Are You Being Served? Actress' Former Pub To Become a Luxury Marylebone Townhouse

Marylebone's residential streets are known for their Georgian terraces, mansion blocks and mews houses, but occasionally something unqiue comes to the market.

For more than a century, The Beehive on Homer Street was part of everyday life in the neighbourhood. Now, following its sale, through Beauchamp Estates St John’s Wood Office for just under £2 million, the former public house is set to begin a very different chapter.

Many locals in the area have lots of memories of the pub, including one regular recalling playing darts there with his father in the late 1960s, working behind the bar as a student, and even performing there as a singer-songwriter, while another remembers it fondly as ‘a proper pub with great people.’

Among its regulars was actress Wendy Richard, recognised for her role as Pauline Fowler in EastEnders and Miss Brahms in the classic sitcom Are You Being Served?. A familiar face at the pub, she could often be found at the bar with her partner, small dog and a glass of Champagne.

First licensed as a public house in 1842, the present building dates from 1910 and The Beehive served the local community for well over a century before closing in 2014. Known locally as “The Little Beehive,” the pub took its name from its larger, better-known namesake on nearby Crawford Street - the Grade II listed Beehive, dating back to 1793.

A Marylebone Local

The stories attached to The Beehive extend well beyond its famous customers. For many people who lived and worked locally, it was simply their neighbourhood pub.

One former regular remembers playing darts there with his father in the late 1960s, later working behind the bar as a student and eventually returning to perform as a singer-songwriter. Another remembers it simply as “a proper pub with great people.”

These memories are part of what makes buildings such as The Beehive interesting. Marylebone has changed considerably over the decades, but its residential streets still contain reminders of the businesses, pubs and institutions that once served the neighbourhood around them.

From Public House to Private Home

Sitting on a quiet residential street in Marylebone, The Beehive presented a rare opportunity as it was offered for sale freehold and with planning permission already in place to convert the building into either a collection of apartments or a large, single residence. 

The approved plans show how the building could be transformed into a single, exceptional residence. The plans envisage a kitchen and dining room at basement level opening onto the garden, a large living room occupying much of the ground floor and a principal bedroom suite with its own dressing room and bathroom above.

Currently arranged over five floors, the redeveloped property could be worth as much as £7,000,000 once complete

For the new owner, there is also the opportunity to retain something increasingly difficult to recreat - a building with more than a century of local history behind it.

The Character of Marylebone Property

The Beehive is an unusual example, but the opportunity it presents reflects something broader about Marylebone property. The area is known for its Georgian terraces and mansion blocks, many of which form part of the historic Howard de Walden Estate, yet its residential streets contain a much wider mix of architecture, including mews houses, period conversions and buildings that have evolved from previous uses.

Part of Marylebone's appeal is this variety. Homes can differ considerably from one street to the next, while the neighbourhood combines the shops, restaurants and independent businesses of Marylebone Village with quieter residential streets only a short distance away.

For buyers looking at property in Marylebone, that can make the search particularly individual. A traditional period house, lateral apartment, mews property or something altogether less conventional can all be found within a relatively compact part of Central London.

The Beehive sits firmly within that last category. With its history as a local public house and planning permission already secured for residential use, it offers the opportunity to create a home that would be difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Rosy Khalastchy, Head of our St John's Wood office, says:

“The Beehive is a wonderful example of the kind of hidden opportunity Marylebone still holds – a building with genuine local history and character and, with planning permission already secured, a blank canvas for a truly special home. We're delighted to have found a buyer who saw its potential.”

The Beehive may no longer serve pints on Homer Street, but its place in the neighbourhood is not disappearing. After more than a century as a local pub, the building now has the opportunity to become part of Marylebone's residential story.

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