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 sit ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 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 at its eastern end and joins
Bedford Street in the west.
History

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.
["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, was demolished and the south side of Henrietta Street extended to the place 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 Market, Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydo ...
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'' described it as "fast becoming the Paternoster-row of the West End". Among publishers, Williams and Norgate 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 politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...
were in the street. More recently, Greenwood Publishing Group
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of ...
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 cong ...
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
In 1690, Colonel Mordaunt Cracherode, father of Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode 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 for images of land in art. By a similar de ...
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 Engl ...
lived in the street.[
In 1814, ]Jane Austen
Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
visited her brother Henry
Henry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters
* Henry (surname)
* Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone
Arts and entertainmen ...
at number 10, where he was then living.
Listed buildings
There are a number of listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
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 , was an English architect and designer.
Life
Henry Clutton was born on 19 March 1819, the son of Owen and Elizabeth Goodinge Clutton. He studied with Edwa ...
, 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, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
was formed at Rawthmell's in 1754.[
]
Pubs
In the mid-seventeenth century there were five pubs
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
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 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''.][
]
References
External links
*
Covent Garden
Streets in the City of Westminster
Bedford Estate
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