Sites of No. 37 Henrietta Street
and No. 1 King Street
All the early views of the west side of the
Piazza show on either side of the church and
churchyard two houses, which Sir John Summerson has described as 'of obviously Jonesian proportions', and which were clearly an integral part
of the original architectural scheme (see page 70
and Plates 11, 12, 13a, 26).
(ref. 155)
In July 1633 the fourth Earl of Bedford
granted to Edward Palmer, citizen and girdler of
London, a thirty-six-year lease of the site at the
south-east corner of the churchyard upon which
Palmer had already built two new houses—one
facing the Piazza (No. 37 on fig. 45) and the
other in Henrietta Street (No. 36). (ref. 3) When the
first leases for the building up of Henrietta Street
were granted in 1631 it appears that all or part
of the site subsequently leased to Palmer had been
reserved for a vestry house, but this plan was
evidently not carried out. (ref. 156) The house on the
corner was first occupied in 1633. (ref. 42)
In 1729–30 No. 37, in common with most of
the north side of Henrietta Street, was demolished
and replaced by a house of the best second rate.
The articles of agreement for the rebuilding
specify a four-storey house in which the height of
the rooms on the ground storey were to be 9
feet, on the second storey 9 feet 6 inches, on the
third storey 8 feet 6 inches and on the garret
storey 7 feet. The front of the house was to be
faced with grey stock bricks and the parapet coped
with stone (ref. 157) (see Plates 15b, 29b). By this time
a licensed victualler was the occupant, (ref. 158) and
from then until its demolition in 1888 to make
way for the present building (now No. 34), the
house was a tavern, which by 1743 was called the
Unicorn. (ref. 159)
The site at the north-east corner of the churchyard, like that at the south-east corner, was a
double one. In March 1632/3 the fourth Earl
granted a thirty-six-year lease of the site to
Thomas Turney of St. Martin's in the Fields,
bricklayer, upon which he had already built two
messuages, one facing the Piazza (No. 1 King
Street on fig. 45) and the other in King Street
(No. 2). (ref. 2) The lease ends with a clause in which
Turney 'warrants and assures' the Earl that he
'hath erected and builte the said two messuages
and tenements well and sufficiently and in all
things suitable and like for height and strength
and for thicknes of Brickworke and scantlings of
timber and good workmanshipp to the two messuages and tenements builte by William [sic]
Palmer att the South east corner of the said
Churchyard and fronting towards the Piaza'. (ref. 2)
No. 1 was first occupied in 1635. (ref. 42)
Unlike No. 37 Henrietta Street, No. 1 King
Street did not survive into the eighteenth century.
In August 1689 the fifth Earl granted a building
lease of the site to Richard Bentley of St. Paul's,
Covent Garden, stationer. (ref. 22) The new house,
which was built to conform with the specifications of the 'best Second Rate', was five bays wide
with a steeply pitched roof and did not reproduce
the Jonesian style or scale of the original (see
Plates 28a, 30a).
In 1753–4 No. 1 King Street was rebuilt again.
In August 1753 the fourth Duke granted a building lease to Samuel Smyth, orange merchant, but
the house itself was apparently designed and built
by John Tinkler, carpenter, of St. Paul's, Covent
Garden (Plate 29b). (ref. 160) Tinkler's estimates
provide for a four-storey house in which the
height of the rooms on the ground storey were to
be 9 feet 6 inches, on the second storey 10 feet, on
the third storey 8 feet and on the garret storey 7
feet. Most of the rooms were to have wainscoting 3 feet 6 inches high, a single cornice and a
Portland stone chimneypiece. The dining-room
on the first floor was to have wainscoting with
ovolo-moulded and flat panels 'and Ioneck Cornice
fully Inricht'. The back parlour on the ground
floor was to be wainscoted to the top with ovolo
and flat panels and a double cornice: both these
rooms were to have veined marble chimneypieces.
The ground storey was to contain a shop front.
It was estimated that the cost of rebuilding this
house, together with No. 2, which was also being
rebuilt by Tinkler, would be £900. (ref. 161)
The house was demolished in 1883–4 to make
way for the present building, which is described
on page 153. (ref. 162)