Canon Row is a historic street in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

in London. It is best known as the location of Canon Row Police Station.

History

In 1878 Canon Row extended from the back of Richmond Terrace to Bridge Street, Westminster, and about midway between the Thames and Parliament Street. It is a narrow thoroughfare. According to

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of History of England, English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe C ...

and John Selden, Canon Row — or, as it was often called, Channel Row — derived its name from being the residence allotted to the

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s of

St Stephen's Chapel St Stephen's Chapel, sometimes called the Royal Chapel of St Stephen, was a chapel completed around 1297 in the old Palace of Westminster. After the death of Henry VIII until 1834, the building served as the chamber of the House of Commons of E ...

in the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. It was anciently the site of several grand

townhouses A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residenc ...

. Stow states that among its inhabitants in his time were "divers noblemen and gentlemen," including Sir Edward Hobbes, John Thynne, Esq.,

Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, Knight of the Bath, KB (1539 – 29 September 1616) was an English peerage, peer, styled Lord Clinton from 1572 to 1585. Known for repeated accusations of extortion, abduction and arson, among other things, ...

, (Lincoln House) and the Earl of Derby (Derby House) and the Duchess of Somerset, mother of the Earl of Hertford, ( Hertford House) who both occupied "stately" houses. Also situated on Canon Row was Sussex House, home of

Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex Thomas Radclyffe (or Ratclyffe), 3rd Earl of Sussex KG (c. 15259 June 1583), was Lord Deputy of Ireland during the Tudor period of English history, and a leading courtier during the reign of Elizabeth I. Family He was the eldest son of ...

.Ros, Maggi, Life in Elizabethan England: A London and Westminster Directory, 2008
/ref> The current buildings on the site, including the Canon Row Police Station, date from the early 20th century.

Sources

* Thornbury, Walter, ''Old and New London'', Volume 3, London, 1878, pp. 376–382: ''Whitehall: Precinct and Gardens
Ros, Maggi, Life in Elizabethan England: A London and Westminster Directory, 2008

References

{{coords, 51.50160, -0.12546, display=title Streets in the City of Westminster