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Northumberland Avenue
Northumberland Avenue is a street in the City of Westminster, Central London, running from Trafalgar Square in the west to the Thames Embankment in the east. The road was built on the site of Northumberland House, the London home of the Percy family, the Dukes of Northumberland between 1874 and 1876, and on part of the parallel Northumberland Street.
When built, the street was designed for luxury accommodation, including the seven-storey Grand Hotel, the Victoria and the Metropole. The Playhouse Theatre opened in 1882 and became a significant venue in London. From the 1930s onwards, properties were used less for hotels and more for British Government departments, including the War Office and Air Ministry, later the Ministry of Defence. The street has been commemorated in the Sherlock Holmes novels including The Hound of the Baskervilles, and is a square on the British Monopoly board.
The street is around 0.2 miles (320 m) long and part of the A400, a local road connecting Westminster to Camden Town. It runs from Trafalgar Square eastwards towards the Thames Embankment. At the eastern end are the Whitehall Gardens and the Golden Jubilee Bridges over the River Thames.
The nearest tube stations are Charing Cross and Embankment, and numerous bus routes serve the western end of the street.
The area which is now occupied by Northumberland Avenue was originally called Hartshorn Lane. It was formed around 1491 after the Abbott of Westminster granted land to the grocer, Thomas Walker, including an inn known as the Christopher and stables. The land was sold to Humfrey Cooke in 1516, then to John Russell in 1531. In 1546, it was sold back to Henry VIII.
In 1608–09, Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton built a house on the eastern side of the former Chapel and Hospital of St. Mary Rounceval, at Charing Cross, including gardens running to the River Thames and adjoining Scotland Yard to the west. The estate became the property of Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland when he married Howard's great-great niece, Lady Elizabeth, in 1642, whereupon it was known as Northumberland House. In turn, the street was named Northumberland Street. The house was damaged in the Wilkes' election riots of 1768, but was saved after its owner, Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland opened the nearby Ship Ale House, driving off rioters.
By the 18th century, Northumberland Street was primarily used as a thoroughfare between markets in the West End of London and the wharfs along the Thames. In 1720, historian John Strype wrote that Northumberland Street was "much clogged and pestered with Carts repairing to the Wharfs".
In June 1874, the whole of Northumberland House was purchased by the Metropolitan Board of Works and demolished to form Northumberland Avenue, which would accommodate hotels. Contemporary planning permissions forbade hotels to be taller than the width of the road they were on; consequently Northumberland Avenue was built with a wide carriageway. Part of the parallel Northumberland Street was demolished in order to make way for the avenue's eastern end. The street was open by 1876. The hotels were popular for American visitors as they were near to the West End, government buildings on Whitehall and all the mainline stations.
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Northumberland Avenue
Northumberland Avenue is a street in the City of Westminster, Central London, running from Trafalgar Square in the west to the Thames Embankment in the east. The road was built on the site of Northumberland House, the London home of the Percy family, the Dukes of Northumberland between 1874 and 1876, and on part of the parallel Northumberland Street.
When built, the street was designed for luxury accommodation, including the seven-storey Grand Hotel, the Victoria and the Metropole. The Playhouse Theatre opened in 1882 and became a significant venue in London. From the 1930s onwards, properties were used less for hotels and more for British Government departments, including the War Office and Air Ministry, later the Ministry of Defence. The street has been commemorated in the Sherlock Holmes novels including The Hound of the Baskervilles, and is a square on the British Monopoly board.
The street is around 0.2 miles (320 m) long and part of the A400, a local road connecting Westminster to Camden Town. It runs from Trafalgar Square eastwards towards the Thames Embankment. At the eastern end are the Whitehall Gardens and the Golden Jubilee Bridges over the River Thames.
The nearest tube stations are Charing Cross and Embankment, and numerous bus routes serve the western end of the street.
The area which is now occupied by Northumberland Avenue was originally called Hartshorn Lane. It was formed around 1491 after the Abbott of Westminster granted land to the grocer, Thomas Walker, including an inn known as the Christopher and stables. The land was sold to Humfrey Cooke in 1516, then to John Russell in 1531. In 1546, it was sold back to Henry VIII.
In 1608–09, Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton built a house on the eastern side of the former Chapel and Hospital of St. Mary Rounceval, at Charing Cross, including gardens running to the River Thames and adjoining Scotland Yard to the west. The estate became the property of Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland when he married Howard's great-great niece, Lady Elizabeth, in 1642, whereupon it was known as Northumberland House. In turn, the street was named Northumberland Street. The house was damaged in the Wilkes' election riots of 1768, but was saved after its owner, Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland opened the nearby Ship Ale House, driving off rioters.
By the 18th century, Northumberland Street was primarily used as a thoroughfare between markets in the West End of London and the wharfs along the Thames. In 1720, historian John Strype wrote that Northumberland Street was "much clogged and pestered with Carts repairing to the Wharfs".
In June 1874, the whole of Northumberland House was purchased by the Metropolitan Board of Works and demolished to form Northumberland Avenue, which would accommodate hotels. Contemporary planning permissions forbade hotels to be taller than the width of the road they were on; consequently Northumberland Avenue was built with a wide carriageway. Part of the parallel Northumberland Street was demolished in order to make way for the avenue's eastern end. The street was open by 1876. The hotels were popular for American visitors as they were near to the West End, government buildings on Whitehall and all the mainline stations.