other early instruments.  Sheet music available and there is a useful noticeboard in the back of the shop where there are small ads from music teachers, people selling second hand instruments etc.

Academy of Indian Music and Dance, 14 Chiltern Street (020 7935 0793).
Specilalists in Indian, mainly stringed, instruments.  The owner now manufactures his company’s own instruments in a factory in Delhi, and the company supply and repair all instruments as well as teaching both students of the instruments and of Indian dance.

 

 

 

Transport for London Information on travel in London - buses, trains, tube. Link to Oyster info, congestion charges etc.

Tube information - Transport for London -the official website for the tube. Travel information, help with route planning, and general Tube news

Bus route maps

Legible London - a unique system of on-street signs, maps and fingerposts designed to make it quicker and easier to walk around the Capital. (To the uninitiated a smart new term to make putting up signs sound new and cutting-edge)

Free Park & Ride shuttle bus from Park Lane /Marble Arch car park to Oxford Street and Bond Street. When shopping in the West End, you can use a free courtesy bus run from the Council's Park Lane/Marble Arch car park, located outside the congestion charge. Service operates Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm between the car park, Oxford Street and Bond Street

Taxis - please would anyone with good minicab firm info or phone numbers for black cabs, let me know so I can put these here.

Transport to airports

 

Leisure centres
Seymour Leisure Centre (Westminster Council) in Seymour Street has a modern, well-equipped gym, swimming pool fitness studio and variety of other facilities including Squash, Badminton, 5 a side football, Netball, Basketball and Volleyball.

The Langham Health & Fitness Club
The Langham Hotel's health club features a 16-metre swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms, as well as a well-equipped fitness studio. Non-members are invited to use the Health Club on a daily basis for £25, while access is complimentary for all hotel guests.

The Hellenic Centre is located in Paddington Street and offers a programme of exhibitions, lectures, concerts and cultural events and Greek language courses. For more information see http://www.helleniccentre.org/

Adult Education Classes
Westminster Adult Education Service (WAES) is one of the largest providers of adult education in London offering full-time and part-time study in the daytime, evenings and at weekends. Full e-learning support online.
Floodlight - London-wide adult education classes (including Westminster)
City of Westminster College Courses for adults including both leisure study and courses leading to qualifications for training purposes.

Madame Tussauds, the world famous wax works is located on the Marylebone Road close to Baker Street Station. For more information see http://www.madame-tussauds.co.uk/index.htm

 

Daunts Books the famous travel bookshop (83 Marylebone High Street) hold regular talks. For more information see http://www.dauntbooks.co.uk/talks.html

 

Library
The nearest public library, Marylebone Library is on the south side of the Marylebone Road. 109 - 117 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5PS, tel: 020 7641 1300 (enquiries). The librabry consists of a large lending and children's library (hosting regular sessions for the Under 5s, a homework club and a Chatterbooks Reading Group) on the lower ground floor. The library is open seven days a week and offers a wide selection of books, videos, DVD's and music.

Parks
The Royal Parks website gives you up to date information on what is happening in the royal parks including the parks nearest to Marylebone, Hyde Park and Regents Park

Golf
Walter suggests his golf club for any golf-loving residents new to the area, as it is the easiest and quickest one to reach from Marylebone,  Ealing Golf Club, just off the A40.

Local Art Galleries

The Wallace Collection in Manchester Square (http://www.wallacecollection.org) is best known for its paintings by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt, Hals (The Laughing Cavalier) and Velázquez and for its superb collections of eighteenth-century French paintings, porcelain, furniture and gold boxes.Open 7 days a week, 10am - 5pm. Entry is free. It also houses a daytime and Saturday evening French brasserie-style restaurant 020 7563 9505 in inspirational surroundings with an ambitious menu which you can look at and download (http://www.wallacecollection.org/visiting/thewallacerestaurant/downloadmenu). Restaurant opening times Sunday - Thursday: 10am - 5pm (last orders at 4.30pm) Friday - Saturday: 10am - 11pm

Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street (http://www.asiahouse.org/net), has gallery and café. Asia House aims to promote appreciation and understanding of Asian countries, their arts, religions and economies, and to foster closer communication between the peoples of Asia and Europe.

Commercial Art Galleries There are a growing number of commercial art galleries in Marylebone. Just round the corner in New Cavendish Street before you reach Jeremy James & Co. you will find the Enid Lawson Gallery (http://www.enidlawsongallery.co.uk) and the Portal Gallery (http://www.portal-gallery.com) famous for paintings by Beryl Cook. The Raillings Gallery (www.raillings-gallery.com) located at 5 New Cavendish Street specializes in prints.

Also close by are Jaddedart (www.jaddeart.com) located at the high street end of Devonshire Street and Thompson's gallery (www.thompsongallery.co.uk) near the northern end of Marylebone High Street (No 76).

There is another cluster of galleries in Chiltern Street. A&D Gallery (http://www.a-and-d.co.uk) at 51 Chiltern St. with Mark Barrow Fine Art (www.markbarrowfineart.com) (formerly Modern British Painters) next door at no 49. The Atlas Gallery (www.atlasgallery.com), which specializes in photographs, is on the corner of Chiltern Street and Dorset Street.

Slightly further afield but worth a visit is The Sheridan Russell Gallery (www.sheridanrussellgallery.com) in Crawford Street (beyond Gloucester Place) and Colomb Art Gallery (52A George Street), www.colombart.co.uk.

Art Fair The Freeze Art Fair (www.friezeartfair.com) is held in every October in Regent's Park (16-19 October this year). The fair provides an environment to introduce and showcase new and established artists to visitors from around the world.

Maybury Court artist (click on "residents" tab) Link to information about the work of Shirley Morris in Maybury Court

For Francophiles
Tune in to all things French in London at www.franceinlondon.com. with comprehensive and interesting information and comment on French films, plays, events, articles on politics, classified ads for French or France-related matters and much more. Click on the French or English flag icon at the very top right hand corner of the page to read the site in the language of your choice. (The French version has a few odd quirks and interesting anglicised spelling variations, but that just adds to the bi-cultural feel!) You can sign up to receive a monthly e-newsletter version of the site. That last link was to sign up in French. But of course you can sign up in English too!