Street features
Every Covent Garden Street has its own history, some more desirable than others.
Please select street below and meet some of Covent Garden’s characters over the years.
- Please choose a street from the below -
Exeter Street
Walking down Exeter Street today, it is almost hard to believe that this obscure route linking the Strand and the Aldwych would have much history to speak of. On the contrary, this thoroughfare was once home to the distinguished Dr Samuel Johnson and is also noted as the address of a noisy brothel!
Exeter Street was built in stages over the years; the first stretch leading off Catherine Street was laid out in 1673 by Lord Burghley who had connections with the area. By 1708 the Bedford family had it extended westwards and in 1831 it was stretched out towards the Strand.
The street name was taken from Exeter House which once stood on the junction with Wellington Street (the site of today's Lyceum theatre). Also known at times as Burghley House and Cecil House, it was built for Sir Thomas Palmer during the reign of Edward VI and later passed from Elizabeth I to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and on to his son Thomas. Eighteen years on, Henrietta Maria lodged here before her marriage to Prince Charles. Fire severely damaged the House in 1627 but it was later repaired. Henrietta Maria returned here 33 years later as a widow to worship in the chapel especially set aside for her. After the great fire, the Admiralty Court, the prerogative Courts and the Court of Arches relocated here until the Doctors' Commons was rebuilt. Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury, husband of Frances, also lived here for a time. The house was eventually demolished in the 1670s and Exeter Street, Burleigh Street (which is still here today) and Exeter Change were built on its site.
Built in 1676, Exeter Change housed small units which were originally intended for hosiers, milliners and drapers most of which ended up as offices. In 1773-1829, this spot was home to Edward Cross' menagerie with lions, tigers and monkeys to name but of a few of the animals he owned. A very popular exhibit was Chunee the elephant who had to be killed after he threatened to break down the bars of his cage. Exeter Change was demolished in 1829 and the menagerie moved to the Surrey Zoological Gardens.
For a time, Exeter Street was home to Dr Samuel Johnson who lodged at the house of stay-maker Richard Norris when he first came to London in 1737. Documents indicate that part of his tragedy Irene was written here and his poem London completed. The site of the house is today covered by Wellington Street. Born on 18 September 1709 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, Johnson's early years were beset by numerous health problems. Following an unsuccessful attempt to run a school, Johnson travelled to London with friend and actor David Garrick where he struggled to support himself through journalism contributing to The Gentleman's Magazine. Johnson was later commissioned to write a Dictionary of the English Language by a syndicate of printers.
In 1792, the inaugural meeting of the London Corresponding Society took place at The Old Bell Tavern on Exeter Street. Founded by a shoemaker Thomas Hardy, it was recognised as one of the most influential reform societies formed after the French Revolution. At the height of its influence it had over 5000 members, mostly 'tradesmen, mechanics and shopkeepers'. The London Corresponding Society was suppressed within a few years of its foundation by Pitts' government.
On the north side, facing Burleigh Street, there were also premises called the Boar's Head then rebuilt as the Royal Panopticon Institute of Science in 1851. For at least 20 years Exeter Street was also the site of the printing works of the News of the World. Today, this quiet road is mostly affected by the inner functions of the Strand Palace Hotel.
AND DID YOU KNOW... In 1842, complaints were lodged by a Mrs Crutchley about a brothel on Exeter Street with reports that "scenes of the grossest infamy are daily exposed. The house appears to be the resort of women of the lowest description whose screams throughout the greater part of the night keep the neighbourhood in a constant state of annoyance. Cries of murder have made it necessary frequently to call in the Police. Women in a state of almost perfect nudity and drunkenness are constantly exposing themselves in the yard of the said premises."
