Seth Smith (15 December 1791 – 18 June 1860) was a

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 ...

property developer, who was responsible in the early part of the 19th century for developing large parts of the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

, including the

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

and

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

districts. Much of the West End in the 1820s was an undesirable, swampy, crime-infested area on the outskirts of the city, but Smith with Thomas Cubitt and the Cundy brothers, notably

Thomas Cundy (junior) Thomas Cundy the younger (1790 – 15 July 1867) was an English architect, son of another architect of the same name. He joined his father's practice and ultimately succeeded his father as surveyor of the Grosvenor Estate, and held the posit ...

, envisioned several large-scale development projects that transformed the West End into a thriving part of the city. Although most of Smith's buildings in the now affluent Mayfair district have since been demolished, many of his Belgravia buildings still stand including the

pantechnicon A pantechnicon van was originally a furniture removal van drawn by horses and used by the British company "The Pantechnicon" for delivering and collecting furniture which its customers wished to store. The name is a word largely of British Engl ...

from which the name of the van derives from. Smith made his home at Eaton Square in Belgravia, which was part of one of his development projects. He died on 18 June 1860 at the age of 68 in the

St George Hanover Square St George Hanover Square was a civil parish created in 1724 in the Liberty of Westminster, Middlesex, which was later part of the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of St George's, Hanove ...

parish of London, and he is buried in West Norwood Cemetery. Residence - 33 Eton Square, Belgravia, London.

Family

He was the son of Rev. Seth Smith, who was from

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church of S ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Rose of

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

, on 7 March 1815. One of his grandsons was

David Seth-Smith David Seth-Smith FZS, MBOU (9 March 1875 – 30 October 1963) was a British zoologist, wildlife artist, nature broadcaster and author. His career included spells as Curator of Mammals and Birds for the Zoological Society of London and edit ...

, who was a well known zoologist, and another,

William Howard Seth-Smith III William Howard Seth Smith (23 August 1852 – 30 August 1928) was a British architect. He is best known for his contributions to churches and schools in the Surrey area. Biography William Howard Seth-Smith was born into a noted Scottish archite ...

, who was a noted architect. Also, his 3rd great-grandson is William Pleydell-Bouverie, 9th Earl of Radnor. Another 3rd great-grandson was Sir John Gilmour, 4th Baronet of Lundin & Montrave. One of his 4th great-grandsons is Richie McCaw who was captain of the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

References

External links

Seth Smith's Buildings
1860 deaths Businesspeople from London Real estate and property developers 1791 births 19th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1790s-stub