Strand, The (London, England); Streets -- England -- London
In Chandos Street the highwayman Claude Duval was arrested, after which
he was executed at Tyburn, 1669. There was an ancient hostelry called
the Black Prince in Chandos Street, which is mentioned by Dickens. This
was demolished to make way for the Medical College. Opposite was the
blacking shop where Dickens spent a miserable part of his childhood.
The next group of streets on the south side, namely, John, Robert,
James, and William Streets, was built by four brothers of the name of
Adam, who gave their Christian names to their handiwork, and from whom
this particular district was called the "Adelphi," from the Greek word
signifying brothers. The site was occupied by Durham House, a palace
built by Anthony de Beck, Bishop of Durham in Edward I.'s reign. Bishop
Tunstall in 1535 exchanged it with Henry VIII. for Cold Harbour and
other houses in the City, and for a time it was frequented by royalty.
The King gave a great tournament here on his marriage with Anne of
Cleves. Proclamations of the jousts were made in France, Spain,
Scotland, and Flanders. The young King, Edward VI., granted the house to
his sister Elizabeth for life. The unfortunate Lady Jane Grey was
married within the walls of Durham House to the son of Northumberland.
When Queen Mary ascended the throne, she gave the palace back to Bishop
Tunstall, but Elizabeth regarded it as one of the royal palaces, and
after her accession bestowed it on Sir Walter Raleigh. In Aubrey's
"Letters" Raleigh's occupation of the house is mentioned in a
descriptive passage: "Durham House was a noble palace.... I well
remember his (Raleigh's) study, which was on a little turret that looked
into and over the Thames, and had the prospect which is, perhaps, as
pleasant as any in the world." When Raleigh was imprisoned the See of
Durham again obtained the house. The stables, facing the Strand, were
then in a very ruinous condition, and were pulled down. On their site
was built an exchange, called the New Exchange, which obtained some
popularity. This was erected partly on the pattern of the Royal
Exchange, and was opened by King James I. This, Strype tells us, "was
for milliners, sempstresses, and other trades that furnish dresses."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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