What did Robert Mayer blue plaque do at 2 Mansfield Street?

The Story

# 2 Mansfield Street From flat 31 on this elegant Fitzrovia address, Sir Robert Mayer orchestrated one of Britain's most transformative contributions to musical culture—the creation of youth concert programmes that would eventually reach millions of young people across the nation. Having established himself as a successful businessman by the early twentieth century, Mayer chose this sophisticated London residence as his base for pivoting entirely toward philanthropic work, particularly his revolutionary idea that classical music should be accessible to every child, not merely the wealthy elite. It was from these rooms that he conceived, planned, and launched his pioneering Youth and Music Foundation, hosting gatherings with conductors, composers, and fellow patrons who shared his conviction that exposing young minds to live orchestral performance could transform lives. This flat became the birthplace of a legacy that would far outlive its inhabitant—Mayer lived here for decades into his remarkable 106 years of life, and the concerts he championed from this modest Fitzrovia perch became a gateway to classical music for countless generations of Londoners and beyond.