The Anaconda standard., 1899-07-31
LONDON IS OWNED BY FEW.
Majority of Property in the Hands of
Two Thousand People.

Two Thousand People.
From the London Mail.
One of the surest and safest ways of
becoming rich beyond the dreams of
avarice would be to possess few acres
of land in the heart of the city of Lon
don, or, in fact, single acre would
make one wealthier than the most
lucky miner that ever starved in
Johannesburg. This was proved con-
clusively the other day, when the free
hold of 81 Cheapside was sold for G2S,-
500, which is equal to $50 a square foot,
or G2,613, 600 an acre. The highest price
ever asked for land in London was at
the rate of G13,000,000 per acre. The
golden spot was in Bermondsey, where
a few years ago a small piece of prop
erty was offered to the Southeastern
Railway company for s1,25O,0O No
wonder the railway company declined
ITO buy.
Coming back to the city again, we
find that the ground about Lombard
street Is worth not Ices than G2,000,000
an acre. while something like e40 a
square foot was paid for every piece of
the land between King William statue
and Trinity square, Il. C. In Cannon
street, in 1880, 900 square feet of land
was sold for building sites for s4,500,
which amounts to 81 10 shillings a
In the same year building sites in
Gracechurch street realized els is
shillings a square foot, or GS20.000 an
acre. In 1856 these prices increased by
leaps and bounds in the same streets,
1885 feet of ground being sold for Esq.,
900, which is G2S 16 shillings per square
foot, or not far short of 91,260,000 an
acre. Cling westward land becomes
somewhat cheaper. but still sufficient
ly high to make it no exaggeration to
say that, metaphorically speaking, Lon
doners walk on gold. For instance. one
could buy an acre in Pail Mall for
6 100000, but If ground was required in
st. James square or st. James street,
something like e750000 would be re-
quired for a like quality. Three years
ago the lord lieutenant of Ireland was
letting his land on the Cadogan estate
In Chelsea at e50000 an acre ON build
Ing leases, with an annual ground rent
of half a crown a foot. Three acres of
his property near Sloane street were
sold for 80 years for G175,000.
The marquis of Salisbury owns five
acres of land at Charing Cross, which,
$50 years back, was leased for grazing
purposes to his ancestors at the rate
of 10 shillings an acre for 500 years.
These few acres are now worth about
a sovereign per foot. The value OF
property in London has trebled since
1856, and to-day the houses within its
borders are calculated ITO be worth
some 9250, 100000, and the land on
| which they are built is valued at not
less than $500, 900, 900. Upon the latter
sum the landlords receive about 925,
600, 900 annual rent, and sooner or later,
under the leasehold system, house prop
erty of enormous value will come into
their hands. The owners of London
| include all sorts and conditions Of men
and women, from dukes to sharehold-
ers in building societies and owners of
single tenements. These small lowners
number about 100000, But the great
bulk of the rental of the metropolis
| belongs to comparatively few people.
The ground landlords include the duke
| of Westminster to whom a large por-
| ton of the Belgravia, Pimlico and
| Grosvenor square district belongs. Then
| the duke of Bedford owns chiefly the
| Covent Garden district and Blooms
| bury; Lord POrtman and the duke OF
| Portland West and East Marylebone
| districts. respectively; Lord Cadogan a
| large part of Chelsea, while the marquis
of Northampton reigns in Clerkenwell