Bartlett's Buildings
Bartlett's Buildings, once known as Bartlett's Court, was the name of a street, off Holborn Circus in the City of London, known for the number of lawyers who had offices there. It was a cul-de-sac but an alley ran from the west side to Fetter Lane that was known as Bartlett's Passage. It was destroyed in 1941 during a Second World War air raid.
History
George Thornbury noted in 1878 that it was mentioned in the burial register of St. Andrew's, the parish of which it was a part, as early as November 1615, when it was called Bartlett's Court.[2]
John Strype's A survey of the Cities of London and Westminster (1720) calls it "a very handsome spacious Place, graced with good Buildings of Brick, with Gardens behind the Houses; and is a Place very well inhabited by Gentry, and Persons of good Repute."[3]
Henry Chamberlain's 1770 survey said: "Bartlet's-buildings is a very handsome spacious place, graced with good houses of brick, with gardens behind them, and is principally inhabited by gentlemen".[4]
Bartlett's Buildings is mentioned in Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility (1811) as the place where the two Miss Steeles lodge when visiting their cousin.[5]
The street was once home to the Farringdon Dispensary and Lying in Charity, shown in a watercolour drawing by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd of 1858.[1]
The street was totally destroyed during a Second World War air raid in 1941[5] and subsequently replaced by New Fetter Lane.
References
- View of Bartlett's Buildings in Holborn. British Museum. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- Holborn : To Chancery Lane. British History Online. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- John Strype's A survey of the Cities of London and Westminster. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- Chamberlain, Henry. (1770). A new and compleat history and survey of the cities of London and Westminster, the Borough of Southwark, and parts adjacent: From the earliest accounts, to the beginning of the year 1770 &c. London: J. Cooke. p. 535.
- "Bartlett’s Buildings, Holborn". Austenonly. Retrieved 12 August 2017.