Henrietta Street is a street in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, that was once home to a number of artists and later became the location of many publishing firms.

Location

Henrietta Street is near to Covent Garden piazza. It continues

Southampton Street Southampton Street is a street in central London, running north from the Strand to Covent Garden Market. There are restaurants in the street such as Bistro 1 and Wagamama. There are also shops such as The North Face outdoor clothing shop. ...

at its eastern end and joins

Bedford Street The Bedford Estate is an estate in central London owned by the Russell family, which holds the peerage title of Duke of Bedford. The estate was originally based in Covent Garden, then stretched to include Bloomsbury in 1669. Henrietta Street was first planned from 1631 and building was completed by 1634. Although the street plan is unchanged from the original, most of the houses are of nineteenth-century construction. The street was named after the consort of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

."Henrietta Street and Maiden Lane Area: Henrietta Street"
''Survey of London: Volume 36'', 1970, pp. 230–239. Retrieved: 29 September 2014. The street was originally shorter than it is now but in 1705–06, Bedford House, a timber building of 1552 that fronted the

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline *Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa *Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street, ...

, was demolished and the south side of Henrietta Street extended to the where it is now joined by Southampton Street. The original occupants of the street were mainly tradesmen but later members of the nobility had houses in the street. By 1667 there were five shops, and ten by 1669. In the early 1700s,

John Strype John Strype (1 November 1643 – 11 December 1737) was an English clergyman, historian and biographer from London. He became a merchant when settling in Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydon Bois, Essex and lat ...

described the street as "generally taken up by eminent Tradesmen, as Mercers, Lacemen, Drapers, etc". In 1763, Thomas Mortimer's ''The Universal Director'' recorded that there were twelve residents, who included three artists, a baker, a surgeon, a linen draper, two stockbrokers, a mercer and three apothecaries. By the 1870s the street had become the home of a number of publishing firms and in 1874 ''

The Builder ''Building'' is one of the United Kingdom's oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as ''The Builder'' in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed ''Bu ...

'' described it as "fast becoming the Paternoster-row of the West End". Among publishers,

Williams and Norgate Williams and Norgate were publishers and book importers in London and Edinburgh. They specialized in both British and foreign scholarly and scientific literature. Williams & Norgate was founded in the winter of 1842 by Edmund Sydney Williams (181 ...

had their offices at number 14 and in the twentieth century

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Christ ...

were in the street. More recently,

Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...

and

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media co ...

have had offices in Henrietta Street. In 1885, the Theatrical Mission opened Macready House as a club for vulnerable young women working in the nearby London theatres. Cheap lunches and teas were provided, and arrangements made to look after any children employed on the stage. Later, accommodation was also provided.

Inhabitants

Catherine Clive “Kitty” (Willem Verelst 1740)

In 1690, Colonel Mordaunt Cracherode, father of

Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (1730–1799) was an English book and old master print collector, and a major benefactor of the British Museum. Life His father, Colonel Mordaunt Cracherode, later a general, had command of the marines in George Ans ...

and in charge of the marines during George Anson's voyage round the world, lived in the street.''Plan of Bedford House, Covent Garden, &c. Taken about 1690.'' Map. John Charles Crowle. Published by John Thomas Smith, London, 1809. From 1747 to 1758,

seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used of images of land in art. By a similar devel ...

painter Samuel Scott lived at No. 2, overlooking the Piazza. In 1761, the actress

Kitty Clive Catherine Clive (née Raftor; 5 November 1711 – 6 December 1785) Catherine ‘Kitty’ Clive (1711-1785, active 1728-1769) was a first songster and star comedienne of British playhouse entertainment. Clive led and created new forms of English ...

lived in the street. In 1814,

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

visited her brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

at number 10, where he was then living.

Listed buildings

There are a number of

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s in the street. Number 25–29 on the north side is the former St. Peter's Hospital which is

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and the largest building in the street. The hospital was designed by

J. M. Brydon John McKean Brydon (1840 – 25 May 1901) was a Scottish architect who developed a practice in designing public buildings, particularly hospitals, in London. He designed the St Peter's Hospital in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden (1880–84), the ...

in the "Queen Anne" style and opened in 1882.

Henry Clutton Henry Clutton (19 March 1819 – 27 June 1893)Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Photograph , http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pis&GScid=1366392&GRid=12186732&PIgrid=12186732&PIcrid=1366392&PIpi=3000944& was an English arch ...

, the ninth Duke of Bedford's architect, required amendments to be made to the design to suit the Bedford Estate's requirements. The building was constructed in such a way as to allow it to be converted in the future into residential flats and chambers.

Coffee houses

Several coffee houses existed in the street. The earliest known is Braxton's (1702) at number 24, which became Rawthmell's in 1715 and later moved to number 25. The

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

was formed at Rawthmell's in 1754.

Pubs

In the mid-seventeenth century there were five

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Henrietta Street but following the suppression of the Unicorn Tavern at No. 37 by the Bedford Estate in the 1880s there ceased to be pubs in the street. There were none in 1970 when Sheppard's ''Survey of London'' was produced and there are none today, though there are several bars and eating places. In 1772, the poet

Sheridan Sheridan may refer to: People Surname *Sheridan (surname) *Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named *Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician ...

fought a duel with Matthews at the Castle Tavern, located on the north corner with Bedford Street, after Matthews insulted Sheridan in the ''

Bath Chronicle The ''Bath Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper, first published under various titles before 1760 in Bath, England. Prior to September 2007, it was published daily. The ''Bath Chronicle'' serves Bath, northern Somerset and west Wiltshire. History ...

''.

References

External links

* Covent Garden Streets in the City of Westminster Bedford Estate {{coords, 51.5112, -0.1232, display=title