St James's Place

Street in the City of Westminster, London, England

A sign for St James's Place along St James's Street

St James's Place is a street in the St James's district of London near Green Park.[1] It was first developed around 1694, the historian John Strype describing it in 1720 as a "good Street ... which receiveth a fresh Air out of the Park; the Houses are well-built, and inhabited by Gentry ..."[2][3] Henry Benjamin Wheatley wrote in 1870 that it was "one of the oddest built streets in London."[3]

Spencer House, which was commissioned by the 1st Earl Spencer in 1756, stands at number 27 and is now listed as Grade I.[4][5] A further thirteen properties are Grade II listed; Number 4 is Grade II* listed.[6]

Notable residents

No. 4 St James's Place, from where Frédéric Chopin left for the Guildhall on 16 November 1848 for his last public performance
  • Joseph Addison (1672–1719), author and politician who founded The Spectator, lived here in 1710.[3]
  • Eustace Budgell (1686–1737), English writer and politician.[3]
  • Sir Francis Burdett (1770–1844), reforming politician known as "Old Glory", lived at number 25 from 1820 to 1844.[7]
  • Sir Francis Chichester (1901–1972), pioneer aviator, sailor and author, lived at number 9 from 1944 to 1972.[8]
  • Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (1849–1895), British statesman, lived at number 29 from April 1880 to late 1882.[9]
  • James Craggs the Younger (1686–1721), English politician.[3]
  • Mary Delany (1700–1788), English artist and writer.[3]
  • Captain Basil Hall (1788–1844), Scottish traveller and author, lived at number 4.[3]
  • Cornelius Hatfield, Jr. (1755–1823), American Revolutionary War Loyalist partisan captain from Elizabeth, New Jersey.[10]
  • John Hick (1815–1894), English industrialist, art collector and Conservative Party politician, lived at number 4.[11][12]
  • Henry Grattan (1746–1820), Irish politician.[3]
  • White Kennett (1660–1728), Bishop of Peterborough.[3]
  • John Lubbock (1803–1865), English banker and scientist.[3]
  • Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh (1818–1887), British statesman, lived at number 30.[citation needed]
  • Richard Rigby (1722–1788), English civil servant and politician.[3]
  • Samuel Rogers (1763–1855), 19th-century English poet.[13]
  • Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet, rented rooms at 10–11 for five months in 1893–1894.[citation needed]
  • John Wilkes (1725–1797), English journalist and politician, lived there in 1756.[3]

Gallery

See also

  • iconLondon portal

References

  1. ^ St James's Street, londontown.com, accessed 23 April 2012.
  2. ^ Stow, John. "Southwark, and Parts Adjacent", A Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster, Borough of Southwark and Parts Adjacent, p. 663.
    • Also see "St James's Park," The Parish of St. James Westminster. Part II: north of Piccadilly, Volumes 31–32 of Survey volumes, Athlone Press, University of London, 1963, p. 511ff.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wheatley, Henry Benjamin (1870), Round about Piccadilly and Pall Mall, Smith, Elder & Co., pp. 167–169
  4. ^ Ed Glinert (2004), "St. James's Place", The London Compendium, Penguin UK, ISBN 9780141012131
  5. ^ Historic England. "SPENCER HOUSE (1264952)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  6. ^ "The National Heritage List for England (search term: st james's place sw1)". English Heritage. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Burdett, Sir Francis", The History of Parliament, accessed 24 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Francis Chichester green plaque in London". BluePlaquePlaces.co.uk. 17 September 1993. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  9. ^ Buczacki, Stefan (2017). "Churchill Facts: Residences of Winston and Clementine Churchill". The International Churchill Society. Retrieved 27 February 2017. 29 St. James's Place (April 1880—late 1882). Leased by Lord Randolph Churchill.
  10. ^ "London, England, Land Tax Records, 1692–1932". Ancestry.
  11. ^ Royal Blue Book, Fashionable Directory and Parliamentary Guide. B. W. Gardiner, Princes Street, Cavendish Square. 1873. p. 744.
  12. ^ List of Members of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Ancestry.com, Civil Engineers Lists 1818–1930 Ancestry.com Operations Inc: Institution of Civil Engineers. 1886.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  13. ^ Richard Ellis Roberts (1910), "St. James's Place", Samuel Rogers and his circle, Dutton, p. 48

External links

  • Media related to St James's Place, London at Wikimedia Commons

51°30′20.61″N 0°8′22.78″W / 51.5057250°N 0.1396611°W / 51.5057250; -0.1396611