Cubitts has been in the business of looks for a while, but this is the first time we’ve had a butcher’s. The understated nook of a building at 28 New Cavendish Street is part of a 1903 development, originally home to Edward VII’s butcher, Goslin and Co. Lining the building’s striking arched entrance, Goslin’s original tiling is resplendent once again, rediscovered and restored after decades hidden from view. 

Cubitts Marylebone is organised along clean lines, with an emphasis on modern utilitarian display, tempered with a knowing reverence to the site’s bloody history, and the sensuous glamour of this opulent district.

Goslin was remarkable for its modern approach to butchery. An account from the early twentieth century describes it as an ‘absolutely model hygienic shop … clean enough and rigorously enough defended from the contamination of the outer world to gladden the heart of the greatest enthusiast for aseptic surgery’. 

A red-bathed interior is rooted in original white-veined marble tiles, uncovered and returned to their former glory. Their crimson hue spills out into ultra matt walls, a corniced and panelled ceiling, and custom high gloss spectacle display units. An internal arch mirrors the façade, bringing the elegance of New Cavendish Street into the store. Punctuated by cascading mirrors and illuminated by a spherical opalised glass pendant, it’s a sumptuous interpretation of the building’s history.

Spectacle shelving in polished chrome and brushed steel references Goslin’s utilitarian display units, while selected spectacles are suspended from chains in the window restored sash window. A paravent-inspired mirror screen divides the ‘shopfront’ from the back. Behind a heavy velvet curtain (red, of course), a state-of-the-art testing room continues the location’s legacy for technological advancement.