No. 13 Golden Square
The sites of Nos. 13–16 were in that part of the
Axtells' moiety of Gelding Close which William
Partridge of St. Martin's, blacksmith, undertook
to develop, and in August 1684 they were leased
to him by Martha Axtell for fifty-one years at an
annual rent of £11 3s. (ref. 91)
The first occupant of No. 13 was probably Sir
Henry Ingoldsby, the parliamentarian (1691–4).
Later inhabitants include (Sir) Edmund Prideaux
(1695–1711), the dancer Elizabeth Gamberini
(1753–63), for whom the house may have been
rebuilt in 1753, thearchitects Henry Keene (1763–
1772) and his son Theodosius (1773–8), (ref. 93) and
(Sir) Martin Archer Shee, the future President of
the Royal Academy (1796–8). (ref. 94) In the nineteenth
century the house was occupied at various times
as a warehouse and later from 1873 to 1905 as
an hotel. (ref. 62)
A survey made in 1905 shows that No. 13 was
a double-fronted house containing a basement and
four storeys. The plan was dovetailed in with that
of No. 7 Lower James Street. On the ground
floor there was a large deep room on the east side
of the entrance passage, and a shallower room on
the west. At the back of the passage was an openwell staircase, top lit, and west of this was a small
back room lit from an area common to the two
houses. This arrangement was repeated on the
first floor except that the east front room extended
over the passage and became the largest room in
the house. The front, four storeys high and five
windows wide, appears to have been of brick with
stone or stucco dressings. The ground storey was
rusticated, but this was probably a later stuccoing
of the original plain brickwork. The doorway was
central and the round-arched opening was dressed
with a doorcase of Doric columns supporting
entablature-blocks and an open triangular pediment. A pedestal underlined the main face of two
storeys, which was of brick bounded by long-andshort quoins. The middle window in the first
floor was dressed with an architrave and a segmental pediment, and that above had an eared
architrave. The other windows were plain, with
flat arches of gauged brickwork. Below the attic
storey was a modillioned cornice. The return
front to Lower James Street was decorated with
blind windows, Venetian in the first three storeys,
and a semi-circular arch in the attic.
In 1906 the house was demolished and the
present office block built to the designs of William
Woodward. (ref. 95)
No. 14 Golden Square
The site of this house, together with those of
Nos. 13, 15 and 16, was leased in August 1684 by
Martha Axtell to William Partridge for fifty-one
years. (ref. 91) A house was built there by 1692, when
Mr. Capel probably became the first occupant.
In later years there were no inhabitants of note.
In the nineteenth century the house was occupied
for a time by a surgeon and later became a lodging
house. (ref. 62)
The only item of evidence relating to this house
is a photograph (ref. 96) of 1912 of the doorcase, apparently of wood and of mid eighteenth-century
date. The door, with three panels on each side of a
central bead, was surmounted by a fanlight and
recessed within an arch with panelled reveals and
soffit, and a narrow archivolt rising from simple
impost mouldings. On either side was an Ionic
plain-shafted column supporting an entablatureblock, linked by a high segmental pediment, consisting of the corona and cymatium of the cornice,
of which the modillions and bed-mouldings were
recessed back against the margin of the doorway
arch.
In 1912 the building was demolished and the
site acquired by the owners of the adjoining No.
13. A new building was then erected and finished
in the following year to the designs of R. H. Kerr,
as an extension to No. 13, which had been built in
1906. (ref. 97) The builders were Sabey and Sons of
Islington. (ref. 98)
No. 15 Golden Square
The site of this house, together with those of
Nos. 13, 14 and 16, was leased in August 1684 by
Martha Axtell to William Partridge for fifty-one
years. (ref. 91) A house was built there by 1689, when
Lady Cope became the first occupant. The ratebooks suggest that the house may have been rebuilt in 1778 for Jephtha Galliard and Company.
In the nineteenth century the house was occupied
by various firms of solicitors. (ref. 62)
Together with No. 16, No. 15 was demolished
in 1907–8 for the erection of a new building for
Messrs. Burberry, who had rebuilt No. 17 in
1902. (ref. 28) The architect was probably William
Woodward and the builders Trollope and
Colls. (ref. 99)
No. 16 Golden Square
The site of this house, together with those of
Nos. 13–15, was leased in August 1684 by Martha
Axtell to William Partridge for fifty-one years. (ref. 91)
A house was built there by 1689 and probably
occupied by a Madam Ball until 1690, and then
by Charles Chetwind, esquire, until 1714. (ref. 100)
The most notable inhabitant of this house was
Angelica Kauffmann, the artist. She came to
England in June 1766 and first lived in lodgings in
Suffolk Street. A growing reputation and her
father's arrival in England induced her in 1767 to
take a furnished house, No. 16 Golden Square,
which, though on the southern and less fashionable
side, provided the necessary northern light for her
work. Here she lived until 1781, when she left
England. (fn. 101) The next occupant was another
artist, Prince Hoare, who remained here until
1787. (ref. 72)
In the nineteenth century the house (which does
not seem to have been greatly altered since its
erection in the 1680's) was occupied by various
commercial and professional firms. It was demolished in 1907–8 for the erection of Nos. 15–16
Golden Square, an extension to Messrs. Burberry's
warehouse and offices at No. 17 (ref. 62) (see above sub
No. 15).
No. 17 Golden Square
This site, together with those of Nos. 18 and
19, formed part of the ground which was jointly
granted (on what terms is not known) before the
partition of 1675 by Axtell and Emlyn to William
Partridge of St. Martin's, blacksmith. Subsequently the latter covenanted 'to make uniform
buildings', (ref. 17) and the engraving reproduced on
Plate 120a shows that he (or possibly his nominee
John Beales) (ref. 91) did in fact do so. The house
appears to have been built by 1689 and occupied by
Colonel Sylliard. Later occupants include Henry
Temple (1704–7), possibly the politician of this
name who later became the first Viscount
Palmerston, and Edward Chandler (1720–30),
then Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry and later
Bishop of Durham. (fn. 72)
In 1775 Nos. 17 and 18 were demolished and a
large double-fronted house was then built on the
combined sites for John Norton, the surgeon, who
had previously lived at No. 25 Golden Square, and
who was the inventor of 'Maredant's Drops'. The
house was later occupied from 1788 to 1793 by
Norton's successor in practice, John Hayman,
until he moved to No. 22. (ref. 28)
Hayman's trade card (Plate 134b) gives what is
probably a reliable picture of the front of Surgeon
Norton's house. It shows a front of four storeys,
five windows wide, with handsome railings to the
front areas and lamp-irons flanking the wide steps
before the central doorway. The door was surmounted by a radial fanlight and flanked by sidelights, the latter placed between columns with
fluted capitals. Each pair of columns supported
an enriched entablature, united by an open
pediment above the arched doorway. All the
windows were set in plain rectangular openings
in a brick face, dressed with a bandcourse at firstfloor level, where the tall windows had segmental
balconies, and a frieze of fluting between paterae
with a narrow cornice below the attic storey.
Above the roof rose an octagonal lantern-light,
presumably over the main staircase.
In 1812 the double-sited house was divided into
two separate houses, possibly by Edward Howard,
a conveyancer, who had lived here since 1810. He
retained the eastern half, now again No. 17, until
1817. Later in the nineteenth century the house
was occupied at various times by a tailor, an artist
and picture-liner, and by a girls' school from 1859
to 1864.
The house was demolished in 1902 for the
erection of the present office and warehouse
building for Messrs. Burberry. (ref. 62) The architect
may have been William Woodward, who
probably designed the adjoining Nos. 15 and 16,
also for Messrs. Burberry.
No. 18 Golden Square
This site, together with those of Nos. 17 and
19, formed part of the ground which was jointly
granted before the partition of 1675 by Axtell and
Emlyn to William Partridge. (ref. 17) A house was built
there by 1689, and Major Clifford was probably
the first occupant. There were no later residents
of note. The house was demolished in 1775, together with the adjoining No. 17, for the erection
of a new double-fronted house on the combined
site (see above). This large house was divided into
two in 1812 and No. 18 reverted to separate
occupation. (ref. 28) It was in commercial occupation
throughout most of the nineteenth century and
was demolished in 1904. The present building
was erected shortly afterwards. The builders were
H. and E. Lea of Warwick Street. (ref. 102)
No. 19 Golden Square
This site, together with those at Nos. 17 and
18, formed part of the ground which was jointly
granted by Axtell and Emlyn before the partition
of 1675 to William Partridge. (ref. 17) A house was
erected there by 1689 and occupied by Thomas
Walker, esquire, until 1700. The only other inhabitants of note were Sir Edward Earby (1704–
1707) and Colonel William Crosby (1784–8). (ref. 103)
Thereafter the house was occupied by various
professional tenants until 1863 when a firm of
perfumers moved in. The house (which does not
seem to have been greatly altered since the late
seventeenth century) was demolished in 1922 for
the erection of the present office and warehouse
block. (ref. 104)