The Adam Brothers' Adelphi (1768–72) was London's first neoclassical building. Eleven large houses fronted a vaulted terrace, with wharves beneath, known as theAdelphi Arches'.Current view of the remaining building at 11 Adelphi Terrace, the furthest left house of the original buildings when viewed from the river.
Adelphi (/əˈdɛlfi/; from theGreek ἀδελφοίadelphoi, meaning "brothers") is a district of theCity of Westminster inGreater London.[1] The small district includes the streets ofAdelphi Terrace,Robert Street andJohn Adam Street.[1] Of rare use colloquially, Adelphi is grouped withAldwych as the greaterStrand district (a main street of London between the two areas and those immediately adjoining) which for many decades formed aparliamentary constituency and civil registration district.
A prospect of London byAlexander Nasmyth, 1826. The Adelphi Buildings can be seen to the left ofWaterloo Bridge.TheArt Deco Adelphi building from the 1930s, located at 1-10 John Adam Street.
The district is named after theAdelphi Buildings, a block of 24 unifiedneoclassicalterrace houses that occupied the land betweenThe Strand and theRiver Thames in the parish ofSt Martin in the Fields, which also included a headquarters building for the "Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce" (now generally known as theRoyal Society of Arts). They were built between 1768 and 1772 by theAdam brothers (John, Robert, James and William Adam), to whom the buildings' Greek-derived name refers. The ruins ofDurham House on the site were demolished for their construction.
Robert Adam was influenced by his extensive visit toDiocletian's Palace inSplit,Dalmatia (present dayCroatia), and he applied some of this influence to the design of the neoclassical Adelphi Buildings.[2][3] The nearbyAdelphi Theatre is named after the Adelphi Buildings.
Many of the Adelphi Buildings were demolished in the early 1930s and replaced with the New Adelphi, a monumentalArt Deco building designed by the firm ofCollcutt & Hamp. Buildings remaining from the old Adelphi include 11 Adelphi Terrace (formerly occupied bynumismatic specialists A.H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd) and the Royal Society of Arts headquarters (which has expanded to incorporate two of the former houses).Benjamin Pollock's Toy Shop was located here in the 1940s.
TheLondon School of Economics (LSE) held its first classes in October 1895, in rooms at 9 John Street, Adelphi,[6] before setting up more permanent operations in Number 10 Adelphi Terrace. By 1920, the LSE had moved a few blocks east, to its currentClare Market address. While in Adelphi, the LSE’s scholars and students were active in the surrounding neighbourhood and community.
Crop of Christopher and John Greenwood's 8 inch-to-mile map published in 1827 from an 1830 republication (click to view all). The Adelphi is south of the Strand.
Adelphi has no formally defined boundaries, though they are generally agreed to be: Strand to the north, Lancaster Place to the east, Victoria Embankment to the south and Charing Cross station to the west. The small set of streets east of Northumberland Avenue are included here for convenience.
Several streets are or were named using the wordsGeorge Villiers, Duke of Buckingham after thefirst Duke, 17th century courtier, who acquired York House which formerly stood on this site; his son sold the area to developers on condition that his father and titles were commemorated on the new streets.[7]
Adam Street – after John and Robert Adam, who built the Adelphi development in the 1760s[8][9]
Adelphi Terrace – the area was developed by the brothers John and Robert Adam, in the 1760s, and was named afteradelphos, the Greek for 'brother'[10][9]
The Arches – presumably descriptive, after the railway arches here
Carting Lane – thought to be from the carts that brought good to and from the wharf formerly located here; until the 1830s it was called Dirty Lane[12]
Hungerford Lane – after the Hungerford family, who owned a house on this site in the 15th century, later sold due to debts to create Hungerford Market, before the building of Charing Cross station[20][12][21]
Ivybridge Lane – named after a former ivy-covered bridge that crossed an old watercourse on this spot; the bridge was demolished sometime before 1600[22][23]
John Adam Street – after John Adam, who built the Adelphi development with his brother Robert in the 1760s,[24][9] a combination of the previous John Street and Duke Street with the latter named after the 1stDuke of Buckingham
Lancaster Place – former site of theSavoy Palace. It passed into the ownership of the earls of Lancaster in the 13th century, the most famous of which wasJohn of Gaunt, who owned the palace at the times of its destruction inPeasant’s Revolt of 1381[25][26]
Northumberland Avenue and Northumberland Street – site of the former Northumberland House, built originally in the early 17th century for the earls of Northampton and later acquired by the earls of Northumberland[27][28]
Robert Street and Lower Robert Street – after Robert Adam, who built the Adelphi development with his brother John in the 1760s[29]
Savoy Buildings, Savoy Court, Savoy Hill, Savoy Place, Savoy Row, Savoy Steps, Savoy Street and Savoy Way – the former site of theSavoy Palace, built forPeter II, Count of Savoy in 1245[30][31]
Strand and Strand Lane – from Old English 'stond', meaning the edge of a river; the river Thames formerly reached here prior to the building of theThames Embankment[32][33]
York Buildings and York Place – a house was built on this site in the 14th century for thebishops of Norwich – in the reign ofQueen Mary it was acquired by thearchbishops of York and named 'York House'; York Place was formerly 'Of Alley', after the 1st Dukeof Buckingham[38][11]
Sir J. M. Barrie (1860-1937), playwright, novelist, and author ofPeter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. He first moved to the terrace in 1907, after a divorce. He lived on the third floor of No. 3 until 1917, when he moved up to the 4th floor until his death in 1937.[39]
The 1930s Adelphi building was used for some scenes inITV'sAgatha Christie's Poirot episode "The Theft of the Royal Ruby",[42] and in episode "The Plymouth Express".[43]
In an instalment ofE.M. Delafield’s semi-autobiographical Diary of a Provincial Lady series, entitled ‘The Provincial Lady in Wartime, the eponymous protagonist works in the canteen of an air raid shelter located under the Adelphi during thePhoney War. Much of the narrative is dedicated to describing the atmosphere and inhabitants of the building and the surrounding area, and many of the events of the book take place here.[44]
Cora Harrison's Season of darkness revolves around No. 5 Adelphi Terrace.[45]
^abGater, G H; Wheeler, E P, eds. (1937),"Adelphi Terrace",Survey of London: Volume 18, St Martin-in-The-Fields II: the Strand, London, pp. 103–108, retrieved1 October 2019{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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