Friars Pyes
There were two pieces of land called Friars Pyes
between the wall of the convent garden and the
Strand. This curious name was derived from an
order of mendicant friars established, some time
before 1257, in a suburb of Marseilles as the
'fratres beate Marie de Areno … qui vulgariter
nuncupantur servi sancte Marie matris Christi'.
More popularly, they were called 'fratres ordinis
de Picca' (ref. 24) (pica=magpie), 'Freres Pyes' (ref. 25) or
Pied Friars, because they wore white mantles with
black scapularies. In 1267 they were given
licence by Henry III to establish a house in
England, and in the same year William Arnaud, a
king's knight, gave the friars a piece of land in the
Strand to hold for an annual rent of 3s. from the
Abbot and Convent of Westminster, the chief
lords of the fee. It had been part of Westminster
Abbey's possessions 'a tempore quo non extat
memoria'. (ref. 26)
Here the friars built a house which was occupied by the order for nearly fifty years, until there
was only one occupant left. In 1316 the last friar,
Hugh de York, died and the property reverted to
the Abbot and Convent of Westminster by order
of the King. (ref. 27) By 1354 it had been allocated to
the office of the abbey's sacrist, (ref. 28) and in that year,
under the description of the garden of the Pied
Friars, the piece of ground was let to Roger Otowy
and his wife Joan for their lives at an annual rent
of 8s. (ref. 29) The convent's last lessee, Thomas
Bradley, yeoman, was granted a lease for thirty
years in 1524 at a rent of 20s. (ref. 30)
The second piece of ground known as Friars
Pyes lay immediately to the east of the first piece.
It has not been traced back beyond 1398–9 when,
as a perquisite of the cellarer's office, it was let to
Richard Randolf for 6s. 8d. a year, and described
as a cottage and garden next to Friars Pyes late in
the possession of the Rector of St. Clement
Danes. (ref. 31) By 1492, when a new lease was granted
to John Peper, yeoman, for fifty years, the name
Friars Pyes had become attached to this second
property. Peper covenanted to build within two
years a house measuring 20 feet by 12 feet, using
good sound timber, with a 'dowbill Roof' (probably a ceiled roof) and a fireplace of 'Breke' and
'sement'. (ref. 32) A new lease was granted in 1524 to
Thomas Bradley for thirty years. (ref. 33)
The Abbey of Westminster was surrendered on
16 January 1539, 40 with all its possessions, including both pieces of Friars Pyes. (ref. 34) They did
not remain long in the King's hands. On 15 July
1541, in exchange for certain lands in Devon,
Henry VIII granted to John, Baron Russell,
Great Admiral of England and later first Earl of
Bedford, manors and lands which had belonged to
the suppressed monasteries in several counties,
including the two pieces in the Strand. (ref. 35) Lord
Russell at this time was living at Russell Place, on
the south side of the Strand, so that the acquisition
subsequently formed a useful adjunct to the house,
especially as there was an aqueduct between the
two pieces of Friars Pyes which supplied Russell
Place with water (see page 31).
Between 1560 and 1563 seven houses standing
at the east end of Friars Pyes were sold by Lord
Russell's son, Francis, the second Earl of Bedford,
to Sir William Cecil. The rest of Friars
Pyes was retained in the Russell family's possession. Stables for use with Russell Place were
erected on the western side by the first or second
Earl, and the rest was let to tenants with houses
fronting the Strand. (ref. 36) Bedford House was subsequently built on the site of the stables, and later
still Southampton Street was laid out there. One
parcel of Friars Pyes was sold in 1617 (ref. 37) and others
were granted in fee farm (see page 33) between
1635 and 1659. (ref. 38) When the parish of St. Paul
was established in 1646 Bedford House and
grounds were included within its bounds, but the
rest of Friars Pyes remained in the parish of St.
Martin. Several alleys were built between the
Strand and the old boundary wall of the convent
garden, namely (from west to east) Curl Court,
Little Denmark Court, Bennett's Court, Little
Bennett's Court and Marygold Court (later Southampton Place). (ref. 39) The site of Friars Pyes is now
covered by the Strand Palace Hotel, the southern
parts of Exeter and Southampton Streets and
Nos. 376–389 (consec.) Strand.