The Strand: the Precinct of Savoy

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Sir Walter Besant, in The Fascination of London, published in 1903, continues his survey of the Strand district with a mention of the history of the precinct of Savoy:

The history of the precinct of Savoy is difficult to treat in a volume like the present, because it requires a book to itself. It is not the paucity of material, but the quantity, that is embarrassing.

The great palace which stood here first was built by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, one of the Barons to whom our present Constitution is due.

By one of the frequent vicissitudes of the times, when no man's land or property was safe, this palace came into the hands of King Henry III, who took the opportunity of a visit from his wife's uncle, Peter of Savoy (afterwards Earl of Savoy and Richmond), to present it to him.

Peter either gave it to or exchanged it with a religious fraternity, from whom it was rebought by the Queen, Eleanor, who gave it to her son Edmund, Earl of Lancaster.

After the Battle of Poitiers, King John of France was brought here a prisoner, and, oddly enough, though he was soon set at liberty, his death occurred here many years later when he had returned to make amends for the escape of one of his sons held hostage by the English until the payment of his ransom.

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