D'Arblay Street is a street in the

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

district of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

, London, named after

Frances Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

(Madame d'Arblay). It was formerly known as Portland Street and was built on land owned by the Dukes of Portland known as Doghouse Close. D'Arblay Street runs from

Poland Street Poland Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Oxford Street in the north to Broadwick Street in the south. It was named after the "King of Poland" pub, which was renamed in honour of Poland's K ...

in the west to

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...

in the east. It is crossed only by

Berwick Street Berwick Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster built between 1687 and 1703. Berwick Street runs between Oxford Street to the north and Peter Street at the south. History Berwick Street was built between 1687 and 1 ...

. On its south side are Portland Mews and Wardour Mews.

History

D'Arblay Street was laid out in 1735 as Portland Street on the site of the former Doghouse Close, the same land on which Noel Street and the north part of Berwick Street were built. The land was in the ownership of the Dukes of Portland, and leases were granted by the Duke, and the Duchess of Portland when the Duke was a minor, to building tradesmen such as masons and bricklayers to enable houses to be erected. The first houses in Portland Street were built in 1737 and the street was completed by around 1744. The earliest buildings in the street are numbers 2–4, 10, 11, 13, 24 and 25, which all date from around 1740. Numbers 20–23 and 32–34 have nineteenth-century fronts but may incorporate the structure of earlier buildings. The remainder of the buildings are more recent."D'Arblay and Noel Street Area"
British History Online. Retrieved 29 September 2015. The George public house is located at the eastern end on the corner with Berwick Street. A public house has stood on the site since at least 1739. The current building was constructed in 1897. No. 8 D'Arblay Street was formerly The Britannia public house owned by

Watney Combe Reid Watney Combe & Reid was a leading brewery in London. At its peak in the 1930s it was a constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. It produced Watney's Red Barrel. History The Watney family were the mai ...

. A Welsh Wesleyan chapel existed at number 16 towards the end of the nineteenth century. In 1909, the street was renamed D'Arblay Street after

Madame D'Arblay Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post as "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

whose childhood home (1760–1770) was at number 50 in nearby Poland Street.Bebbington, Gillian. (1972) ''London Street Names''. London: B.T. Batsford. p. 108.

References

External links

{{coords, 51.5145, -0.1362, display=title Streets in the City of Westminster Soho, London