Marylebone was a small parish which took its name from its church, dedicated to St Mary; the original church was built on the bank of a small stream or "bourne", called the Tybourne or Tyburn. 

Situated just to the north of the much busier Oxford Street, Marylebone has managed to retain a distinctly village type atmosphere with its own high street which has a number of independent shops and restaurants. Much of the land resides within the ancient holdings of two aristocratic families; the Portmans and the Dukes of Portland/Howard de Walden families, now run by the Portman and Howard de Walden Estates.  

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This area is famous for the many private medical practices around Harley Street, beautiful historic mews housing, garden squares, cultural sites like the Wallace Collection and Wigmore Hall and a “whiff of scandal” from its connections to the Profumo Affair in the 1960’s.