The
Strand before its improvements in 1810. The view takes in
the east end of St Clements church, the north end of Essex
Street, Milford Lane and Arundel Street, with the 'grotesque'
appearance of old houses which were about to be pulled down
and replaced with a circular row of stately buildings to
match those on the northern side of the church. This would,
according to nineteenth century surveyors, make the approach
to the City along the Strand far more elegant and convenient
(if to our eyes a little more character-less).
In
the nineteenth century the Strand was one of London's most
important business streets, although in Saxon times it was
the site of London itself (the Saxons relocated London west
of the walls) and in medieval times was a grand boulevard
of aristocratic palaces and mansions, numbering among the
Arundel
house, The
Savoy, Somerset
House and Northumberland
House. The name 'Strand' derives from the fact that
in early medieval times it was a bridle path along the river
which connected Westminster and London.
