Radcliffe is by several authors[259] said to have taken place in
Great Queen Street. Radcliffe, it appears, was Kneller’s next door
neighbour, and there being great intimacy between them, Kneller
allowed the former to have a door into his garden where he had a
fine collection of flowers. On Radcliffe’s servants picking the
flowers, Kneller sent word to the doctor that he would shut up the
door. The latter replied that he might do anything with it but
_paint_ it; whereupon Kneller rejoined that he could take anything
from the doctor but his _physic_. There is, however, no evidence
that Radcliffe ever lived in Great Queen Street. He settled in Bow
Street, Covent Garden in 1684[260]; he was still in Covent Garden
in 1706 according to the _Catalogue_ of the College of Physicians;
and the issues of the _Catalogue_ for 1707 onwards show him at
Southampton Square. He died in 1714. Wheatley and Cunningham[261]
appear to be right in assigning the incident to the time when
Kneller was living in the Piazza, Covent Garden.
No records concerning the occupation of the house are available
between 1723 and 1730. It would seem, however, that prior to the
latter year, the Earl of Bellamont had been resident there,[262]
for the entry in that year consists of the name “Lord Bellment,”
erased, and followed by the name of Robert Holdmay. In 1732 the
house is shown as empty, and on its re-occupation in the following
year it was further divided, as at present, into the two houses
Nos. 55 and 56. The names of the residents, as given on the
ratebooks, from that time until 1800 are as follows:—
_No. 55._ _No. 56._
1733–42. Barth. Dandridge. 1733–37. Coston Aston.
1746–48. [263]Lady Dinely 1740–44. Madame Bowne.
Goodyer.
1751–58. Chas. Hoare. 1744. [263]Chas. Leivez.
1758–61. Lord Halton. 1745. —— Pritchard.
1761–65. Chas. Hoare. 1746–50. Chas. Leivez.
1766. Widow Hoare. 1750–61. Ben Wilson.
1767–70. [264]Godfrey Kneller. 1761–68. Jno. Palmer.
1770–82. Coach Office. 1768–69. W. Brereton.
1782–90. Jas. McGee. 1770–74. Ed. Taylor.
1790–99. Jas. Wilson. 1775–78. Wm. Mattingnon.
1799– [264]J. Kneller. 1779. Miss Lavell.
1780–82. —— Bowen.
1782–86. John Hoole.
1786–88. Jas. Boswell.
1788–89. Ed. Jones.
1791– W. Chippendale.
Bartholomew Dandridge obtained a considerable practice in the
reign of George II. as a painter of portraits; he also painted
small conversation-pieces.[265]
Benjamin Wilson was born at Leeds in 1721. His father, Major
Wilson, a wealthy clothier, lost his money while Benjamin was
still a youth, and the latter came to London to earn a living. If
his statements are true, the frugality which he exercised must
have been extraordinary. At all events, he managed to save, and
obtaining after a time a position with some little leisure, he
resumed the artistic studies which he had been compelled to
renounce. By degrees his perseverance and ability made him known,
and from 1748 to 1750 he was in Ireland executing commissions for
portraits. On his return he settled at No. 56, Great Queen Street.
While here his reputation steadily increased, and 1761 he moved to
Nos. 57–58, a larger house.[266] In 1771 he again removed, this
time to Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury. In 1767 he was appointed
painter to the Board of Ordnance. Wilson was also a student of
chemistry, and had a reputation for his knowledge of electricity,
receiving in 1760 the gold medal of the Royal Society for his
electrical experiments. He died at his house in Great Russell
Street[267] in 1788.
John Hoole, translator, was born in Moorfields in 1727, the son of
a watchmaker and inventive mechanician. He obtained a position in
the accomptant’s office of the East India Company, and rose to be
successively auditor of Indian accompts and principal auditor. He
resigned about the end of 1785. His residence in Great Queen
Street seems to have commenced in 1782, and it lasted to April,
1786, when he retired to the parsonage at Abinger, Surrey. He died
at Dorking in 1803. His chief works are the translations of Tasso
and Ariosto. He also wrote the life of John Scott of Amwell,
which, as it was published in 1785, was probably composed in the
house in Great Queen Street, and three plays.
James Boswell, biographer, son of Alexander Boswell, Lord
Auchinleck, was born in Edinburgh in 1740. In 1760 he first
visited London, and in 1762, with much difficulty, prevailed upon
his father to let him return there. On 7th May, 1763, he was
introduced by Davies the actor to Dr. Johnson. From August, 1763,
to February, 1766, he was on the Continent studying law at
Utrecht, travelling in Italy, and consorting with Paoli in
Corsica, and returned with his head full of the latter. The result
was the publication in 1768 of _An Account of Corsica; the Journal
of a Tour to that Island_. He now commenced work in earnest as an
advocate at the Scottish bar, and for some years visited London
but seldom. In November, 1769, he married his cousin, Margaret
Montgomery. In 1773 he accompanied Johnson on the journey which is
described in the _Journal of a Tour in the Hebrides_; the
indiscretions of the narrative produced a rapid sale when it was
printed some years afterwards. In June 1784, he met Johnson for
the last time. In 1786 he was called to the English Bar, and moved
to London. In a letter, dated May, 1786, to Mickle, the translator
of the Lusiad, he writes[268] that he has the house of his friend
Hoole (who, as has been seen above, left No. 56, Great Queen
Street in April, 1786), and a later letter,[269] dated 9th
February, 1788, to Bishop Percy, is headed “London, Great Queen
Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields.” In 1789 he removed to Queen Anne
Street West, and subsequently to No. 122 (formerly 47), Great
Portland Street, where he died in May, 1795. His fame rests upon
his biography of Dr. Johnson, one of the greatest books ever
written. There can be no doubt that a portion of the book was
composed in No. 56, Great Queen Street. In 1905 the London County
Council affixed to the house a tablet of blue encaustic ware,
commemorative of Boswell’s residence.[270]
In Wheatley and Cunningham’s _London, Past and Present_[271] it is
stated that after the occupation of Hoole (whose residence is
wrongly identified with that of Worlidge, see p. 77) the house
“was rented by Chippendale, the cabinet-maker, whose furniture has
during the last few years been so eagerly sought after and
imitated.” Inasmuch, however, as Chippendale died in 1779, and
Hoole’s residence did not terminate until 1786, this is
impossible. The statement probably originated in the fact that a
person of the same name is shown in the ratebooks as an occupant
of this house (see above). But it is William Chippendale, not
Thomas; the period of his occupation is from 1791 onwards; and he
was not a furniture maker, but an attorney.[272]
IN THE COUNCIL’S COLLECTION ARE:—
[273] Ground, first and second floor plans (measured drawing).
Attic floor plan (measured drawing).
Elevation of houses in Great Queen Street by Sir J. Soane,
preserved in the Soane Museum (photograph).
[721] Sketch, by J. Nash in 1840 (print).
[721] “House called Queen Anne’s Wardrobe,” drawn by J. W. Archer,
1846 (photograph).
[721] “House of the Sardinia Ambassador,” drawn by J. W. Archer,
1858 (photograph).
Elevation measured by J. Cooke (print).
[721] The exterior, May, 1906 (photograph).
The exterior, June, 1906 (photograph).
Staircase in No. 55—
[721]Ground to first floor (photograph).
First floor level (photograph).
[721] Archway from passageway to staircase in No. 55.
[721] Staircases in Nos. 55 and 56, details (measured drawing).
XXXVIII.—FREEMASONS’ HALL.
GROUND LANDLORDS.
The United Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of England.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND DATE OF STRUCTURE.
The present Freemasons’ Hall and buildings connected therewith occupy
the sites of two original houses and parts of two others. These were
reckoning from west to east: (i.) the eastern half of Bristol House;
(ii.) Rivers House; (iii.) the house on which the statue of the Queen
was placed; (iv.) the western half of Conway House.
The origin of (i.) has already been described.[274] It was, in its turn,
divided into two in 1812 or 1813,[275] and seems to have been demolished
between 1840 and 1846.
(ii.) The house to the east of Bristol House is easily identifiable with
that which is described in a deed[276] dated 31st July, 1641, as
abutting on the west “upon another mesuage of the same building now in
the occupacion of the Earle of St. Albans [_i.e._, Clanricarde].” The
premises had a frontage of 44 feet upon Queen Street, and the ground
extended southward 200 feet or “neere thereabout” to the garden of
Humfrey Weld. The eastern boundary was “a new messuage where the statue
of the Queenes Majestie is placed.” It is mentioned that the Countess
Rivers then had tenure of the house, which had previously been in the
occupation of “the ledger Embassador of the King of Spaine.” As the
house is mentioned as being in existence and in fact occupied by the
Spanish Ambassador on 22nd January, 1637–8,[277] its erection may be
assigned with certainty to the year 1637.
The original house was pulled down in 1739, and on the site two houses
were built fronting Great Queen Street, and a number of others on the
ground behind.[278] In the centre of the Great Queen Street frontage was
an archway leading to the premises in the rear, and known as Queen’s
Court.[279] Whether this simply reproduced a feature of the old mansion
(there were similar archways on the west side of Bristol House and the
east side of Conway House), or whether it was consequent on the
necessity for communication between the street and the new houses
behind, is uncertain.
(iii.) It has been seen above that the next house eastwards was “a new
messuage where the statue of the Queenes Majestie is placed.” This,
therefore, is the house referred to in an indenture[280] of 20 May,
1674, as “fronting upon the streete called Queene Street, wherein is
made a nichy or place for a statue to be placed in.” The property is
said to contain 44 feet frontage, to extend southwards 200 feet, and to
have belonged originally to Anthony Wither. It may thus be identified
with the messuage and garden in St. Giles-in-the-Fields referred to as
having been sold in 1637 by William Newton to Anthony Wyther,[281] so
that in this case also 1637 was the date of erection. The statue of the
Queen, which was gilt, was pulled down in 1651,[282] which accounts for
the fact that the deed of 1674 could only record the existence of a
niche, with no statue. At some time between 1702 and 1709 the premises
were divided, not lengthwise but breadthwise, a passage being formed to
lead from the street to that house which was in the rear. In 1774 the
houses were purchased by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.
(iv.) The fourth house is mentioned in a deed[283] of 20th December,
1641, as “all that capitall messuage or tenement with one yard, one
court and one garden plott, stable, coachhouses and outhouses, as they
are now erected, built and inclosed with brick wall to the same
belonging or therewithal now used or enjoyed, scituate and being in
Queene Street ... now being in the tenure or occupation of Edward, Lord
Viscount Conway and Killultagh which ... conteyneth in front towards
Queene Street 88 feet ... and the said messuage, yard, court and garden
plott doe extend from the said streete backward towards the south unto
the garden of Humfrey Weld, Esq., 199 feet or thereabouts, scituate
lying and being between the messuage, yard and garden plote of Anthony
Wither, Esq., now in the tenure ... of the Lord Awbyney on the west, and
the messuage of Peter Mills, bricklayer, now in the tenure of the
Countess of Essex. And also all those greate gates and gateway[284] over
which some part of Peter Mills messuage is erected, leading out of
Queene Street into the courtyard and garden, with liberty of way by a
dore made or to be made out of the south-east corner of the said garden
in by and through a way and passage of 8 feet in breadth intended to be
made by William Newton over the sewer ... and to lead into ... Princes
Street.”
In 1696 the house was in a dangerous condition, and an Act of Parliament
was obtained authorising its repair and letting on lease for 51
years[285]. The house was still in existence in May, 1743[286]. By
November of the same year, however, it had been demolished, and on its
site four houses, each 22 feet wide, had been erected, or were then in
course of erection on the Great Queen Street frontage.
Having thus dealt with the history of the earlier buildings on the site,
it remains to describe the various processes by which the existing
premises came to be erected. We will therefore return to the purchase,
in 1774, by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, of the house on
which the statue of Queen Henrietta Maria had formerly stood.
This site is now occupied by the eastern half of the main block,
including the Temple. The premises (as shown on the plan and elevation
Plate 22) consisted of a house facing the street and a small house at
the back adjoining the garden, which was probably used subsequently as a
museum. The former was let on a short lease to a Mr. Brooks, paper
stainer, and the latter became the original Freemasons’ Coffee House or
Tavern, a portion being fitted up as offices (with Committee Room) for
the use of the Grand Lodge. The front house was in design similar to
Nos. 55 and 56, except that the elevation showed a parapet, added in
1779, and the front of the ground floor storey had also been
considerably altered.
“Notwithstanding the large expenditure in repairs and alterations of the
old premises ... it was found that, as the business increased, they were
ill adapted for tavern purposes; the Grand Lodge therefore, on the
advice of Thomas Sandby, Esq., R.A., Grand Architect, and William Tyler,
Esq., P. G. Steward, another eminent architect, decided to demolish the
old buildings and erect instead a large tavern connected with the Hall,
with suitable accommodation for the Grand Secretary and the meetings of
Lodges and other Societies. This was a serious undertaking in view of
the fact that the Hall was not yet paid for and the amount received for
its use was barely enough for working expenses—still it was, no doubt,
the right thing to do, considering the great age of the structure.”[287]
The Hall (or Temple) was built in 1775 by Thomas Sandby, and was opened
on 23rd May, 1776. The tavern was built in 1786 by William Tyler, and a
view of the front is preserved in the Grand Lodge Library (Plate 23).
[Illustration:
THE DISASTROUS FIRE AT FREEMASONS’ HALL, GREAT QUEEN STREET—THE SCENE
OF THE CONFLAGRATION
]
The Temple is the only remaining structure of this period. It is
rectangular in shape, 78 feet long, 38 feet wide, and about 58 feet
high. It was designed to represent the interior of a Roman Doric Temple.
The side walls are enriched with pilasters, and the ends with attached
columns. A gallery is placed over the vestibule at the entrance end. It
is fitted with an ornamental balustrade stretching between the columns,
which here rise clear and support the main entablature. Opposite is a
small apse which contains a statue of the Duke of Sussex, executed by E.
H. Bailey in 1839. In the original design a small gallery was placed in
either angle of this end of the Temple, but these were not replaced
after the fire of 1883. Illustrations of the Temple before and after the
fire are preserved in the Grand Lodge Library. The ceiling is flat, with
an enriched modelled ornament somewhat out of keeping with the rest of
the design. It is connected with the cornice of the order by a deep cove
pierced with semi-circular windows, but those originally existing on the
east side have been lately filled in. The decorations are in excellent
taste, and treated with soft colouring, the mouldings and enrichments
being picked out in gold, the whole generally harmonising with the
portraits and other paintings and panels on the walls.
The vestibule to the Temple (see Plate 28) is paved with mosaic brought
by Mr. W. H. Mordsley from Jerusalem, and laid in position in 1873, the
inscription on the floor being as follows:—
“THIS PAVEMENT FORMED OF ANTIQUE TESSERÆ COLLECTED AT JERUSALEM BY
THE W. HENRY MORDSLEY, P.G.D., AND PRESENTED BY HIM TO THE GRAND
LODGE WAS LAID IN THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE GRAND MASTERSHIP OF
H.R.H. ALBERT EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES, A.L., 5877.
F. P. COCKERELL, GD. SUPT. OF WORKS.”
In 1815 the two houses comprising the western half of Conway House were
acquired by the aid of Sir John Soane. These were connected by openings,
and used by the Grand Lodge. Shortly afterwards, Soane commenced the
designing of additional premises at the rear of these two houses. In
1828 building operations were begun, and in the following year the works
were completed. The Grand Lodge in 1832 thanked Sir John Soane for his
completion of the work and for his donation of £500.[288]
Plate 27 is a reproduction of a pen and ink drawing in the Soane Museum,
probably by Soane himself, showing his design for the new Hall of the
Tavern. It is evidently the original sketch for the elaborate water
colour drawing, in the Hogarth Room, executed by either J. M. Gandy,
A.R.A., or C. J. Richardson. This hall did not long exist. In 1863 the
two houses on the site of Rivers House were demolished, together with
all the Tavern and Grand Lodge premises, excepting Sandby’s Temple, and
preparations were made for the erection of a new building after designs
by F. P. Cockerell, son of Professor C. R. Cockerell, R.A. The
foundation stone was laid on 27th April, 1864, and the building was
finished in 1866. The exterior is shown on Plate 24 and the principal
features of the interior not already mentioned, are the staircase (Plate
28) and the first floor corridor.[289]
In 1899 a western wing on the site of the eastern half of Bristol
House[290] was added, from the designs of Henry L. Florence, to provide
more accommodation for the Grand Lodge, including a Library and Museum.
The most recent alterations and additions to the Tavern were made in
1910, when these premises were named “The Connaught Rooms.” These works
were carried out by Messrs. Brown and Barrow. Very little of Cockerell’s
work in the Banqueting Hall has been retained.
[Illustration:
FREEMASONS HALL GREAT QUEEN STREET W.C.
PLAN OF FIRST FLOOR
BEFORE THE ALTERATIONS IN 1899.
]
CONDITION OF REPAIR.
The premises are in excellent condition.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.
_Bristol House, Eastern Half._
After the division of Bristol House into two about 1684, the first
four occupants of the eastern half (Nos. 57–58) were[291] the Earl
of Wiltshire, the Earl of Stamford, Henry, Viscount Montagu, and
the Portuguese Envoy.
Charles Powlett, afterwards second Duke of Bolton, second and
eldest surviving son of the first Duke, was born in 1661. During
the lifetime of his father he was known as the Earl of Wiltshire.
He accompanied the Prince of Orange on his expedition in 1688,
having a few months previously gone over to Holland, and was one
of the advanced guard who entered Exeter with him. He seems to
have stood high in William’s favour. He succeeded his father in
the dukedom in 1699, and was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in
1717. He continued to occupy a fairly prominent place about the
court until his death in 1722. His residence in Great Queen Street
began in 1684, or a little later, and he was still in occupation
of the house on 22nd April, 1689.[291]
[Illustration:
_Grey._
]
Thomas Grey, second Earl of Stamford, born in 1654, was the only
son of Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby. He succeeded his
grandfather in the earldom in 1673. In 1681 he was arrested on a
charge of complicity in the Rye House plot, and remained in the
Tower until March, 1686. On the landing of the Prince of Orange he
took up arms in his favour, and afterwards was appointed to
numerous official positions, becoming Lord Lieutenant of
Devonshire, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and President of
the Board of Trade and Foreign Plantations. On the accession of
Anne, he was dismissed from all his offices, but afterwards
regained his position at the head of the Board of Trade. He died
in 1720. His residence in Great Queen Street must have terminated
some time before 1703, at which date “Henry Browne” is shown in
occupation.
[Illustration:
_Browne._
]
Henry Browne, fifth Viscount Montagu, was born some time before
1641.[292] He succeeded his brother Francis in the title in June,
1708. His residence at the house in Great Queen Street commenced
some time, probably not long, before 1703,[293] and lasted at
least until 1715,[294] possibly until his death, which occurred in
1717 at Epsom.[295] He was succeeded in the title by his son,
Anthony, who three years later married Barbara Webb, to whose
mother, Lady Barbara Webb, daughter of Lord Belasyse, the eastern
half of Bristol House had come by way of bequest.
After the occupation by Lord Montagu the house was used as the
residence of the Portuguese Envoy.[296] The earliest mention of
him as occupying the house is dated 5th March, 1718–9. How long
the Embassy was situated here is uncertain. The house is referred
to in Sir Godfrey Kneller’s will,[297] dated 27th April, 1723, as
“now in the possession of the Portugal Envoy.” In a codicil, dated
18th July, in the same year, it is described as “now or late in
the occupation of the Portugal Envoy,” and Kneller states that the
premises are much out of repair, and that he proposes to spend a
sum of £200 in works. It would almost seem therefore that the
envoy left the house between April and July, 1723, and some
confirmation of this suggestion is found in the fact that in the
Westminster sewer ratebook, dated 18th July, 1723, the name, not
of the Portuguese Envoy, but of Sir Godfrey Kneller, the owner,
appears for the house.
After the departure of the Portuguese Envoy, the house was used
for the purposes of the Great Wardrobe.[298] The parish ratebooks
from 1730 (the earliest extant) until 1748 show “Thos. Dummer,
Esq.,” the deputy[299] of John, Duke of Montagu, keeper of the
Great Wardrobe, as in occupation.
The occupants of Nos. 57–58 from the time of the Great Wardrobe
were as follows:—
1750–60. John Jackson.
1761–71. Benjamin Wilson.
1771–72. —— Salvadore.
1772–76. John Henderson.
1777–82. Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
1782–90. A. and E. Boak.
1791– Boak and Banson.
For particulars as to Benjamin Wilson, see under Nos. 55–56, Great
Queen Street (p. 57).