No. 12 Soho Square
All the six houses (Nos. 12–17) which comprised the eastern range of the north side of the
square (Plate 69a) were probably built by
Richard Frith and William Pym in the years
immediately after 1677. One of the corner houses
—either No. 12 or No. 17—was sub-let in or
before 1680 to John Costin, but in October
1680 Frith and Pym leased two of the houses
(probably Nos. 16 and 17) to Cadogan Thomas
of Lambeth, timber merchant, who within the
next two months mortgaged both of them to Sir
Thomas Chamber(s) of Hanworth, Middlesex. (ref. 47)
In 1683 Benjamin Hinton of London, goldsmith,
to whom both Frith and Thomas owed large sums
of money, was declared bankrupt, (ref. 91) and in
December 1684 they conveyed the equity of
redemption of a number of sites in Soho Square,
including the two now under discussion, to the
group of merchants who were the assignees of
Hinton's bankruptcy. (ref. 47) By his will, proved in
March 1691/2, Chamber bequeathed his leasehold houses in King's Square to his son, Thomas, (ref. 92)
who in June 1715 obtained from the second Earl
(later the first Duke) of Portland separate leases
of all six houses (Nos. 12–17) which extended his
interest to 1769. (ref. 21)
The first known occupant of No. 12 was
Craven Howard of Revesby, Lincolnshire, who
lived here from at least 1691 to 1694; he later
lived at No. 10. Later inhabitants include
Sir Edward Pickering, fourth baronet, M.P.,
1746–7, and Sir Charles Leblon, 1754. (ref. 33)
In 1754 the leases of Nos. 12 and 13 were in
the possession of John Homer of St. James's,
surgeon, to whom in October of that year the
second Duke of Portland granted two leases
extending the existing terms to 1799. Each lease
contained a proviso that if Homer rebuilt the
house before 1770 his term would be extended to
1853. (ref. 21) Both No. 12 and No. 13 were rebuilt
in 1768–9 by Henry Homer of St. James's,
gentleman, to whom the third Duke granted two
new leases in February 1770. (ref. 93) Later inhabitants
of No. 12 include the Venetian envoy, 1772–91
(he or his predecessor had previously lived at
No. 31 and at No. 2), and (Sir) Anthony Carlisle, surgeon, 1800–19. (ref. 33)
No. 12 is shown on C. J. Richardson's water-colour of the north-east corner of Soho Square
(Plate 69a), dated 1826, with the entrance in
Soho Street. Tallis's view (fig. 4), dated 1838–40,
shows that a shop front had been inserted, probably
by the linen draper who occupied the house from
1822 to 1836. The name 'Hayes' shown above
the shop front on Tallis's view was Joseph
Hayes, a dentist.
At some date later in the century, probably
after 1857, when the house passed into the possession of Messrs. Nixey, a firm of black-lead
manufacturers, (ref. 33) the two street fronts were altered and embellished in the present manner, so
that they now appear to be of mid nineteenth-century date. The house is of three storeys with
another in a mansard roof and has the usual frontage of three windows to the square and a long
return to Soho Street, the disused central entrance
here having a two-storeyed bay window above it,
supported on Doric columns. The stucco facing
of the elevation to the square is typical mid
nineteenth-century work with a rusticated and
arcaded ground storey and pedimented first-floor
windows. It is returned for a width of two windows into Soho Street, beyond which the bay
window has been crudely reconstructed and the
north end of this front much altered.
Plans of Nos. 12 and 13 are reproduced on
fig. 10. Internally, some eighteenth-century
work survives at No. 12 and its character is
similar to No. 13 next door, which was built at
the same time. There is an altered, top-lit, stone
staircase placed centrally behind the old entrance
with an incomplete wrought-iron balustrade,
part of which has been re-used for a small firstfloor balcony facing the square. Little remains on
the ground floor apart from a good original white
marble chimneypiece in the French taste, in the
front room to the square. On the first-floor
landing are two carved and pedimented doorcases (Plate 128b), the rear one leading to a room
with a fine but incomplete plaster ceiling,
decorated with wreaths of naturalistic foliage
overlaying an elliptical enclosure and with scroll
ornament in the centre (Plate 130b). An enriched modillion cornice also survives in this
room, as well as some original joinery with carved
mouldings. The front room is now very bare,
the only feature of interest being a plain, early
nineteenth-century chimneypiece which retains
its original grate with an unusual sliding wire
guard of bowed form.