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Adelphi, London

Coordinates: 51°30′33″N 0°07′21″W / 51.50917°N 0.12250°W / 51.50917; -0.12250
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Adam Brothers' Adelphi (1768–72) was London's first neoclassical building. Eleven large houses fronted a vaulted terrace, with wharves beneath, known as the Adelphi Arches'.
11 Adelphi Terrace
Current view of the remaining building at 11 Adelphi Terrace, the furthest left house of the original buildings when viewed from the river.

Adelphi (/əˈdɛlfi/; from the Greek ἀδελφοί adelphoi, meaning "brothers") is a district of the City of Westminster in London.[1] The small district includes the streets of Adelphi Terrace, Robert Street and John Adam Street.[1] Of rare use colloquially, Adelphi is grouped with Aldwych as the greater Strand district (a main street of London between the two areas and those immediately adjoining) which for many decades formed a parliamentary constituency and civil registration district.

Adelphi Buildings

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A prospect of London by Alexander Nasmyth, 1826. The Adelphi Buildings can be seen to the left of Waterloo Bridge.
The Art Deco Adelphi building from the 1930s, located at 1-10 John Adam Street.

The district is named after the Adelphi Buildings, a block of 24 unified neoclassical terrace houses that occupied the land between The Strand and the River Thames in the parish of St Martin in the Fields, which also included a headquarters building for the "Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce" (now generally known as the Royal Society of Arts). They were built between 1768 and 1772 by the Adam brothers (John, Robert, James and William Adam), to whom the buildings' Greek-derived name refers. The ruins of Durham House on the site were demolished for their construction.

Robert Adam was influenced by his extensive visit to Diocletian's Palace in Split, Dalmatia (present day Croatia), and he applied some of this influence to the design of the neoclassical Adelphi Buildings.[2][3] The nearby Adelphi Theatre is named after the Adelphi Buildings.

Many of the Adelphi Buildings were demolished in the early 1930s and replaced with the New Adelphi, a monumental Art Deco building designed by the firm of Collcutt & Hamp. Buildings remaining from the old Adelphi include 11 Adelphi Terrace (formerly occupied by numismatic specialists A.H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd) and the Royal Society of Arts headquarters (which has expanded to incorporate two of the former houses). Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop was located here in the 1940s.

Notable institutions

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South Australian Colonization Commission

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The South Australian Colonization Commission (1834–1843) had their offices at 6 Adelphi Terrace in 1840.[4] Rowland Hill was secretary to this body, and it was during this period that he devised his penny postage scheme.[5]

London School of Economics

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The London School of Economics (LSE) held its first classes in October 1895, in rooms at 9 John Street, Adelphi,[6] before setting up more permanent operations in Number 10 Adelphi Terrace. By 1920, the LSE had moved a few blocks east, to its current Clare Market address. While in Adelphi, the LSE’s scholars and students were active in the surrounding neighbourhood and community.

Street name etymologies

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Crop of Christopher and John Greenwood's 8 inch-to-mile map published in 1827 from an 1830 republication (click to view all). The Adelphi is south of the Strand.

Adelphi has no formally defined boundaries, though they are generally agreed to be: Strand to the north, Lancaster Place to the east, Victoria Embankment to the south and Charing Cross station to the west. The small set of streets east of Northumberland Avenue are included here for convenience.

Several streets are or were named using the words George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham after the first Duke, 17th century courtier, who acquired York House which formerly stood on this site; his son sold the area to developers on condition that his father and titles were commemorated on the new streets.[7]

  • Adam Street – after John and Robert Adam, who built the Adelphi development in the 1760s[8][9]
  • Adelphi Terrace – the area was developed by the brothers John and Robert Adam, in the 1760s, and was named after adelphos, the Greek for 'brother'[10][9]
  • The Arches – presumably descriptive, after the railway arches here
  • Buckingham Arcade and Buckingham Street – after George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham[7][11]
  • Carting Lane – thought to be from the carts that brought good to and from the wharf formerly located here; until the 1830s it was called Dirty Lane[12]
  • Charing Cross – after the Eleanor cross at Charing, from the Old English word "cierring", referring to a bend in the River Thames[13][14]
  • Corner House Street – unknown
  • Craven Passage and Craven Street – after William Craven, 3rd Baron Craven, who owned the land when the street was built in the 1730s[15][16]
  • Durham House Street – this was the former site of Durham House, a palace belonging to the bishops of Durham in medieval times[17][18]
  • Embankment Place – after the Thames Embankment, built in the Victorian era[19]
  • George Court – after George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham[11]
  • Hungerford Lane – after the Hungerford family, who owned a house on this site in the 15th century, later sold due to debts to create Hungerford Market, before the building of Charing Cross station[20][12][21]
  • Ivybridge Lane – named after a former ivy-covered bridge that crossed an old watercourse on this spot; the bridge was demolished sometime before 1600[22][23]
  • John Adam Street – after John Adam, who built the Adelphi development with his brother Robert in the 1760s,[24][9] a combination of the previous John Street and Duke Street with the latter named after the 1st Duke of Buckingham
  • Lancaster Place – former site of the Savoy Palace. It passed into the ownership of the earls of Lancaster in the 13th century, the most famous of which was John of Gaunt, who owned the palace at the times of its destruction in Peasant’s Revolt of 1381[25][26]
  • Northumberland Avenue and Northumberland Street – site of the former Northumberland House, built originally in the early 17th century for the earls of Northampton and later acquired by the earls of Northumberland[27][28]
  • Robert Street and Lower Robert Street – after Robert Adam, who built the Adelphi development with his brother John in the 1760s[29]
  • Savoy Buildings, Savoy Court, Savoy Hill, Savoy Place, Savoy Row, Savoy Steps, Savoy Street and Savoy Way – the former site of the Savoy Palace, built for Peter II, Count of Savoy in 1245[30][31]
  • Strand and Strand Lane – from Old English 'stond', meaning the edge of a river; the river Thames formerly reached here prior to the building of the Thames Embankment[32][33]
  • Victoria Embankment – after Queen Victoria, reigning queen at the time of the building of the Thames Embankment[34][35]
  • Villiers Street – after George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham[11]
  • Watergate Walk – after a former watergate built in 1626 for George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham as an entrance for the former York House[36][37]
  • York Buildings and York Place – a house was built on this site in the 14th century for the bishops of Norwich – in the reign of Queen Mary it was acquired by the archbishops of York and named 'York House'; York Place was formerly 'Of Alley', after the 1st Duke of Buckingham[38][11]

Notable residents

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Past and Present, no. 3 Despair, by Augustus Egg, 1858, set in the Adelphi Arches

In media

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  • David Copperfield, created by Charles Dickens, lived on Buckingham Street in Adelphi.
  • Fictional detective Gideon Fell, created by John Dickson Carr, lived at no. 1, Adelphi Terrace.
  • The 1930s Adelphi building was used for some scenes in ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot episode "The Theft of the Royal Ruby",[42] and in episode "The Plymouth Express".[43]
  • In an instalment of E.M. Delafield’s semi-autobiographical Diary of a Provincial Lady series, entitled ‘The Provincial Lady in Wartime, the eponymous protagonist works in the canteen of an air raid shelter located under the Adelphi during the Phoney War. Much of the narrative is dedicated to describing the atmosphere and inhabitants of the building and the surrounding area, and many of the events of the book take place here.[44]
  • Cora Harrison's Season of darkness revolves around No. 5 Adelphi Terrace.[45]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Mills, A., Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names, (2001)
  2. ^ Peter De Bolla, The Education of the Eye: Painting, Landscape, and Architecture, 2003, Stanford University Press. 296 pages ISBN 0-8047-4800-4
  3. ^ C. Michael Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, Andy Burnham ed, 6 Oct. 2007
  4. ^ The British Almanac of The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, for the year of our Lord 1840. Charles Knight & Co. 1840. p. 59. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Adelphi Terrace". British History Online. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  6. ^ "LSE 1895". London School of Economics. 2000. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  7. ^ a b Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p47
  8. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p2
  9. ^ a b c Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p16
  10. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p3
  11. ^ a b c d Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p62-3
  12. ^ a b Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p74
  13. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p65
  14. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p81
  15. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p85
  16. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p102
  17. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p105
  18. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p118
  19. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p123
  20. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p167
  21. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p179-80
  22. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p170
  23. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p184
  24. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p172
  25. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p186
  26. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p194
  27. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p229
  28. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p236
  29. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p267
  30. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p288
  31. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p295-6
  32. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p306
  33. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p312
  34. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p328
  35. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p332
  36. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p334
  37. ^ Bebbington, G. (1972) London Street Names, p337-8
  38. ^ Fairfield, S. The Streets of London – A dictionary of the names and their origins, p349
  39. ^ "Barrie's flat in Adelphi Terrace House". J M Barrie. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  40. ^ 'The Strand, southern tributaries – continued', Old and New London: Volume 3 (1878), pp. 100–110 accessed: 30 May 2008
  41. ^ a b Gater, G H; Wheeler, E P, eds. (1937), "Adelphi Terrace", Survey of London: Volume 18, St Martin-in-The-Fields II: the Strand, London, pp. 103–108, retrieved 1 October 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  42. ^ Eirik (4 July 2013). "Investigating Agatha Christie's Poirot: Episode-by-episode: The Theft of the Royal Ruby". Investigatingpoirot.blogspot.ch. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  43. ^ "On Location with Poirot - The Plymouth Express". www.tvlocations.net. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  44. ^ Delafield, E.M. (May 2014). The Diary of a Provincial Lady. London: Penguin Classics.
  45. ^ SEASON OF DARKNESS | Kirkus Reviews.

Further reading

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51°30′33″N 0°07′21″W / 51.50917°N 0.12250°W / 51.50917; -0.12250

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