Prince Henry's Room is situated on the first floor at the front of No. 17 Fleet Street,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. The house is one of the few surviving buildings in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

dating from before the Great Fire of London in 1666. It is a Grade II*

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 ...

History

The site was once owned by the

Templars , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

, but after the dissolution of the Order of St John, the building was rebuilt in 1610 and became a tavern called ''Prince's Arms''. This coincided with the investiture of Prince Henry, son of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. During the 17th century, the house was known as the ''Fountain Inn'' and was visited by Samuel Pepys on 14 October 1661. He wrote "''In the afternoon Captain Ferrers and I walked abroad to several places; among others, to Mr. Pim's my Lord's tailors and there he went out with us to the Fountain tavern and did give us store of wine.''" On 28 November 1661, Pepys wrote "''to the Fountain tavern and there stayed till 12 at night, drinking and singing, Mr. Symons and one Mr. Agar singing very well. Then Mr. Gauden, being almost drunk, had the wit to be gone; and so I took leave too''" During the early 19th century a famous exhibition "Mrs Salmon's Waxworks" was held in the front part of the house, whilst the tavern continued in the rear. The house became the property of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

in 1900 with the aid of a contribution from the City of London Corporation. It later passed to the City of London Corporation, which administers the property now. It is currently only viewable when special events are held there, and the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

has recently completed a consultation with interested parties regarding the room's usage. The main feature is the fine and rare highly decorated Jacobean plaster ceiling, with the

Prince of Wales's feathers The Prince of Wales's feathers is the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, during the use of the title by the English and later British monarchy. It consists of three white ostrich feathers emerging from a gold coronet. A ribbon below the corone ...

and the initials "PH" in the centre. There is one wall of original Jacobean wood

panelling Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

left; the other panelling is Georgian. The unexceptional fireplace has a wood surround and panelling above, with an inscription above recording the connection with the diarist and great naval administrator, Samuel Pepys. There are also fine leaded lights with coats of arms and badges, best seen from within the room. From 1975, the room was a museum which hosted a Samuel Pepys exhibition — Pepys was born in Fleet Street in 1633. The Samuel Pepys Club financed much of the original 1975 exhibition. The museum was closed to the public after a decade or so and is now empty of all furniture save for a large table. Lord Thurlow frequented the place before he went on to practise law in the 1770s. It later became a hairdressers and a plaque used to state it was once the home or palace of Henry the VIII also Cardinal Wolsey lived there. The enriched ceiling was plastered with a"P" triple plumed. Once the Management of the Duchy of Cornwall held their sittings here in the time of Charles I, on or about 1619 (see Mrs Green's "Calendar of State Papers").John Timbs; Clubs and Club Life In London. 1872

References

*''

The London Encyclopaedia ''The London Encyclopaedia'', first published in 1983, is a 1100-page historical reference work on the United Kingdom's capital city, London. The encyclopaedia covers the Greater London area. Development The first edition of the encyclopaedia w ...

'' p. 639,

Ben Weinreb Benjamin Weinreb (1912–1999) was a British bookseller and expert on the history of London who in 1968 sold his entire stock to the University of Texas.Museums with year of establishment missing Individual rooms Timber framed buildings in England Historic house museums in London Literary museums in London Museums in the City of London Houses in the City of London Grade II* listed buildings in the City of London Defunct museums in London

History

See also

References