Somerset House - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Somerset House
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The central courtyard[=>]
of Somerset House in London[=>]
. The dancing fountains were installed in the 1990s. Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand[=>]
in central London[=>]
, England[=>]
, overlooking the River Thames[=>]
, just east of Waterloo Bridge[=>]
. The central block of the Neoclassical[=>]
building, the outstanding project of the architect[=>]
Sir William Chambers[=>]
, dates from 1776–96. It was extended by classical Victorian[=>]
wings to north and south. A building of the same name was first built on the site more than two centuries earlier. Contents
1 Early history[=>]
2 Current building[=>]
3 Government use[=>]
4 A home for arts and learning[=>]
5 Notes[=>]
6 Bibliography[=>]
7 External links[=>]
[edit[=>]
] Early history
Old Somerset House, in a drawing by Jan Kip[=>]
published in 1722, was a sprawling and irregular complex with wings from different periods in a mixture of styles. The buildings behind all four square gardens belong to Somerset House. In the sixteenth century, the north bank of the Thames[=>]
between London[=>]
and Westminster[=>]
was a favoured site for the mansions of the nobility. In 1539, Edward Seymour[=>]
, Earl of Hertford[=>]
, obtained a grant of land at "Chester Place, outside Temple Bar[=>]
, London" from Henry VIII of England[=>]
. When the sickly boy-king Edward VI of England[=>]
came to the throne in 1547, Seymour became Duke of Somerset[=>]
and Lord Protector[=>]
. About 1549 he pulled down an old Inn of Chancery[=>]
and other houses that stood on the site and began to build himself a truly imposing residence, making liberal use of the other nearby buildings including some of the chantries[=>]
and cloisters[=>]
at St. Paul's Cathedral[=>]
which were demolished at the behest
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