Shepherds Market

Mayfair (W1) Named after its builder, Edward Shepherd. Duck-hunting was once one of the low sports of the butchers of Shepherd's Market, and on the site of Hertford Street was the " Dog and Duck" public-house, with its duck pond, boarded up knee-high and shaded by willows. (Reference: Timbs's Curiosities of London, p. 13)

Here was held the May Fair, from which the district derives its name. The ground in 1722 was an irregular open space, but in 1735 Shepherd's Market was built by Edward Shepherd, the lower story consisting of butchers' shops, and the upper containing a theatre where plays were given during the fair time. (Mayfair, G. E. Mitton, p. 44)