Monmouth House was a 17th-century mansion in

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered s ...

(then called King’s Square) built for the

Duke of Monmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

, the oldest illegitimate son of King Charles II. After the Duke's execution for attempting to lead a rebellion against the unpopular Catholic successor to Charles, James II, the house was owned by the Bateman family and loaned to various important people including the French ambassador before being demolished in 1773.

History

In 1681, the Duke of Monmouth leased a large site on the South side of the square from Richard Frith and his partner Cadogan Thomas of Lambeth (a timber merchant), in association with Benjamin Hinton (citizen and goldsmith), and William Nutt of London (a merchant). Monmouth House occupied the south side of what was then called King’s Square. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built in 1677 by a Mr Ford. Today, there is an alley running through the site connecting Soho Square to Bateman Street, called Bateman's Buildings after

Viscount Bateman Viscount Bateman was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 12 July 1725 for William Bateman, previously Member of Parliament for Leominster and the son of Sir James Bateman, Lord Mayor of London from 1716 to 1717. He was made Baron ...

, who owned Monmouth House in the mid-18th Century before it was demolished. The house was redesigned by architect Thomas Archer for Lord Bateman's father, Sir James Bateman, Lord Mayor of London. Archer also used the architectural design of a

broken pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pediment ...

on the façade in

Chettle House Chettle House is a Grade I listed country manor house with Queen Anne style architecture in Chettle, North Dorset, England, about northeast of the town of Blandford Forum. It was built in 1710 for George Chafin, to designs of the architect Thomas ...

, Dorset, whose roof was demolished in 1773, and in

Roehampton House Roehampton House is a Grade I listed house at Roehampton Lane, Roehampton, London. What is now the central block of the current building was built between 1710 and 1712 by the architect Thomas Archer and named Roehampton House. It was built on b ...

, where the damaged pediment was removed after 1780. Monmouth-House-Plaque_(14026407388)

It is not entirely clear why the Bateman family decided to demolish the house, but at the end of the 18th century the area seems to have fallen out of fashion: "as the stream of fashion was setting westwards, they he Bateman familytravelled along with it, and, pulling down the mansion, let out the site on building leases." The house was pulled down in 1773, which freed up space for more houses in

Frith Street Frith Street is in the Soho area of London. To the north is Soho Square and to the south is Shaftesbury Avenue. The street crosses Old Compton Street, Bateman Street and Romilly Street. History Frith Street was laid out in the late 1670s an ...

, which runs south out of Soho Square. ''See also Numbering changes in Frith Street''.

References

{{coord, 51.5147, -0.1318, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Demolished buildings and structures in London 1677 establishments in England Soho Square