Queen Anne's Gate#Old Queen Street

{{Short description|Road in the City of Westminster, in Central London}}

{{Infobox street

| name = Queen Anne's Gate

| part_of =

| image = Queen Anne’s Gate, Westminster, December 2023 09.jpg

| caption = "the best of their kind in London"

| former_names = Queen Square, Park Street

| postal_code = {{postcode|SW|1}}

| length_mi =

| length_ref =

| location = Central London, Westminster, London

| maint = Transport for London

| map_type = United Kingdom London Westminster

| map_caption = Location within Central London

| coordinates = {{coord|51.5005|-0.1322|region:GB-WSM_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| direction_a = East

| terminus_a = Storey's Gate

| direction_b = West

| terminus_b = Petty France

| metro_system = Tube

| metro = {{ubl|Westminster}}

| known_for = {{ubl|}}

}}

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, senior 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.

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.{{sfn|Westminster City Council|2008|p=9}}

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.{{sfn|Cruickshank|1992|pp=56-57}} Until 1873 the two were divided by a wall, with the Statue of Queen Anne (see below) set within it.{{sfn|Bradley|Pevsner|2003|p=712}} In 1874 the wall was demolished, Park Street and Queen Square were renumbered and the whole was renamed Queen Anne's Gate.{{sfn|Bradley|Pevsner|2003|p=712}}

{{quote box|width=25em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=left|quote=

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|salign=right|source=Louis Simond - Journal of a Tour and Residence in Great Britain (1817){{sfn|Summerson|1978|p=67}}}}

The street includes some "outstanding" examples of Queen Anne and Georgian townhouses.{{sfn|Bradley|Pevsner|2003|p=712}} 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].{{sfn|Summerson|1978|p=67}} 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.”{{sfn|Westminster City Council|2008|p=31}} 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.”{{sfn|Bradley|Pevsner|2003|p=713}}

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.{{NHLE|num=1227294|desc=Statue of Queen Anne against north flank of No.15 Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}} 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.{{sfn|Cox|1926|pp=137-141}} The site is now occupied by the modern Ministry of Justice building.{{efn|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”.}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/pdp-completes-reworking-of-12-plots-in-queen-annes-gate-as-apartment-block|title=Reworking of 12 Queen Anne's Gate plots as apartments|first=Rob|last=Wilson|publisher=Architects’ Journal|date=28 July 2020|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204114852/https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/buildings/pdp-completes-reworking-of-12-plots-in-queen-annes-gate-as-apartment-block|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://adamarchitecture.com/project/restoration-on-queen-annes-gate-london/|title=Restoration of Grade I listed house, Queen Anne's Gate|publisher=Adam Architecture|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204181904/https://adamarchitecture.com/project/restoration-on-queen-annes-gate-london/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/london-property/wonderful-westminster-properties-sale-69135|title=Westminster properties for sale|first=Penny|last=Churchill|publisher=Country Life|date=14 February 2015|access-date=5 December 2022|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205075039/https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/london-property/wonderful-westminster-properties-sale-69135|url-status=live}}{{efn|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.{{cite web|url=https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/assets/pdfs/media/press-releases/2022-press-releases/halifax/2022.06.03-most-expensive-royal-jubilee-street.pdf|title=Queen Anne's Gate crowned most expensive 'Royal Jubilee' street|publisher=The Halifax|access-date=5 December 2022|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205074423/https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/assets/pdfs/media/press-releases/2022-press-releases/halifax/2022.06.03-most-expensive-royal-jubilee-street.pdf|url-status=live}}}}

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.{{sfn|Westminster City Council|2008|pp=13-14}} Many of the buildings are listed, most at the highest grade, Grade I, sometimes for their architectural merit and sometimes for their historical significance.

No. 2 is of c. 1825 and is listed at Grade II.{{NHLE|num=1227297|desc=2, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}}
No. 3 dates from the 1770s, although it was entirely rebuilt behind the existing facade in the early 21st century. Home of Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, Foreign Secretary at the outbreak of the First World War, and earlier of the politicians James Harris, 5th Earl of Malmesbury and Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen, 1st Baron Brabourne.{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/1291|title=Edward Grey blue plaque|publisher=Open Plaques|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204105626/http://openplaques.org/plaques/1291|url-status=live}} Nos. 1-3 are listed Grade II.{{NHLE|num=1227240|desc=1-3 Queen Anne's Gate|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}}
Nos. 5-13 are listed at Grade I.{{NHLE|num=1227241|desc=5-13, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}}
Nos. 6-12 are listed at Grade II*. Of the mid-19th century, the block was designed by the Elmes, father and son.{{NHLE|num=1265413|desc=6-11, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=II*|access-date=4 December 2022}} Howard Colvin notes that No. 6 was designed for the Parliamentary Agency Offices.{{sfn|Colvin|1978|p=292}}
Nos. 9-13, the basement of this block housed a private pub, The Bride of Denmark, established by staff at the Architectural Review which had offices at No. 9 above. The pub was fitted out with architectural salvage from London public houses destroyed in the Second World War and was itself demolished in the 1990s, following Robert Maxwell’s acquisition of the Review.{{cite web|url=https://www.architectural-review.com/today/the-bride-of-denmarks-lion-bar|title=The Bride of Denmark's Lion Bar|publisher=Architectural Review|date=14 April 2015|access-date=5 December 2022|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205083331/https://www.architectural-review.com/today/the-bride-of-denmarks-lion-bar|url-status=live}}{{efn|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.{{sfn|Harries|2011|p=437}}}}
No. 14 was home of the antiquarian Charles Townley{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/76|title=Charles Townley blue plaque|publisher=Open Plaques|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204105627/http://openplaques.org/plaques/76|url-status=live}} and later served as the office of the architectural practice T. P. O’Sullivan & Partners. Nos. 14-22, 22a and 24 are listed Grade I.{{NHLE|num=1227298|desc=14-22, 22a & 24 Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}} No. 14 was designed by Samuel Wyatt and he may have been involved elsewhere in the street.{{sfn|Bradley|Pevsner|2003|p=714}}{{efn|Neither Howard Colvin, in his Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840,{{sfn|Colvin|1978|p=958}} or John Martin Robinson, in his unpublished thesis, Samuel Wyatt: Architect,{{sfn|Robinson|1973|pp=422-435}} 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.{{sfn|Cruickshank|1992|pp=59-61}}}}
No. 15 is listed Grade I.{{NHLE|num=1265463|desc=15 Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}} It contains interiors by Edwin Lutyens, undertaken for his friend and supporter Edward Hudson.{{sfn|Bradley|Pevsner|2003|p=713}}{{efn|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.{{cite web|url=https://jamesbondlocations.blogspot.com/2014/11/lord-sinclairs-london-residence-queen.html|title=Lord Sinclair's London residence|date=8 November 2014|publisher=James Bond locations|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204123427/https://jamesbondlocations.blogspot.com/2014/11/lord-sinclairs-london-residence-queen.html|url-status=live}}}}
No. 16, home of John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, Admiral of the fleet and naval moderniser; and of the abolitionist William Smith; where there are commemorative blue plaques in both names.{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/130|title=John Fisher blue plaque|publisher=Open Plaques|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204110120/http://openplaques.org/plaques/130|url-status=live}} The restoration of the house won a Georgian Group award. It is now owned by the businessman Troels Holch Povlsen.{{cite web|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/RLripXJZJlbPNytWkEmm71lgsf8/appointments|title=Povlsen, Troels Holch|publisher=Companies House|access-date=5 December 2022|archive-date=5 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205094432/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/RLripXJZJlbPNytWkEmm71lgsf8/appointments|url-status=live}}
No. 17 is listed Grade I. Dating from the very early 18th century, the house, with its companion No. 19, form among the best remaining elements of the original Queen Anne design of the street.{{NHLE|num=1227295|desc=17 & 19, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}} Edwin Lutyens, who also undertook work elsewhere in the street, lived there in the mid-1920s.{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol10/pt1/pp118-119|title=No. 17 Queen Anne's Gate|publisher=Survey of London|access-date=14 January 2023}}
No. 19 was, between 1705 and 1718, in the 1920s, home to William Paterson, a founder of the Bank of England. In the 1920s, Sir Aston Webb, an architect who undertook the refacing of Buckingham Palace in 1913, lived at the house.{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol10/pt1/pp116-117|title=No. 19 Queen Anne's Gate|publisher=Survey of London|access-date=14 January 2023}}
No. 20 was the birthplace of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston.{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/575|title=Henry John Temple blue plaque|publisher=Open Plaques|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204105641/http://openplaques.org/plaques/575|url-status=live}} In the 1920s, it was home to George Riddell, 1st Baron Riddell, owner of the News of the World and confidant of David Lloyd George.{{cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol10/pt1/pp87-88|title=No. 20 Queen Anne's Gate|publisher=Survey of London|access-date=14 January 2023}}
No. 21, a house dating to 1704 that at one time was the home of Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, the founder of MI6. Its initial operations were based at No. 21. Reputedly, a tunnel led from it to MI6's headquarters at 54 Broadway nearby.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/guymartin/2015/11/30/the-spy-who-lived-here-own-the-real-life-ms-london-mansion-for-22-million/|title=The Spy Who Lived Here: Own the Real-Life M's London Mansion--For $22 Million|first=Guy|last=Martin|work=Forbes|date=30 November 2013|access-date=5 December 2022|archive-date=12 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112004214/https://www.forbes.com/sites/guymartin/2015/11/30/the-spy-who-lived-here-own-the-real-life-ms-london-mansion-for-22-million/|url-status=live}} Nos. 21 and 23 are listed Grade I.{{NHLE|num=1227296|desc=21 & 23, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}}
No. 24, home to the politician Sir George Shuckburgh-Evelyn from 1783 to 1788, and the judge Sir Edward Vaughan Williams, from 1836 until his death in 1875.{{cite web|title=No. 24 Queen Anne's Gate|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol10/pt1/pp82-83|website=BHO|access-date=13 January 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120159/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol10/pt1/pp82-83|url-status=live}}
No. 25 is listed Grade I.{{NHLE|num=1265450|desc=25, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}}
No. 26 was home to Sting and Trudie Styler for approximately 20 years until 2016 when they sold the home and art collection.{{cite web|url=https://www.christies.com/features/Sting-and-Trudie-Styler-The-Composition-of-a-Collection-7018-3.aspx|title=Sting and Trudy Styler The Composition of a Collection|website=Christies|access-date=2022-10-22|date=2016-02-16|archive-date=4 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504025710/https://www.christies.com/features/Sting-and-Trudie-Styler-The-Composition-of-a-Collection-7018-3.aspx|url-status=live}} Nos. 26-32 inclusive are listed at Grade I.{{NHLE|num=1227299|desc=26-32, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}}
No. 28, in the early 20th century, No. 28 was the home of Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, army reformer as Secretary of State for War, and Lord Chancellor,{{efn|In 1911 Haldane had entertained the German Kaiser to lunch at No. 28, an occasion that was subsequently held against him at the height of anti-German feeling during World War I.{{sfn|Grigg|2003|p=427}}}}{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/lord-haldane/|title=Lord Haldane, No. 26|publisher=Historic England|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=12 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112004220/https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/lord-haldane/|url-status=live}} and subsequently of Ronald and Nancy Tree (later Lancaster).{{sfn|Bradley|Pevsner|2003|p=713}}
No. 32, in the early 1920s this house was the home of the writer Elizabeth Bowen who resided there with her great-aunt Edith (Lady Allendale).{{sfn|Glendinning|1977|p=44}}
No. 34, formerly the home of Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, and from 1962 to 2013, home to St Stephen's Club, a private member's club.{{cite web|title=St Stephen's Club to close|url=http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/59271/st_stephens_club_to_close.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216160420/http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/59271/st_stephens_club_to_close.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 February 2013|website=PoliticsHome|access-date=13 January 2015}} No. 34 was designed by Detmar Blow and is listed Grade II.{{NHLE|num=1265414|desc=34, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}}
No. 40 was home to John Stuart Mill and his father James Mill.{{Cite web|url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/39390|title=John Stuart Mill and James Mill blue plaque|publisher=Open Plaques|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204105628/http://openplaques.org/plaques/39390|url-status=live}} It is Grade I listed.{{NHLE|num=1227300|desc=40, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}}
Nos. 42, 44 and 46 are also all Grade I listed buildings.{{NHLE|num=1227328|desc=42, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}}{{NHLE|num=1227329|desc=44, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}}{{NHLE|num=1265430|desc=46, Queen Anne's Gate|grade=I|access-date=4 December 2022}} No.s 40, 42 and 44 were the headquarters of the National Trust from 1945-1982.{{cite web|url=https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA130001|title=No. 42 Queen Anne's Gate Heritage Record|publisher=National Trust|access-date=4 December 2022|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204184148/https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA130001|url-status=live}}

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,{{NHLE|num=1266277|desc=9 & 11 Old Queen Street|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}} No. 20,{{NHLE|num=1225626|desc=20 Old Queen Street|grade=|access-date=4 December 2022}} No. 24,{{NHLE|num=1266275|desc=24 Old Queen Street|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}} Nos. 26 & 28,{{NHLE|num=1225627|desc=26 & 28 Old Queen Street|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}} Nos. 30 & 32,{{NHLE|num=1266276|desc=30 & 32 Old Queen Street|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}} No. 34{{NHLE|num=1225628|desc=34 Old Queen Street|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}} and No. 43.{{NHLE|num=1225630|desc=43 Old Queen Street|grade=II|access-date=4 December 2022}}

Gallery

1-3 Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, October 2022.jpg|1-3 Queen Anne’s Gate

6-12 Queen Anne's Gate, London.jpg|6-12 Queen Anne’s Gate

14 Queen Anne's Gate, London.jpg|14 Queen Anne's Gate

15 Queen Anne's Gate - geograph.org.uk - 1142453.jpg|15 Queen Anne’s Gate

Entrance to 28 Queen Anne’s Gate, Westminster, December 2023.jpg|Doorcase at No. 28 Queen Anne's Gate

40 Queen Anne's Gate, London 1.jpg|40 Queen Anne's Gate

Queen Anne statue on Queen Anne's Gate London.jpg|Statue of Queen Anne at Queen Anne's Gate London

11 Old Queen Street Westminster London SW1H 9HP.jpg|11 Old Queen Street

Notes

References

Sources

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