No. 17 Queen Anne's Gate

LII.—No. 17 QUEEN ANNE'S GATE: (Formerly No. 7 Queen Square).

Ground Landlord, etc.

The freehold is the property of the Mountjoy Estates, Ltd. The house is occupied by Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, R.A.

General Description.

The transaction on 21st November, 1726, between the Trustees under the South Sea Company Act and George Harrison (see p. 116) included the sale for £870 of this house, which was described as the fifth house on the south side of Queen Square, then or late in tenure of Sir Charles Hotham. (fn. n1) It was said to contain 23 feet 7 inches in front and 35 feet 9 inches in depth, being three storeys in height, and having two rooms and a closet on each floor, with a kitchen and washhouse and other conveniences below stairs and gaŗrets in the roof, a yard behind 23 feet 10 inches deep, two vaults beneath Queen Square and an iron railing in front of the house.

The wood doorcase, with carved pilasters and canopied hood, has recently been stripped and repainted. As a result, the carving appears in almost its original freshness (Plates 107 and 108.)

Internally the premises contain little of their original finishings.

Condition of Repair.

Very good.

Historical Notes.

According to the ratebooks the occupiers of this house before 1840 were:—

The "Bishop of Carlisle" and "Dr. Waugh" are the same person, John Waugh having held the see of Carlisle from 1723 to 1735.

He was succeeded in his occupation of the house in Queen Square by another bishop. This was Nicholas Clagett, the third of that name who attained some eminence in the religious world. His father was a well-known controversialist, who had been preacher for 45 years at St. Mary's, Bury St. Edmunds, and his grandfather, an able Puritan divine, had also held the same position until rejected for nonconformity at the Restoration. The youngest Nicholas became Dean of Rochester in 1724 and Bishop of St. David's in 1732. In 1742 he was translated to Exeter. He died on 8th December, 1746, "at his house in Queen Square" (fn. n2) and was buried at St. Margaret's, Westminster.

Robert Hay Drummond, second son of George Hay, Viscount Dupplin, and grandson of the sixth Earl of Kinnoul, was born in 1711. His birth is mentioned by Swift, (fn. n3) and his infancy is referred to by Bentley in the dedication of the latter's edition of Horace to Lord Oxford. (fn. n4) While acting in Julius Cæsar as a Westminster Scholar before George II. and Queen Caroline, he attracted the notice of the Queen, who remained his warm patroness for the rest of her life. After returning from the "grand tour" he was ordained, and by the Queen's influence was appointed a royal chaplain. In 1743 he preached the thanksgiving sermon before the King for the victory at Dettingen. In 1745 he became a D.D., and in 1748 was consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph. In 1761 he was translated to Salisbury, and a few months later became Archbishop of York. While still Archbishop-Designate, he was selected to preach the sermon at the coronation of George III. He died in 1776. During his tenure of the see of St. Asaph, he took a prominent part in politics and exercised considerable influence in the House of Lords, but after the accession of George III. he withdrew from politics, and devoted himself to the education of his children and the oversight of his diocese. He carried out large building works at his palace of Bishopthorpe, and showed himself a liberal patron of English artists. His residence at the house in Queen Square was apparently confined to the year 1758.

In the Council's Collection are:—

(fn. n5) General view of exterior (photograph).
(fn. n5) General view of exterior (measured drawing).
(fn. n5) Detail of entrance doorway (photography).
(fn. n5) Detail of entrance doorway (measured drawing).
(fn. n5) Ground and first-floor plans (measured drawing).