The space is popular with street performers, who audition with the site's owners for an allocated slot.[57] The square was originally laid out when the 4th Earl of Bedford, Francis Russell, commissioned Inigo Jones to design and build a church and three terraces of fine houses around the site of a former walled garden belonging to Westminster Abbey.[56] Jones's design was informed by his knowledge of modern town planning in Europe, particularly Piazza d'Arme, in Leghorn, Tuscany, Piazza San Marco in Venice, Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence, and the Place des Vosges in Paris.[58] The centrepiece of the project was the large square, the concept of which was new to London, and this had a significant influence on modern town planning as the metropolis grew,[56] acting as the prototype for the design of new estates, such as the Ladbroke Estate and the Grosvenor Estate.[4] Isaac de Caus, the French Huguenot architect, designed the individual houses under Jones's overall design.[59]