Queen Anne's Gate

Queen Anne’s Gate is a street in Westminster, London. Many of the buildings are Grade I listed, known for their Queen Anne architecture. Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner described the Gate’s early 18th century houses as “the best of their kind in London.” The street’s proximity to the Palace of Westminster made it a popular residential area for politicians; Lord Palmerston was born at No. 20 while Sir Edward Grey and Lord Haldane, prominent members of H. H. Asquith’s Cabinet, were near neighbours at Nos. 3 and 28 respectively. Other prominent residents included the philosopher John Stuart Mill at No. 40, Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the founder of MI6 at No. 21, and Admiral “Jacky” Fisher at No. 16.

Queen Anne's Gate
“the best of their kind in London”
Queen Anne's Gate is located in City of Westminster
Queen Anne's Gate
Location within Central London
Former name(s)Queen Square, Park Street
Maintained byTransport for London
LocationWestminster, London
Postal codeSW1
Nearest Tube station
Coordinates51.5005°N 0.1322°W / 51.5005; -0.1322
East endStorey's Gate
West endPetty France

Location

Queen Anne’s Gate runs from Old Queen Street in the east to a cul-de-sac in the west. It runs parallel with Birdcage Walk to the north and Petty France, Broadway and Tothill Street to the south. Carteret Street joins Queen Anne’s Gate on its southern side.[1]

History

Queen Anne's Gate is formed from two older streets, Park Street, to the eastern end and part of the Christ's Hospital estate, and Queen Square, to the western end and developed by the South Sea Company.[2] Until 1873 the two were divided by a wall, with the Statue of Queen Anne (see below) set within it.[3] In 1874 the wall was demolished, Park Street and Queen Square were renumbered and the whole was renamed Queen Anne's Gate.[3]

These narrow houses, three or four storeys high - one for eating, one for sleeping, a third for company, a fourth underground for the kitchen, a fifth perhaps at the top for servants - give the idea of a cage with its sticks and birds

Louis Simond - Journal of a Tour and Residence in Great Britain (1817)[4]

The street includes some "outstanding" examples of Queen Anne and Georgian townhouses.[3] The older buildings, many dating from the original laying-out of Queen Square in 1704-5, are found at the western end. The layout of the houses follows what Sir John Summerson called "the insistent verticality of the London house" [see box].[4] A particular feature of these buildings are their elaborate doorcases. Westminster City Council’s survey of the Birdcage Walk conservation area notes their intricate carving with “foliage and figureheads.”[5] Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner, in the 2003 revised London 6: Westminster in the Buildings of England series, consider the houses in Queen Anne's Gate “the best of their kind in London.”[6]

The statue of Queen Anne dates from the time of the queen. Carved from Portland stone, its sculptor is not known. The statue has a Grade I listing.[7] There was a chapel at 50 Queen Anne's Gate, built in 1706 as a private chapel to serve the residents of Queen Square. By 1870, it had become a charitable school, and later served as a mission hall and a police institute. By 1890, it had become offices.[8] The site is now occupied by the modern Ministry of Justice building.[lower-alpha 1]

Originally built as houses, by the later 20th century many of the buildings in Queen Anne’s Gate had been converted to offices. The 21st century has seen a reversal of this trend, with buildings being reconverted to private residences.[9][10][11][lower-alpha 2]

Buildings, occupants and listing designations

Queen Anne’s Gate has been home to a number of notable people, including a quantity of politicians given its proximity to the Palace of Westminster. Some of the houses have Blue plaques commemorating their residents.[13] Many of the buildings are listed, most at the highest grade, Grade I, sometimes for their architectural merit and sometimes for their historical significance.

Old Queen Street

Old Queen Street is a continuation of Queen Anne’s Gate, connecting it to Storey’s Gate. It was first laid out with townhouses in the late 18th century. Seven of the buildings on the street are listed, all at Grade II: Nos. 9 & 11,[53] No. 20,[54] No. 24,[55] Nos. 26 & 28,[56] Nos. 30 & 32,[57] No. 34[58] and No. 43.[59]

Notes

  1. Now 102 Petty France, the present building was known on its completion in 1976 as 50 Queen Anne’s Gate. It replaced a Victorian mansion block, Queen Anne’s Mansions, a building described by Nikolaus Pevsner as an “indescribable horror”.
  2. In 2022, the Halifax recorded Queen Anne’s Gate as the fifth most expensive residential street in Britain with an average house price of £17.5M.[12]
  3. Nikolaus Pevsner was a member of the Architectural Review’s board and regularly attended its meetings every Wednesday at 9 Queen Anne’s Gate. While on the board he wrote an influential series of essays on architectural history for the journal.[21]
  4. Neither Howard Colvin, in his Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840,[25] or John Martin Robinson, in his unpublished thesis, Samuel Wyatt: Architect,[26] both published in the late-1970s, record Wyatt's role in the design of No. 14. However, later research has confirmed it. In his paper for the Georgian Group, Dan Cruickshank discusses Wyatt’s designs for the house, and his possible wider involvement in others on the street.[27]
  5. In television, it was home to the fictional Persuader, Lord Brett Sinclair, (Roger Moore), and can be seen in some episodes, with Sinclair's Aston Martin DBS parked outside.[29]

References

  1. Westminster City Council 2008, p. 9.
  2. Cruickshank 1992, pp. 56–57.
  3. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 712.
  4. Summerson 1978, p. 67.
  5. Westminster City Council 2008, p. 31.
  6. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 713.
  7. Historic England. "Statue of Queen Anne against north flank of No.15 Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227294)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  8. Cox 1926, pp. 137–141.
  9. Wilson, Rob (28 July 2020). "Reworking of 12 Queen Anne's Gate plots as apartments". Architects’ Journal. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  10. "Restoration of Grade I listed house, Queen Anne's Gate". Adam Architecture. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  11. Churchill, Penny (14 February 2015). "Westminster properties for sale". Country Life. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  12. "Queen Anne's Gate crowned most expensive 'Royal Jubilee' street" (PDF). The Halifax. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  13. Westminster City Council 2008, pp. 13–14.
  14. Historic England. "2, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade II) (1227297)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  15. "Edward Grey blue plaque". Open Plaques. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  16. Historic England. "1-3 Queen Anne's Gate (Grade II) (1227240)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  17. Historic England. "5-13, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227241)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  18. Historic England. "6-11, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade II*) (1265413)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  19. Colvin 1978, p. 292.
  20. "The Bride of Denmark's Lion Bar". Architectural Review. 14 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  21. Harries 2011, p. 437.
  22. "Charles Townley blue plaque". Open Plaques. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  23. Historic England. "14-22, 22a & 24 Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227298)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  24. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 714.
  25. Colvin 1978, p. 958.
  26. Robinson 1973, pp. 422–435.
  27. Cruickshank 1992, pp. 59–61.
  28. Historic England. "15 Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1265463)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  29. "Lord Sinclair's London residence". James Bond locations. 8 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  30. "John Fisher blue plaque". Open Plaques. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  31. "Povlsen, Troels Holch". Companies House. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  32. Historic England. "17 & 19, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227295)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  33. "No. 17 Queen Anne's Gate". Survey of London. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  34. "No. 19 Queen Anne's Gate". Survey of London. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  35. "Henry John Temple blue plaque". Open Plaques. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  36. "No. 20 Queen Anne's Gate". Survey of London. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  37. Martin, Guy (30 November 2013). "The Spy Who Lived Here: Own the Real-Life M's London Mansion--For $22 Million". Forbes. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  38. Historic England. "21 & 23, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227296)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  39. "No. 24 Queen Anne's Gate". BHO. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  40. Historic England. "25, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1265450)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  41. "Sting and Trudy Styler The Composition of a Collection". Christies. 16 February 2016. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  42. Historic England. "26-32, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227299)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  43. "Lord Haldane, No. 26". Historic England. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  44. Glendinning 1977, p. 44.
  45. "St Stephen's Club to close". PoliticsHome. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  46. Historic England. "34, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade II) (1265414)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  47. "John Stuart Mill and James Mill blue plaque". Open Plaques. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  48. Historic England. "40, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227300)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  49. Historic England. "42, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227328)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  50. Historic England. "44, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1227329)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  51. Historic England. "46, Queen Anne's Gate (Grade I) (1265430)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  52. "No. 42 Queen Anne's Gate Heritage Record". National Trust. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  53. Historic England. "9 & 11 Old Queen Street (Grade II) (1266277)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  54. Historic England. "20 Old Queen Street (1225626)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  55. Historic England. "24 Old Queen Street (Grade II) (1266275)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  56. Historic England. "26 & 28 Old Queen Street (Grade II) (1225627)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  57. Historic England. "30 & 32 Old Queen Street (Grade II) (1266276)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  58. Historic England. "34 Old Queen Street (Grade II) (1225628)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  59. Historic England. "43 Old Queen Street (Grade II) (1225630)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

Sources

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