LIX. No. 44 QUEEN ANNE'S GATE: (Formerly No. 18 Queen Square).
Ground Landlord.
The freehold belongs to the Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd.
General Description.
On 5th April, 1726, the South Sea Company Trustees sold (fn. 1) to David
Petty for £830 "all that peice or parcell of ground and the brick messuage
thereon now or late in the occupation of Mrs. Weatherly, being the eleventh
house on the north side of Queen Square," with a frontage of 22 feet 6 inches
and depth of 35 feet 9 inches. The house is said to contain three storeys with
two rooms on each floor, garrets in the roof, a kitchen, washhouse and
other conveniences below stairs, a small vault under the street, a yard 32 feet
3 inches deep in the rear, and an iron railing on each side of the door.
The premises consist of a three-storey brick front over a basement with
a tiled dormer roof.
The entrance door has a projecting coved hood supported on shaped
brackets, and was no doubt designed and constructed in conjunction with
the doorway to No. 46. The exteriors of the two premises bear a strong
resemblance in the balance of their fenestration, and were probably erected
as a pair and had the wood modillion cornice to the eaves continued across
the united front. Their plans and the general lines of their back elevations
also correspond.
The interiors of the rooms are plain. The walls have plain panelling
with a wood cornice, but the mantelpieces are of later date. The staircase
has turned balusters, moulded close strings and square newels, while the walls
are panelled.
Condition of Repair.
The premises have recently had alterations carried out to the back wing. The general
condition is good.
Historical Notes.
According to the ratebooks the occupiers of the house up to 1840 were:—
|
| 1706–21 | — Weatherley. |
| 1722–23 | Mme. Weatherley. |
| 1724–34 | Lord Windsor. |
| 1736–41 | Major Jonathan Driver. |
| 1742–44 | Captain Hawker. |
| 1745–61 | John Castell. |
| 1762 | Mrs. Castell. |
| 1763–82 | Jas. Harper. |
| 1783 | Wm. Brodie. |
| 1784–87 | Fr. Waring. |
| 1788 | Major Gregory. |
| 1789 | J. P. Duvall. |
| 1790–95 | Sir Henry Trelawney. |
| 1799–1806 | Rev. Wm. Percy. (fn. 2) |
| 1808–09 | Jas. (Gervaise) Wylde. |
| 1810–18 | Nat. Thoms. |
| 1819–28 | Jas. Ollier. |
| 1829–39 | Wm. Green. |
| 1840 | John Archer. |
In the Council's Collection are:—
(fn. 3) General view of exterior (photograph).
General view of staircase (photograph).