Fascination of London Part 2: The Strand District

Published in 1903 by Sir Walter Besant and G. E. Mitton

Green Park In 1642 fortifications were erected on Constitution Hill, and at the end of the seventeenth century this same spot was a noted place for duels.

Buckingham House George IV employed Nash to renovate the building, and the restoration was so complete as to amount to an entire rebuilding, in the style considered then fashionable; the result is the present dreary building with stuccoed frontage.

Mulberry Gardens Buckingham Palace is partly on the site of the well-known Mulberry Gardens, a place of entertainment in the seventeenth century. These gardens originated in an order of James I, who wished to encourage the rearing of silkworms in England.

Hospital for Fourteen Leprous Women On the site of St James' Palace once stood a hospital for fourteen leprous women, which was founded, as Stow quaintly says, "long before the time of any man's memory."

The Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is supposed to be on the site of the chapel of the ancient hospital for fourteen leprous women, and various Norman remains dug up in the course of repairs favour this supposition.

Duke of Marlborough The house was built in 1709 at the public expense, as a national compliment to the Duke of Marlborough. Sir Christopher Wren was the architect.

Carlton House Terrace At the head of the steps is the York Column of granite, 124 feet high, designed by Wyatt, and surmounted by a figure of the Duke of York, son of George III.

Spring Gardens One of the sights of London in the seventeenth century, was the garden which lay between St. James's Park and Charing Cross, called Spring Gardens.

Drummond's Bank George III transferred his account from Coutts' to Drummond's when he was displeased with the former firm, and he desired Messrs. Drummond to make no advances to Frederick, Prince of Wales, who also had an account here.

Old Scotland Yard The part of Whitehall included in St. Martin's parish is not very large, yet it is of some importance. On the west side is Old Scotland Yard, for long associated with the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, now removed to New Scotland Yard.

Charing Village The little village of Charing then stood between London and Westminster. It formed part of the great demesne belonging to the Abbey of Westminster, and was inhabited chiefly by Thames fishermen, who had a settlement on the bank, and by the farmers of the Westminster estates.

Charing Cross Many of the regicides were executed at this spot in Charles II's reign, within sight of the place where they had murdered their King. These men, according to the brutal temper of the times, were cut down when half hanged and disembowelled before a great concourse of people.

Northumberland House At the top of the present Northumberland Avenue stood formerly Northumberland House, the last of the Strand palaces to be destroyed, and until its destruction the chief glory and ornament of the street and Charing Cross.

The Royal Mews Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet, was Clerk of the King's Works, and of the Mews at Charing about the end of Richard II's reign.

Trafalgar Square It is supposed that we are indebted to William IV for the idea of a square to be called Trafalgar in honour of Nelson, and to contain some worthy memorial of the hero.

National Gallery The building began in 1832, and was opened six years later, but there were then only six rooms devoted to the national collection, the remainder being used by the Royal Academy of Arts.

St Martin's-in-the-Fields St. Martin's is the royal parish, including in its boundaries Buckingham Palace and St. James's, but the births of the Royal Family are not registered here, as has been frequently stated.

St Martin's Churchyard Before the erection of the palaces along the riverside the fishermen of the Thames lived beside the river bank at Charing Cross. A piece of ground in the churchyard of St. Martin's was set apart for their use and kept separate.

Leicester Square, at first known as Leicester Fields, is associated with the Sidneys, Earls of Leicester, who had a town-house on the north side, where the Empire Music-hall is now.

Sir Isaac Newton lived in the little street off the south side of the square, at the back of the big new Dental Hospital.

Soho has been derived from the watchword of Monmouth at Sedgemoor, because the Duke had a house in Soho, then King's Square.

St Anne's Churchyard The old churchyard of St Anne's, Soho, lies above the level of the street, and has been turned into a public garden.

Frith Street also has its associations, and can claim the birth of Sir Samuel Romilly, the great law reformer, who lived until the early part of the nineteenth century, and whose father was a jeweller here; the early boyhood of Mozart, and the death of Hazlitt, which took place in furnished lodgings.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "Tickets may be had at 5s. each at Mr. Mozart's, or at Mr. Williamson's in Thrift Street, Soho, where Ladies and Gentlemen will find the Family at Home every day in the week from 12 to 2 o'clock and have an opportunity of putting his talents to a more particular proof by giving him anything to play at sight or any Music without a Bass, which he will write upon the spot without recurring to his harpsichord."

Gerrard Street On the other side of Shaftesbury Avenue, and parallel with it, is Gerrard Street, a dingy, unpretending place, but thick with memories and associations.

The Club On the site of the Westminster General Dispensary was a tavern named the Turk's Head, where the well-known literary club had its origin.

Charing Cross Road follows very nearly the course of the old Hog Lane, later Crown Street, which bounded the parish on the east.

Soho Square The very centre and nucleus of the parish has always been Soho Square, which was built in the reign of Charles II, and was at first called King Square - not in compliment to the monarch, but after a man named Gregory King, who was associated with the earliest buildings.

Monmouth House The Duke of Monmouth obtained the site for this house in 1681, but he did not long enjoy his possession, for four years later he suffered the penalty of his pretensions and was executed.

Rectory House On the same side of Soho Square as the Hospital for Women is the Rectory House, which was probably built directly after the demolition of Monmouth House in 1773.

House of Charity This was formerly the residence of Alderman Beckford, twice Lord Mayor of London in George III's reign, who was credited with being the only man of his day who dared tell the King the truth to his face.

Carlisle House In its later days the house became notorious from its connection with Mrs. Cornelys, the daughter of an actor, who was born at Venice in 1723, and who, after a tarnished career in various Continental towns as a public singer, came to the King's Theatre, London, to take part in one of Gluck's operas.

St Patrick's Church The pictures inside are exceptionally valuable and beautiful, including paintings by Vandyke, Murillo, Carlo Dolci, Paul Veronese (attributed), and many others.

Crosse and Blackwell The front of the house remains as it was, and claims to be the only original frontage in the square.

De Quincey It was on the doorstep of a house in the square that De Quincey sank dying of exhaustion and starvation during his first novitiate of London life, and he was only saved by his faithful companion Ann.

Parish of St James' Piccadilly St. James's parish was separated from St. Martin's in 1685, but before that epoch it had begun to have an existence of its own.

Origin of the Name Piccadilly The most probable of these is that which connects it with the peccadilloes or ruffs worn by the gallants of Charles II's time.

Regent Street Regent Street is Nash's great memorial. The conception is undoubtedly fine, namely, a vast avenue to lead from Carlton House to a country mansion to be built for George IV in Regent's Park.

Golden Square It was in the vicinity of Golden Square that the great burial-ground for the plague-stricken dead was formed in the reign of Charles II.

Geological Museum In Piccadilly itself (1903) there is the somewhat gloomy-looking geological museum, with entrance in Jermyn Street, open free to all comers.

St James' Piccadilly St James' church is very wide in proportion to its length, and is said to seat 2,000 people easily.

Burlington House Handel was a guest at Burlington House for three years from 1715. After the death of Lord Burlington in 1753 the title became extinct.

Jermyn Street Passing down Duke Street, on the south side of Piccadilly, we come to Jermyn Street. Sir Walter Scott stayed at an hotel here in 1832, on his last journey home. Sir Isaac Newton was also a resident, and the poet Gray lodged here.

Almack's Assembly Rooms Captain Gronow in 1814 says: "At the present time one can hardly conceive the importance which was attached to getting admission to Almack's, the seventh heaven of the fashionable world."

St James' Square The centre of the square was at first left in a neglected condition, a remnant of the "Fields" on which the houses had been built, and it served as a base for the displays of fireworks which were given after the taking of Namur and the Peace of Ryswick.

Norfolk House Norfolk House stands on the site of that of the Earl of St. Albans, which he built for his own use in the south-east corner, he afterwards removed to the mansion on the north side.

Derby House Next to London House, at the south corner of Charles Street, is Derby House, with handsome iron veranda and railings running round it.

Ormonde House was built by Lord St. Albans in place of his first house in the south-eastern corner of the square, and passed into the possession of the Duke of Ormonde, the only man who was four times Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Halifax House Many political intrigues and meetings must have taken place here, for Lord Halifax gained the name of always being on the winning side.

Nell Gwynne Pennant writes: "The back-room of the ground-floor was (within memory) entirely of looking-glass, as was said to have been the ceiling; over the chimney was her picture, and that of her sister in a third room."

Ye Olde Bull Tavern At the corner of John Street and Pall Mall is what is called "Ye Olde Bull Tavern," a square box-like stuccoed house. This is probably contemporary with the first building of Pall Mall, and may have been the substitute of the seventeenth century wits and men of letters for the magnificent clubs of the present day.

St James' Street is much more remarkable for the natural advantages and beauty of the ground, than from any addition it has received from art, according to Ralph ("Critical Review of Public Buildings," 1783 edition).

White's Club It is of White's that the story is told that a man dropped down before the door insensible, and was taken inside. The members immediately began to bet whether he were dead or not, and when the physician came to bleed him, those on the affirmative side protested

The Cocoa-Tree Club recalls by its name an old chocolate house of Queen Anne's time, a favourite resort of the Tories, often mentioned by Addison.

Colonel Blood attempts to abduct the Duke of Ormonde, drag him to Tyburn and hang him.

Park Place was built in 1683. William Pitt came to live here in 1801.

First Lord of the Admiralty The house opposite The Duke of Bridgewater's house was the home of Grenville, First Lord of the Admiralty in 1806, and here he collected the magnificent library which is now at the British Museum.

Pall Mall On Pall Mall the game of the same name was originally played. On both sides of the open space were rows of elm-trees.

Society for the Propogation of the Gospel Nell Gwynne had a house numbered 79, near the War Office, afterwards, by the irony of fate, occupied by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and since rebuilt.

Wyatt's Insurrection During Wyatt's insurrection in 1554, the mob passed along Pall Mall, and the Earl of Pembroke planted artillery on the high ground of Hay Hill and Piccadilly.

The Star and Garter Hotel, nearly opposite the War Office, was a fashionable tavern in the time of Queen Anne. Here took place the famous duel between the fifth Lord Byron and Mr. Chaworth in 1765.

Thomas Gainsborough In the western wing Thomas Gainsborough lived, so the building has every right to its distinguishing panel of palette and brushes.

Sir Charles Barry The Reform Club was the work of Sir Charles Barry, and was copied from the Farnese Palace at Venice, of which the upper storey was the work of Michelangelo. It is a dull, heavy-looking piece of work.

Travellers' Club One of the rules of this club is that no person shall be eligible for membership who shall not have travelled out of the British Isles at least 500 miles in a direct line from London.

United Service Club was instituted after the Battle of Waterloo, and was at first at the corner of Charles Street, where the Junior United Service Club is now located.

St Philip's Chapel The Church of St. Philip, on the west side of Lower Regent Street, is a quaint building with Doric portico and curious little cupola, the latter a copy of the Lanthorn of Demosthenes at Athens.

St James' Fair This originated in a fair held in St. James's Fields, before the square was built, and from which Mayfair partly derives its name.

The Haymarket derives its name from a market for hay and straw which was held there until 1830, and was then transferred to Cumberland Market, Regent's Park.

Her Majesty's Theatre Operas were subsequently performed here; in fact, nearly all Handel's operas were written for this theatre.

The Theatre Royal, Haymarket Mozart performed here in 1765, when only eight years old.

The Strand This important street might be considered either as a street of palaces - and in this respect not to be surpassed by any street in medieval Europe, not even Venice - or a street full of associations, connected chiefly with retail trade, taverns, shops, sedan-chairs, and hackney coaches.

Savoy Palace In the thirteenth century Henry III gave Peter of Savoy "all those houses in the Thames on the way called the Strand."

Craven Street On the south side is Craven Street, formerly Spur Alley, where once Benjamin Franklin lived at No. 7.

Hungerford Market Cromwell gave the house to Fairfax, whose daughter married the second Duke of Buckingham, of the Villiers family.

Charing Cross Hospital In Chandos Street the highwayman Claude Duval was arrested, after which he was executed at Tyburn, 1669.

Durham House Henry VIII gave a great tournament at Durham House on his marriage with Anne of Cleves.

The New Exchange became fashionable after the Restoration, and, after a period of popularity lasting a little more than fifty years, it was taken down.

Adelphi Terrace Robert Adam had been much struck in his foreign travels with the palace of Diocletian on the Bay of Spalatro.

Coutt's Bank deserves some special notice. It was established by a goldsmith of the name of Middleton, who kept a shop near St. Martin's Church about 1692.

The Adelphi Theatre stands on the north side of the Strand, but is identified by name with this district; it was originally called the Sans Pareil.

Worcester House In Worcester House the Duke of Ormond was installed Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and in 1674 the Duke of Monmouth Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

Exeter Hall Exeter Street and Hall (north) preserve the name of Exeter House, built by Lord Burleigh.

The Beefsteak Society The Lyceum Theatre stands on the site of the English Opera-House, burnt down in 1830, which during many years was the home of a quaint convivial gathering, called the Beefsteak Society, founded by Rich and Lambert in 1735.

Savoy Chapel The little graveyard garden, with its waving trees, is a veritable oasis in the desert of brick and mortar, and the quaint chapel with its turret forms a suitable background.

The Precinct of Savoy 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.

John of Gaunt Chaucer, Froissart and Wycliff are mentioned as having been his frequent guests.

Somerset House The great palace called Somerset House was at first built by the Protector Somerset, brother of Jane Seymour.

King's College The east wing of Somerset House is occupied by King's College, founded in 1828.

Arundel House On the east side of Somerset House stood Arundel House, originally Bath's Inn, as the town-house of the Bishop of Bath and Wells.

St Mary le Strand St Mary le Strand was the first of the fifty new churches ordered by Queen Anne (not all built), and it was at first called New Church.

Roman Bath Some way down Strand Lane there is a notice pointing out a Roman bath which is still in existence and well worth seeing.

William Congreve William Congreve was also a resident in Howard Street, removing afterwards to Surrey Street, where he died in 1729.

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes Church, at the east end of the Strand, is said to have been so called because the Danes who remained after Alfred's final victory were made to live in this quarter.

Essex House Essex House was rebuilt. But it seemed to have some malignant influence, for nearly all its successive owners suffered some unhappy fate.

Temple Bar One of the decorations of the later gateway consisted of iron spikes on which the heads of traitors were displayed, notably those of the men incriminated in the rebellions of the eighteenth century.

Fickett's Field A large part of The parish of St Clement Danes, stretching from Lincoln's Inn Fields to the Strand, was known as Fickett's Field, and was the jousting-place of the Templars.

The Beggar's Opera In 1717 the first English opera was performed here, and in 1727 the "Beggar's Opera" was produced with unprecedented success.

The Kitcat Club The well-known Kitcat Club met here originally. This was a society of thirty-nine gentlemen or noblemen zealously attached to the Protestant succession in the House of Hanover, and originated about 1700.

Lincoln's Inn Fields The history of Lincoln's Inn Fields is a curious combination of rascality and of aristocracy.

Clare Market It was in Clare Market that Orator Henley had his chapel. The market was one chiefly for meat, and the shops and sheds were mainly occupied by butchers.

Drury Lane Drury Lane was once a fashionable quarter, but lost that reputation before many of its contemporaries, and since the time of the third William has borne a more or less vile character.

Drury Lane Theatre The Drury Lane Theatre has many interesting associations. It was built by Killigrew in 1663, and was called the King's House, under which title Pepys recalls many visits to it.

Punch Crown Court recalls the Crown Tavern where Punch was first projected.

The Gaiety Theatre The work of demolition is going on as far as Catherine Street, where the Gaiety theatre still stands (1903), though not for long, for the second great scimitar sweep of the new street will join the Strand here.

Westminster Convent Garden In the first year of his reign Edward VI granted it to the Duke of Somerset.

Covent Garden Piazza The arcade, or Piazza, as it was called, was a fashionable lounging-place, and many foundling children were called Piazza in its honour.

Art Prints of London