56 Artillery Lane

{{short description|Building in London Borough of Tower Hamlets}}

{{Infobox building

| name = 56 Artillery Lane

| image = 56 & 58 Artillery Lane.JPG

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = 56 and 58 Artillery Lane, including the Georgian shopfront

| coordinates = {{coord|51.518149|-0.076879|display=inline}}

| building_type =

| architectural_style =

| classification =

| location = Spitalfields

| location_city = London, E1

| location_country = United Kingdom

| current_tenants = Raven Row

| renovation_date = 1756

| closing_date =

| demolition_date =

| architect = Sir Robert Taylor

}}

56 Artillery Lane is an 18th-century Grade I listed building in Spitalfields, London.{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Some sources say the building is in Bethnal Green.}} The building is situated in the Artillery Passage, and was merged with the now Grade II listed building 58 Artillery Lane after the Second World War; their combined shop front is one of the oldest in London, and the combined building is used by Raven Row as a free art exhibition centre.{{citation |title=Quiet London |author=Siobhan Wall |page=121 |chapter=Raven Row |isbn=978-0-7112-3190-0 |year=2011}}

History

It is not known exactly when the first house at 56 Artillery Lane was built, although a house appears at the location on a map of 1677. The original name of the building was 3 Raven Row. During the early 18th century, deed documents show that the building was owned by a mercer named Mathew Hebart and later a weaver named Thomas Wilkes.{{cite web|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol27/pp226-236#h3-0003| title= Artillery Passage and south side of Artillery Lane| publisher=British History Online| access-date=8 May 2016}} The building was rebuilt between 1750 and 1756, in order to accommodate Huguenot silk merchants Nicholas Jourdain and Francis Rybot who wanted to use the building as a silk shop; it is believed that Sir Robert Taylor was the architect. The 1756 building, including its shop front, still exists today, making it one of the oldest shop fronts in London.{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/mar/27/raven-row-architecture-review-spitalfields| title= Raven Row art gallery: east London architecture at its finest| last=Glancey|first= Jonathan| work=The Guardian| date=27 March 2009|access-date=8 May 2016}}{{cite web|url= https://inspiringcity.com/2013/11/01/a-historic-and-cultural-walking-tour-of-the-east-end-of-london/| title= Free Walking Tour Of The East End Of London| publisher=Inspiring City| date=1 November 2013|access-date=8 May 2016}}{{cite web| url=http://www.architecturetoday.co.uk/?p=1153| title=6a Architects: Raven Row gallery, Spitalfields, east London| work=Architecture Today| date=2 March 2009| access-date=8 May 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603071517/http://www.architecturetoday.co.uk/?p=1153| archive-date=3 June 2016| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}} In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the building was used as a grocery shop.{{cite web|url= http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-702-1/dissemination/pdf/molas1-16959_1.pdf| title=56–58 Artillery Lane, London E1, London Borough of Tower Hamlets: An archaeological evaluation report| type=pdf| publisher=Museum of London Archaeology Service| date=August 2006| access-date=8 May 2016}}{{rp|6}}

After the Second World War, 56 and 58 Artillery Lane were merged into a single office building, and 56 Artillery Lane became a Grade I listed building in 1950.{{cite web|url= https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1357760| title=56 Artillery Lane| publisher=Historic England|access-date=8 May 2016}} In 1972, the building was refurbished after a major fire.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ENxKIlN47KsC&q=56+artillery+lane| title= Turkey: At the Threshold| last1= Hensel| first1=Michael| last2=Hensel| first2= Defne Sungurogl| last3=Ertas| first3= Hulya| publisher=John Wiley & Sons| date=January 2011| access-date=8 May 2016| page=121| isbn= 9780470743195}} In 2006, an excavation of 56 and 58 Artillery Lane took place,{{rp|13}} and the buildings were later sold to Alex Sainsbury, heir to the Sainsbury's food chain, who converted them into the Raven Row free art exhibition space.

Notes

References

External links

[https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1357760 Historic England page]

Category:Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Category:1756 architecture