Preface

PREFACE

This volume of the Survey of London is the second of those dealing with the parish of St. Margaret, Westminster, and is devoted to that part of the ancient Palace of Whitehall (and the buildings erected on the site) which lay in the parish of St. Margaret, between the road and the river. It does not deal, therefore, with that portion of the Palace which lay to the north of the present Horse Guards Avenue, which was in the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The loss is not considerable, as that part of the Palace consisted of offices and other relatively unimportant buildings. The portion of the Palace which lay in the parish of St. Margaret, but on the other (western) side of the road will, together with Downing Street, form the subject of the next volume.

Although the scope of the survey is generally limited to buildings erected before 1800, it has been considered advisable in the present volume, for the sake of completeness, and in view of the possibility of the demolition of some of the houses in the near future, to include such buildings as Montagu House, Nos. 1–6 Whitehall Gardens, and Richmond Terrace, which would otherwise have been omitted.

For similar reasons it has been thought desirable in the present volume to carry the lists of occupants down to the present period or to the time when private occupation gave way to official use.

I gladly take this opportunity of placing on record the valuable assistance which the Council has received in the preparation of this volume.

His Majesty the King graciously allowed the Council to reproduce the picture in the Royal Collection, now at Buckingham Palace, showing the Lord Mayor's Procession in 1683 passing the riverfront of Whitehall Palace. The reproduction forms the frontispiece of the volume.

His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon very kindly granted permission for the reproduction of two paintings by Canaletto representing different portions of Whitehall in 1746. These views add very greatly to the interest and value of the volume. The Westminster City Council placed its very complete and excellently arranged series of rate-books and other sources of information at the Council's service. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster allowed the fullest use to be made of their fine collection of early monastic deeds. Thanks are also due to the Royal Institute of British Architects for permission to reproduce several of the records in their possession, to the Pepysian Librarian for allowing the reproduction of Hollar's original drawing of the Banqueting House and the Holbein Gate, and to the Librarian of All Souls' College, Oxford, for the facilities afforded to the Council's officers for inspecting, and selecting for reproduction, drawings in the Wren Collection.

The records of H.M. Office of Works and of H.M. Commissioners of Crown Lands have been unreservedly placed at the Council's service. The assistance freely rendered by the officials in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and the Middlesex Registry is also much appreciated. The Architect to the Council desires to record his appreciation of the work done in connection with the preparation of the volume by Mr. C. J. T. Dadd, F.S.I., and other assistants in his department.

The kindness of the Rev. E. E. Dorling M.A., F.S.A., in advising on the heraldic descriptions and the drawings for the marginal shields is gratefully acknowledged.

The historical information contained in the volume has been prepared by Mr. W. W. Braines, B.A. (Lond.), a principal assistant in my department.

MONTAGU H. COX,
Clerk of the London County Council.

The County Hall,
Westminster Bridge, S.E.,
28th May, 1930.