PREFACE
The present volume, constituting the first of those dealing with
the former parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, is in effect a
continuation of Vols. XIII and XIV of the Survey of London,
which dealt with the neighbourhood of Whitehall, so far as that
was included in the old parish of St. Margaret, Westminster. Briefly, the
volume contains an account of (i) the area lying between the main street
and the old wall of St. James's Park and the Spring Garden, from the Horse
Guards (situated partly within St. Margaret) to the old parish boundary at
the junction of Cockspur Street with Pall Mall, (fn. 1) and (ii) the district north
of Horse Guards Avenue as far as the site of the Hospital of St. Mary,
Rounceval. It had originally been intended to include in the volume an
account of the site of the Hospital, but considerations of space prevented
this from being done.
I gladly take this opportunity of placing on record the valuable
assistance which the Council has received in the preparation of the volume.
The Marquess of Sligo very kindly granted permission for the
reproduction of the oil painting by S. Scott showing Whitehall north of the
Holbein Gateway about 1750. The Westminster City Council again placed
its excellently arranged series of records, comprising ratebooks, overseers'
accounts and vestry minutes, at the Council's service. They have proved
of the utmost value. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster once more
allowed the Council to examine and make extracts from their fine collection
of registers, deeds and accounts. Much of the information that has been
obtained relating to the period before the Reformation is derived from this
source. Thanks are also due to the Librarians of All Souls' College, Oxford,
and the Pepys Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge, for allowing the
reproduction of drawings in the Wren and Pepys Collections, and to
the London Topographical Society for permission to reproduce certain of
their published prints. The Sun Insurance Office took much trouble in
searching their records for information on the early history of Harrington
House, and the particulars thus obtained were most useful.
The records of H.M. Office of Works and of H.M. Commissioners
of Crown Lands have again been unreservedly placed at the Council's
service, and the kindness of the former in lending many plans for reproduction is gratefully acknowledged. The assistance freely rendered by the
officials in the Public Record Office and the British Museum is also much
appreciated, and special thanks are due to the Librarian at the Westminster
Public Library for valuable help, and for permission to reproduce several
items in that Library's excellent collection of Westminster views. In the
case of previous volumes the work of historical research had been facilitated
by the use of the registers in the possession of the Middlesex Registry.
These registers have now been transferred to the custody of the Council,
and their presence at the County Hall (where they are open to examination
by students of London history) has greatly facilitated research for the
purposes of this volume.
The kindness of the Rev. E. E. Dorling, M.A., F.S.A., in revising the
heraldic blazons and drawing the marginal shields is gratefully acknowledged.
The historical information contained in the volume has been compiled
by Mr. W. W. Braines, B.A.(Lond.), a principal assistant in my department,
who has also prepared the volume for press. Mr. Braines has been associated
with the Survey of London from 1909, and I greatly regret that, owing to his
impending retirement, this is the last volume in the preparation of which he
will have any part. He has devoted to the work his deep knowledge of
London history, and an exceptional skill and thoroughness in matters of
historical research. The withdrawal of his valuable assistance will be a great
loss to the work of the Survey. Mr. Braines has pleasure in acknowledging
the great help which he has received from Miss Ida Darlington, M.A.
(Lond.), an assistant in my department. The Architect to the Council
desires that his appreciation shall be recorded of the work done in connection with the preparation of the volume by Mr. W. Dathy Quirke,
A.R.I.B.A.
G. H. GATER,
Clerk of the London County Council.
The County Hall,
Westminster Bridge, S.E.1.
4th September, 1935.