Lancaster Place
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lancaster Place is a short section of road in central London, which connects
Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...
to the major junction with the
Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
and
Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...
. It assumed its current name in 1818, shortly after Waterloo Bridge was opened, replacing an earlier road called Wellington Street. Lancaster Place is bisected by the northbound-only
Strand Underpass The Strand underpass is a one-way road tunnel in central London connecting Waterloo Bridge to Kingsway, London, Kingsway near Holborn. Opened in 1964, it was built within the former Kingsway tramway subway, which closed in the 1950s. It is open ...
which opened in 1964 and passes below Aldwych, enabling Kingsway-bound traffic to skip the Lancaster Place–Strand–Aldwych junction. Brettenham House and
Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...
front onto the west and east sides of Lancaster Place respectively.


History

The road which eventually became Lancaster Place was originally a small lane called Wellington Street, which ran south from the Strand past
Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...
to the Somerset Stairs on the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
. When
Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...
was completed and opened in 1817, a new avenue was included at a higher level which linked the bridge to the
Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...
to the north. This was named Lancaster Place in 1818; the original announcement in the newspapers of the time said that would be a separate Lancaster Place and Lancaster Street, but these were eventually consolidated as Lancaster Place only. In 1964, the
Strand underpass The Strand underpass is a one-way road tunnel in central London connecting Waterloo Bridge to Kingsway, London, Kingsway near Holborn. Opened in 1964, it was built within the former Kingsway tramway subway, which closed in the 1950s. It is open ...
was opened in the centre of Lancaster Place, allowing northbound traffic coming from Waterloo Bridge to pass directly through to Kingsway, avoiding the need to pass through the intersection with the Strand and bypassing the
Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it, in the City of Westminster, part of Greater London, and is part of the West End of London, West End West End Theatre, Theatreland. T ...
surface streets. It had taken 15 months to build, and reused part of recently-closed Kingsway tram tunnel. At the time of opening, it reduced the traffic at the northern end of Lancaster Place by 50%. The tunnel is for cars only, being prohibited to bicycles and larger vehicles.


Architecture

The eastern side of Lancaster Place is mostly occupied by
Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...
, a large neoclassical building lying principally on the Strand. The current Somerset House was designed by William Chambers from 1776, replacing an older building on the site which had originally belonged to
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King E ...
and was later used as a royal residence before eventually being repurposed as the home of the
General Register Office General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The GRO is the government agency r ...
. It is now a public space hosting various exhibitions and events. The facade visible from Lancaster Place is the building's New Wing, which was built between 1851 and 1856, as office accommodation for the
Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...
. The architect for this development was
James Pennethorne Sir James Pennethorne (4 June 1801 – 1 September 1871) was a British architect and planner, particularly associated with buildings and parks in central London. Life Early years Pennethorne was born in Worcester, and travelled to London i ...
. On the west of the street is
Brettenham House Lancaster Place is a short section of road in central London, which connects Waterloo Bridge to the major junction with the Aldwych and Strand. It assumed its current name in 1818, shortly after Waterloo Bridge was opened, replacing an earlier r ...
, an office building with a
Portland Stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...
facade, opened in 1932. It was designed by the father and son William and Edward Hunt. The site of the building belongs to the
Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...
, which also has its headquarters in the building with a separate entrance at 1 Lancaster Place.


Transport

Several Transport for London bus routes operate along Lancaster Place, with a single stop on each side of the road. As of 2025, the northbound stop, titled Lancaster Place stop T, serves buses 1, 59, 68, 76,
139 139 may refer to: * 139 (number), an integer * AD 139, a year of the Julian calendar * 139 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 139 (New Jersey bus) * 139 Juewa 139 Juewa ( ) is a very large and dark main belt asteroid. It is probabl ...
,
172 Year 172 ( CLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 925 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 172 for this year ...
,
176 Year 176 ( CLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Proculus and Aper (or, less frequently, year 929 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 176 for this year ha ...
,
188 Year 188 (CLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Fuscianus and Silanus (or, less frequently, year 941 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomi ...
,
243 __NOTOC__ Year 243 ( CCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Arrianus and Papus (or, less frequently, year 996 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...
,
341 __NOTOC__ Year 341 ( CCCXLI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellinus and Probinus (or, less frequently, year 1094 ''ab Urbe condita''). The denominati ...
, N1, N68, N171, N343 and SL6. On the southbound side, the bus stop Lancaster Place / Somerset House, stop B, serves the 139, 176 and N343 only with other routes using nearby stops not directly on Lancaster Place.


References

{{Coord, 51.5105, -0.1187, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, , , display=title Streets in the City of Westminster