George Laurence Gomme

“ Ulick De Burgh, Marquess of Clanricarde, Earl of St. Albans, was born “in Clanricarde House, Great Queen Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London” [226] in 1604. The exact position of this house is not known, but it must have been on the north side of the street, as the south was not built on for many years afterwards. From his father he inherited, together with the viscounty of Galway, vast estates and an enormous influence in the south of Ireland. He sat in the Short Parliament, and accompanied the King in his expedition against the Scots in 1640. ”

“ The dining room contains a carved wood mantelpiece (Plate 67) and “Empire” grate; the chimney breast above being ornamented with an oval plaque surrounded with floral festoons. The lowest member of the cornice should be noticed, as it is similar to that in the dining room of No. 13, Leverton’s own house, and is composed of diminutive Greek Doric pillars suspended by their capitals, a somewhat unusual form of decoration suggestive of tassels.
The first floor has two rooms, that in the front containing a white marble chimneypiece. The rear room is the studio. ”

“ When the Bloomsbury Rentals of His Grace the Duke of Bedford begin in 1729 they show Sir Thomas Coke, Lord Lovel, in occupation of the house. Sir Thomas Coke was a son of Edward Coke of Holkham. In 1718 he married Lady Margaret Tufton, daughter and co-heir of the 6th Earl of Thanet. In 1728 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Lovel, of Minster Lovel, and in 1744 was created Viscount Coke, of Holkham, and Earl of Leicester. ”

“ The most northerly of the five large houses existing here at the beginning of the 17th century was the White House. This was, in 1618, when it was sold by Robert Lloyd to Isaac Bringhurst, [609] in the occupation of Edmund Verney, and was then described as “all that one messuage or tenement, with appurtenances, commonly known by the name of the White House, and one yard, one garden and one long walke, and one stable with a hay lofte over the same.” In 1631 it was purchased by Lady Dudley, [610] who three years later transferred [611] it to trustees to be used for the purposes of a parsonage. ”

“ At the time a lease of the premises for three lives was held by Edward Smith, and this was not determined until 1681, when the house had become “very ruinous and scarcely habitable.” [612] The Rector at once entered into an agreement with John Boswell, a hatmaker of St. Dunstan’s West, for rebuilding, and it was arranged that the houses to be erected on the site should be built “with all materials and scantlings conformable to the third rate buildings prescribed by the Act of Parliament for rebuilding the City of London.” The result was presumably Dudley Court, now Denmark Place. ”

“ In 1657, 95Weld House and Stradling House underwent a complete transformation, the two houses were united together and became one building, having, besides extensive additions made to it, a chapel [468] built in the garden; the front arranged to face Aldwyche Close instead of Drury Lane, and an approach made to it called Weld Street. This extraordinary enlargement was not to make the building a residence suitable to the dignity of the Welds, but rather for State purposes, such as the accommodation of princes and ambassadors in London. ”

“ From 1730 onwards, until the date of acquisition by the Freemasons, the occupants of the house were as follows:—
George Parker, second Earl of Macclesfield, was born in 1697. He married in 1722 Mary Lane, [372] and succeeded to the earldom in 1732, at which time he was resident in Soho Square. [373] He had a great taste for mathematics, in which he had been instructed by Abraham de Moivre and William Jones, and, aided by James Bradley, who afterwards, by his influence, became astronomer-royal, erected about 1739 an astronomical observatory at his residence at Shirburn Castle, Oxfordshire. ”

“ In 1793 he was appointed King’s counsel, but shortly afterwards relinquished his legal career and devoted himself to politics, a decision probably influenced by the fact that he had in 1789 married the daughter of Lord North, afterwards second Earl of Guildford. In 1794 he became Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and was elected a member of the Irish Parliament. In the same year, he was sworn a member of the English privy council, and in 1795 he relinquished his secretarial position and was returned to the English Parliament as member for Fowey. ”

“ In the ratebook for 1700 no name appears against the house, but in those for 1703 and 1709 Earl Rivers is shown in occupation. Richard, the fourth Earl (“Tyburn Dick”) was handsome, brave, and a most notorious rake. As Lord Colchester (a title he obtained after his elder brother’s death) , he had been the first nobleman to welcome the Prince of Orange on his landing. During William’s reign he saw a great deal of military service in Ireland and on the Continent. ”

“ William Short does not appear to have taken any steps to develop the property for 15 years. On 28th July, 1615, however, he leased to Walter Burton the southern portion of the field. [131] From particulars obtained from a number of deeds it is known that the ground in question extended 50 feet on either side of Parker Street, i.e., from the southern boundary of the field as far north as the site of the garden afterwards in the occupation of John Fotherly. [132] Whether the lease actually included the site of the garden, it is not possible to say with certainty. ”

“ Thus, there are shown the four cottages by the White Hart, opposite the Pale Pingle, the Pale Pingle itself, and the land extending from Little Turnstile to Little Queen Street, including Green’s premises, the only building which in the royal grant is dignified with the name of “house.” It is therefore suggested with confidence that the plan in question is a copy of the one appended to the grant of 1609. With this assumption the title “Queene streete,” given to the still unformed thoroughfare entering Purse Field is in entire accord. ”

“ The lease [757] granted on 20th November, 1777, of No. 45, Bedford Square, refers to that house’s eastern boundary as “a messuage lately erected.”
No. 46 forms the western half of the central feature on the southern side of the square. It will be noticed in the photograph (Plate 97) that an unusual expedient has been adopted by introducing a central pilaster.
The staircase is of stone, with wrought-iron balustrade of coupled plain bars, alternating with balusters of scroll work. The handrail is of mahogany, and the lighting is obtained by an oval-shaped lantern. ”

“ On 27th March, 1630, both Digby and Stradling petitioned for a licence for each “to build a house with stables and coach houses in Old Witch Close.” The Attorney-General was instructed to draw the licence, but although Stradling in due course built his mansion [198] , there is no evidence that Digby ever availed himself of the permission.
The ground seems to have been used as a garden [199] until 1635. On 13th April in that year Digby sold it to William Newton for building purposes. ”

“ It may, therefore be taken for granted that no houses had at that time been built on the north side of Sardinia Street. In 1652 the land came into the hands of Humphrey Weld [487] who apparently developed the Duke Street frontage of his property at the same time as the Wild Street frontage. There is a record of one house in Duke Street built by Weld “to which hee added a yard or backside” and let on 5th October, 1661, on a 21 years’ lease. [488] Moreover, it will be noticed that Hollar’s Plan of 1658 (Plate 3) shows the Duke Street frontage fully built. ”

“ Giles-in-the-Fields. Downes, it is stated, purchased the property from Thomas Carew, son and heir of Sir Wymonde Carew, to whom it had been sold by Lord Lisle.
The four acres subsequently passed to John Graunge, in 1566, whose son sold them in 1611 to Robert Lloyd (otherwise called Floyd or Flood) . On the latter’s death in 1617, he was found to be seized of and in a house with a garden on the east side, a barn and garden on the south of the house, and a stable and two closes of pasture, containing four acres, adjoining the barn and garden. ”

“ Ralph disliked the position of the church, and would have altered its direction, making what is the east end the main front, and placing it in such a manner as to have ended the vista of Broad Street.
The interior (Plate 49) is much finer than the exterior would suggest, and is an excellent example of a well thought-out design. Square panelled piers rising to the underside of the galleries support Ionic columns with block entablatures, all of Portland stone (Plate 46) . These carry the roof and ceiling. ”

“ He at once sprang into favour and became king’s counsel. In 1671 he was made solicitor-general and received the honour of knighthood. In 1673, he succeeded Finch as attorney-general, and in 1675 was appointed chief justice of the common pleas. On the death of the Earl of Nottingham in 1682 he succeeded him as Lord Keeper, and from that day, his brother Roger says, “he never (as poor folks say) , joyed after it, and he hath often vowed to me that he had not known a peaceful minute since he touched that cursed seal.” [401] In 1683 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Guilford. ”

“ They had intelligence that the constables were to come and present the names of all church absentees popishly affected; [314] so they consulted in my absence and resolved to set the bill on the door, and give it out my Lady Rivers was in the country, Sir Francis Petre [315] in common garden [316] out of the parish, Sir Will. Persall gone to live at his house in the country, none but servants left; when everyday half-a-dozen coaches come to visit us, and the baskets of meat as full as ever, and two or three brewers still carrying in ale and beer ”

“ Whether the house leased to the Earl of March was one of the two (the other being The Greyhound) purchased by Short in 1590, or a house quite recently built, there is no evidence to show.
The Earl, in February, 1623–4, succeeded to the dukedom of Lennox, and on 30th July of the same year he died. His widow [495] continued to reside at the house. Letters from her, headed “Drury Lane,” and 102dating from 1625 to 1629, are extant, [496] and she also, in 1628, joined with other “inhabitants adjoining the house of the Countess of Castlehaven, in Drury Lane,” in a petition to the Privy Council. ”

“ On the landing of the Prince of Orange he took up arms in his favour, and afterwards was appointed to numerous official positions, becoming Lord Lieutenant of Devonshire, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and President of the Board of Trade and Foreign Plantations. On the accession of Anne, he was dismissed from all his offices, but afterwards regained his position at the head of the Board of Trade. He died in 1720. His residence in Great Queen Street must have terminated some time before 1703, at which date “Henry Browne” is shown in occupation. ”

“ Signature of William Newton.
Newton seems to have taken care that the houses erected on that part of Great Queen Street which was on the site of Purse Field should conform generally to the style of those built in accordance with the above-mentioned licence on the site of Aldwych Close [202] . The houses as a whole occupied 13 ground plots, having a total frontage of about 628 feet, and a depth of 200 feet. ”

“ When the 112 acres composing the Duke of Bedford’s Bloomsbury estate were developed, over 20 acres were laid out as gardens for the use of the occupiers of the houses overlooking them. [703] This estate, with its wide streets and spacious squares, is an excellent example of early town planning, and affords an illustration of the advantages gained by the community when a large area such as this is dealt with on generous lines by the owner. ”

“ After a visit to the west of England and stay of “many days” 78at Bristol, she removed from Great Queen Street to No. 13, Hatton Garden, a house which had been recently built. [381] Her remarkable beauty caused her to receive many attentions, and she was neglected by her husband. On his imprisonment for debt, however, after less than two years’ married life, she shared his confinement, and was for nearly ten months in the King’s Bench Prison. She then secured an engagement at Drury Lane, where she made her first appearance in December, 1776, as Juliet. Her stage career lasted until May, 1780. ”

“ Conway died at Lyons in 1655 [387] , and was succeeded by his son Edward, the third Viscount and first Earl of Conway, born about 1623. He held several important military appointments, and was for two years, 1681–3, secretary of state for the north department. He was the author of a work entitled Opuscula Philosophica. He was married three times, his first wife being Anne, the daughter of Sir Henry Finch. Lady Conway was a most accomplished woman, her chief study being metaphysical science, which she carried on with the utmost assiduity in spite of tormenting headaches which never left her. ”

“ On 4th April, 1299, [592] it was granted to the Hospital of Burton Lazars in Leicestershire. It thus became a cell to that house, and a member of the order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. Except for a short intermission, it remained under the control of the house of Burton Lazars until the dissolution in 1539, but it must long before have ceased to serve its original purpose. Its constitution during the later period of its existence is obscure, but the place of the lepers was probably taken by infirm persons, when leprosy became extinct. ”

“ This was George, the second Earl, who was born at Madrid, in October, 1612. When only twelve years old he appeared at the bar of the House of Commons on behalf of his father, who had been committed to the Tower, and his graceful person, gallant bearing, and eloquent speech made a great impression. He enjoyed a distinguished career at Oxford, and afterwards displayed some literary ability in the Letters between 53the Lord George Digby and Sir Kenelm Digby, Knt., concerning Religion, written in 1638–9. ”

“ In 1696 a private Act [404] was obtained, which, after reciting that there was a mansion house, with stables and outhouses, in Queen Street, St. Giles, forming portion of the estate belonging to the Marchioness of Normanby [405] (life tenant) and of the estate belonging to Popham Seymour alias Conway, and that the house was liable to fall down from want of repair, gave authority to arrange with a builder to effect the repairs and to let the house for 51 years at a proper rent. ”