Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The current building dates from the late 18th century, but a building of the same name was first built on the site more than two centuries earlier.
Early history
Somerset House takes its name from the London home of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who commissioned a riverside mansion on the site in 1547. When he fell from grace in 1551 (being executed for treason the following year), the building passed to the Crown and was used by Princess Elizabeth for some years before she was crowned Queen Elizabeth I in 1558.
During the reign of King King James I, the building became the London residence of his wife Anne of Denmark, was renamed 'Denmark House'. She commissioned a number of expensive additions and improvements, some to designs by Inigo Jones. This expansion of the building continued during Charles I's reign, including the then highly controversial addition by his wife, Henrietta Maria, of a Roman Catholic chapel (also designed by Jones - who was later to die at Somerset House, in 1652).
After the English Civil War and the Restoration, Somerset House once again became a royal residence, and was refurbished by Sir Christopher Wren in 1685. During the 18th century, however, the building ceased its royal associations. It was used for storage, as a residence for visiting overseas dignatories and as a barracks for troops, but suffered from neglect and demolition began in 1775.
Current building
The first elements of the current building were erected to a design by architect, Sir William Chambers. It was intended to house various learned societies, including the Royal Academy (among the last tenants of the previous building), and various government departments.
Thomas Telford, then a stone mason, but later an eminent civil engineer, was among those who worked on its construction.
Government use
The government offices originally housed in the building included the Navy Board and the Inland Revenue. Somerset House also became particularly well-known during the 20th century as the location of family records (the Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths).
A home for arts and learning
As well as the Royal Academy, Somerset House was fitted out to house the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries. These, and the Geological Society, moved to Burlington House in Piccadilly in the early 19th century. However, the building retains an arts exhibition role, housing the Courtauld Institute of Art.
In the winter it is home to an open air ice rink.
Links
Somerset-house.org.uk
Referenced By
Anne of Denmark | Brook Taylor | City of Westminster | Covent Garden | Covent Garden, London, England | Decimus Burton | Fleet Marriage | Giovanni Battista Cipriani | Giovanni Cipriani | Henrietta Maria | Henrietta Maria de Bourbon | Henrietta Maria of France | Indigo Jones | Inigo Jones | London Borough of Westminster | Royal Academician | Royal Academy | Royal Academy of Arts | Royal Society | Royal Society of London | Strand, London | Strand, London, England | Tar and feather | Tar and feathers | Tarring and feathering | The Strand | Thomas Telford | Waterloo Bridge | Westminster, England | Westminster, London, England | Westminster City Hall | Westminster Council | William Chambers
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