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 THE LITERARY HISTORY
 OF THE ADELPHI AND
 ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD

[Illustration:

 _Allen & Co. (London) Ltd. Sc._

_The Terrace. York Buildings. 1796._

_From a water colour by J. Richards R.A._]




 THE LITERARY HISTORY
 OF THE ADELPHI
 AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD

 _By_ AUSTIN BRERETON

 WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION

 [Illustration]

 NEW YORK:
 DUFFIELD & COMPANY
 36-38 WEST 37th STREET
 1909




 _First Edition_       1907
 _Second Edition_      1908

 (_All rights reserved._)




Note


This book is intended for the general reader, as well as for the
antiquarian and the lover of London. To this end, the history of the
Adelphi and its immediate neighbourhood to the west and on the south
side of the Strand has been related in--as far as possible--narrative
form. At the same time, it need hardly be said, every care has been
taken to present the multitude of details correctly and as a truthful
picture of one of the most interesting parts of the great metropolis.
I should be ungrateful if I did not take this opportunity of again--as
in the case of my chronicle of the Lyceum and Henry Irving--thanking
Mr. E. Gardner for so courteously placing at my disposal his unique and
invaluable collection of London records and engravings. The majority
of the illustrations were kindly lent by him; others were copied from
prints in the British Museum. I have also to thank the officials of St.
Martin's Library for their ready help in enabling me to consult, at my
leisure, some scarce books connected with the literature of historical
London.

 A.B.




INTRODUCTION


"The Literary History of the Adelphi" has journeyed from one side of
the neighbourhood to the other, from west to east. That is to say, its
publication has been acquired by Mr. Fisher Unwin, hence the removal
of the book from York Buildings to Adelphi--originally called "Royal,"
and still so marked on the old plans--Terrace. This peregrination
gives me the opportunity of supplementing the original work with some
interesting particulars which have just come into my possession.
Who would think that within a short distance of the Strand, if not
actually within the proverbial stone's throw, there are "cottages," and
cottages, too, with trees and flowers and lawns, and a mighty river,
for prospect? Yet such is the case, although it is no wonder that the
rate collector who is new to this part of London has much ado to find
"Adelphi cottages." They belong to that mysterious region which lies
underneath the Strand level of the Adelphi and is vaguely known as the
"arches." If the reader will glance at the illustration which faces
page 32--"The Buildings called the Adelphi"--he will see, at the top of
the arches and under the terrace, some fifteen semi-circular recesses.
These are really capacious rooms, and from the windows thereof the view
of the Embankment Gardens and the Thames is considerable compensation
for the tediousness and deviousness of the approach. The "cottages"
were originally attached to the houses on the terrace above, and, until
recent years, they were inhabited. Now, however, the majority of them
are let separately and are used as stores or workshops. One of them,
however, is still occupied as a dwelling-place, and, whatever else it
may be, this habitation is certainly unique.

Underneath the "Adelphi cottages," and extending below the houses of
the terrace, and John, Robert, and Adam Streets, are the famous arches,
which few people, either Londoners, who know nothing of their own city,
or Americans, who are versed in the lore of our ancient streets, have
ever visited. Truth to tell, the expedition to the Adelphi arches is
not to be undertaken with too light a heart. The gloomy recesses do not
conduce to joy, and, although the foot-pad has scant opportunity for
indulging in his nefarious practices, he would be a venturesome person,
a stranger to these parts, who would wander alone in this underground
world after the sun, which never enters these passages, had ceased to
illumine the earth above. This very darkness and dismalness has its
advantages at times. When Messrs. Coutts, for instance, moved from
their old premises in the Strand, there was much speculation as to the
manner in which they transferred their immense stock of securities,
deeds, and other valuables from one side of the road to the other.
There was great talk at the time of armies of detectives and the use of
the early hours of Sundays, and other vague suggestions were allowed to
be promulgated. It