Dean Street

Dean-St., Soho, is situated on the west side of Soho-square, and extends from King-street to Oxford-street.

Dean-Street, Soho,—is about ¼ of a mile in length, and situate on the W. side Soho-Square, extending from King-Street to 400, Oxford-st. in which it is the second on the L. from St. Giles's, the numbers begin and end here, viz. 1 and 77.

Dean Street, Soho, commenced 1681.³ Eminent Inhabitants.—Sir James Thornhill, the painter, at No. 75, where there is still a painted staircase of his work. The floor of the staircase is laid down with marble. The walls are painted to represent columns, with figures leaning over a balustrade. The painting, or some of it, has been attributed to Hogarth. F. Hayman, the painter, 1769, in the house now divided into Nos. 42 and 43. W. Hamilton, R.A., lived at No. 62 in 1786, and at No. 61 in 1789. E.H. Baily, R.A., the sculptor of Eve at the Fountain, at No. 75 (Thornhill's house) in 1821. At No. 83, on February 4, 1819, at the age of thirty-four, died George Henry Harlow, whom Sir Thomas Lawrence pronounced "the most promising of all our painters." At No. 91, W. Behnes, the sculptor, was living in 1824; and in 1833 James Ward, R.A., the animal painter, at No. 83. Dean Street was in fact in those years quite a nest of artists, but artists have long since deserted it. But there were other eminent inhabitants besides painters and sculptors. At No. 17, formerly Sir Joseph Banks's library, where he had lived for more than thirty years, died in 1858, Robert Brown, keeper of the Botanical Collections in the British Museum, whom Humboldt pronounced to be Botanicorum facile princeps. Mrs. Thrale lived here before her marriage (1763). She writes, "Here too [Deadman's Place] my mother quitted us, and lived at our old mansion in Dean Street, Soho, then no unfashionable part of the world."¹ In November 1783 Dr. Johnson wrote to Fanny Burney for Mrs. Chapone's address. She replied, "Either No. 7 or 8 in Dean Street, Soho." Here, in "Richmond Buildings," Horne Tooke hired a house.² Madame Vestris was born in this street, "next Miss Kelly's Theatre;" and Miss Kelly's theatre was at No. 73.

Ben Jonson's comedy of Every Man in his Humour was played at Miss Kelly's little theatre [September 1845] when [Douglas] Jerrold played Master Stephen; Charles Dickens, Bobadil; Mark Lemon, Brainworm; John Forster, Kitely; and John Leech, Master Mathew.—Clarke's Recollections, p. 279; and see Letters of Charles Dickens, vol. i. p. 134.

The "little theatre," somewhat enlarged, is now the New Royalty. One of the principal characters in Fielding's Amelia lived at "Dean Street, not far from the church, at the sign of the Pelican and Trumpet." The church is St. Anne's, but it is hardly necessary to say that there is now no such sign as the Pelican and Trumpet. Morland's hotePwas originally Jack's Coffee-house, and so called after John Roberts, one of the singers at Garrick's Drury Lane. [See Meard's Court.] On March 31, 1750, Roubiliac, the sculptor, was robbed in this street, between 11 and 12 o'clock at night, by three men, one of whom presented a pistol at him, while the others rifled his pockets and took his watch and money.

When Theodore, the unfortunate King of Corsica, was so reduced as to lodge in a garret in Dean Street, Soho, a number of gentlemen made a collection for his relief. The chairman of their committee informed him by letter, that on the following day, at twelve o'clock, two of the society would wait upon His Majesty with the money. To give his attic apartment an appearance of royalty, the poor monarch placed an arm-chair on his half-testered bed, and seating himself under the scanty canopy, gave what he thought might serve as the representation of a throne. When his two visitors entered the room he graciously held out his right hand, that they might have the honour of kissing it.—Hogarth's Works, 4to, 1833 (Jones and Co.), pp. 43, 44.

Nos. 19, 20, St. Anne's National Schools, until recently Caldwell's Dancing Academy, was formerly a famous Music Room, Here Judas Maccabeus was performed in 1760. It was afterwards the auction room of the elder Christie. [See St. Anne's, Soho.]

---

³ Rate-books of St. Martin's.

¹ Hayward's Mrs. Piozzi, vol. ii. p. 23.
² Stephens's Life of Horne Tooke, vol. ii. p. 28.