Salisbury Square is a square in London EC4.

History

The square is named after Salisbury Court, by and on part of the land, today the name of the narrow street which leads the square from the north. Salisbury Court was the medieval London house and episcopal court of the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

, beside or above which he maintained a well-appointed inn for visitors. Between 1629 and 1666 a relatively long-lived theatre stood on its south side. The original building, repaired and altered, became Dorset House, as having been repossessed for

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, Salisbury Court was taken by her

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

Richard Sackville, scion of the Earls of Dorset for himself and his heirs. His great-grandson,

Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset Order of the Garter, KG (159117 July 1652) was an English courtier, soldier and politician. He sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons from 1621 to 1622 and became Earl of Dorset in 1624. He ...

was the main promoter of the theatre and a patron of performing arts. The grounds and outbuildings of Dorset House, London included the nascent square. Dorset House and the theatre burned down in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

in 1666. The theatre was replaced in 1671 by the

Dorset Garden Theatre The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Du ...

, which was built slightly further south to a design by

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

. The theatre is commemorated by a plaque on the Dorset Rise (east) side of the corporate building on the south side of Salisbury Square. By the early C19 the Salisbury Hotel occupied the south side of Salisbury Square, formerly the site of the Dorset Garden Theatre. Salisbury Square was the third home to the

Cogers The Society of Cogers () is a free speech society, established in 1755 in the City of London. It is the oldest debating society in the world and one of the oldest speaking gatherings of any kind. History and concept The name "Cogers" comes from ...

debating group of which

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

was one of the founding members. The debating group met at The Barley Mow pub from 1855. An obelisk currently stands in the middle of Salisbury Square to Alderman Robert Waithman, a draper who became a politician and Lord Mayor of London. The obelisk was funded through public donation and calls Waithman "The friend of liberty in evil times."

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...

's printing office was at the northwest corner of Salisbury Square, communicating with the court, No. 76, Fleet Street. Here Samuel Richardson wrote "Pamela," and here, in 1756,

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...

acted as his reader. In 1842 the publisher Edward Lloyd would occupy these premises. The penny weekly romances aimed at the newly literate working classes published by Edward Lloyd (1815-1890) were given the name Salisbury Square Fiction because of their provenance. 12 Salisbury Square also became the publishing address of Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper, founded in 1842. Edward Lloyd’s

Daily Chronicle The ''Daily Chronicle'' was a left-wing British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the '' Daily News'' to become the '' News Chronicle''. Foundation The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd out of a ...

acquired by Lloyd in 1876 also had its headquarters at 12 Salisbury Square. In 1918, when both newspapers were sold to the friends of Lloyd George they had 20% of the national newspaper market.JM McKewan: Lloyd George’s Acquisition of the Daily Chronicle in 1918, Journal of British Studies, Vol 22, No 1 (Autumn 1982) pp 127-144, Cambridge University Press

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury Square Squares in the City of London Buildings and structures in the City of London History of the City of London