Seth Smith (15 December 1791 – 18 June 1860) was a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

property developer, who was responsible in the early part of the 19th century for developing large parts of the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...

, including the

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

and

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

districts. Much of the West End in the 1820s was an undesirable, swampy, crime-infested area on the outskirts of the city, but Smith with

Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. Background The s ...

and the Cundy brothers, notably

Thomas Cundy (junior) Thomas Cundy the younger (1790 – 15 July 1867) was an English architect, son of another architect of the same name. He joined Thomas Cundy (senior), his father's practice and ultimately succeeded his father as surveyor of the Grosvenor esta ...

, envisioned several large-scale development projects that transformed the West End into a thriving part of the city. Although most of Smith's buildings in the now affluent Mayfair district have since been demolished, many of his Belgravia buildings still stand including the

pantechnicon A pantechnicon was originally a heavy furniture removal van drawn by horses and used by the British company The Pantechnicon for delivering and collecting furniture which its customers wished to store. The name is a word largely of British Engl ...

from which the name of the van derives from. Smith made his home at

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest Squares in London, square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main ...

in Belgravia, which was part of one of his development projects. He died on 18 June 1860 at the age of 68 in the

St George Hanover Square St George Hanover Square was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of the St George's, Hanover Square, Church of St George's, Hanover Square, ...

parish of London, and he is buried in

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

. Residence - 33 Eton Square, Belgravia, London.

Family

He was the son of Rev. Seth Smith, who was from

Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Rose of

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, on 7 March 1815. One of his grandsons was David Seth-Smith, who was a well known zoologist, and another,

William Howard Seth-Smith III William Howard Seth Smith (23 August 1852 – 30 August 1928) was a British architect. He is best known for his contributions to churches and schools in the Surrey area. Biography William Howard Seth-Smith was born into a noted Scottish archite ...

, who was a noted architect. Also, his 3rd great-grandson is William Pleydell-Bouverie, 9th Earl of Radnor. Another 3rd great-grandson was Sir John Gilmour, 4th Baronet of

Lundin Lundin is a Swedish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf H. Lundin (1932–2006), Swedish oil and mining entrepreneur * Albin Lundin (born 1996), Swedish ice hockey player * Alexander Lundin (born 1992), Swedish football pla ...

& Montrave. One of his 4th great-grandsons is

Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captain (sports), captained the New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 t ...

who was captain of the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

References

External links

Seth Smith's Buildings
1860 deaths Businesspeople from the City of Westminster British real estate and property developers 1791 births 19th-century English businesspeople People from Belgravia {{UK-business-bio-1790s-stub