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Lot Essay
The site of the old Savoy palace was cleared to make way for the approach of Waterloo bridge between 1828 and 1830. Most of the original site is now covered by the Savoy hotel, the Savoy theatre, and Embankment Gardens and the West wing of Somerset House.
At the Restoration, old Somerset House, to the East of Old Savoy palace, was put in order for Queen Henrietta Maria who went to France the following year to attend her daughter's wedding. While she was away a low gallery along the water was built to the designs of John Webb. Following her departure from England in 1665, Catherine of Braganza often retired there and on the death of King Charles II in 1685 she lived there permanently. When Catherine of Braganza left to become Queen Regent of Portugal, successive Queen Consorts took little interest in the house and it was mostly let out as grace and favour residences until 1775 when the house was demolished and its site allocated for government offices which were built largely to the designs of Sir William Chambers, although they were still not complete at his death in 1796 and in 1835 the East wing was added by Robert Smirke and the West wing by James Pennethorne. St Mary-le-Strand was built in a Baroque style between 1714 and 1717 to the designs of James Gibbs (his first public building), the first of fifty new churches which were built in London in accordance with an Act of Parliament of 1711. St. Clement Danes, which had escaped the Great Fire, was pronounced unsafe in 1679 and a new church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren with an elegant tower then added by James Gibbs onto the West front.
At the Restoration, old Somerset House, to the East of Old Savoy palace, was put in order for Queen Henrietta Maria who went to France the following year to attend her daughter's wedding. While she was away a low gallery along the water was built to the designs of John Webb. Following her departure from England in 1665, Catherine of Braganza often retired there and on the death of King Charles II in 1685 she lived there permanently. When Catherine of Braganza left to become Queen Regent of Portugal, successive Queen Consorts took little interest in the house and it was mostly let out as grace and favour residences until 1775 when the house was demolished and its site allocated for government offices which were built largely to the designs of Sir William Chambers, although they were still not complete at his death in 1796 and in 1835 the East wing was added by Robert Smirke and the West wing by James Pennethorne. St Mary-le-Strand was built in a Baroque style between 1714 and 1717 to the designs of James Gibbs (his first public building), the first of fifty new churches which were built in London in accordance with an Act of Parliament of 1711. St. Clement Danes, which had escaped the Great Fire, was pronounced unsafe in 1679 and a new church was designed by Sir Christopher Wren with an elegant tower then added by James Gibbs onto the West front.