List of demolished buildings and structures in London

This list of demolished buildings and structures in London lists buildings, structures and urban scenes of particular architectural, historical, scenic or social interest in central London which are preserved in old photographs, prints and paintings, but which have been demolished or were destroyed by bombing in World War II. Only a small number of the most notable buildings are listed, out of the many thousands which have been demolished.

Buildings

Name	Date of construction	Date of destruction	Image	Location	Notes
23 Great Winchester Street	17th century	c1882		City of London	Wealthy merchant's mansion with elaborate staircase and panelled rooms.
Adelphi Terrace	1768-72	1930s		Adelphi	A neo-classical terrace of 24 houses by the Adam brothers.
Army and Navy Club	1848-50	1950s		St James Square	Replaced by 1950s building on the same site.
Barnard's Inn	17th century	After 1879		Fetter Lane	Former Inn of Chancery. Hall still survives, owned by Gresham College.
Bethlem Hospital	1812-4	c1931		Southwark	Built to design by James Lewis, largely demolished after hospital moved in 1930, central part of building survives, home to Imperial War Museum since 1936.[1]
Blake's House, Soho	18th century	1965		Soho	Birthplace of William Blake at No. 28 Broad (now Broadwick) Street, demolished to make way for a block of flats.
Brewers' Hall	1670-3	1940		City of London	In Aldermanbury Square, rebuilt after Great Fire, destroyed by bombs.
Bridewell Palace	16-17th century	1863-4		Blackfriars	Residence of Henry VIII 1515–1523, prison and hospital from 1556, largely rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, closed 1855.[2]
Carlton Club	1854-6	1940		Pall Mall	By Sidney Smirke, suffered direct hit by bomb in 1940.
Carlton Hotel	1899	1940-58		Haymarket	Prestigious hotel run by César Ritz, with Auguste Escoffier as chef. Badly damaged by bombs 1940, demolished 1957-8.
Carpenters' Hall	15-18th century	1876		City of London	On London Wall, first hall dating from 1429, demolished 1876 after damaged by fire. Second hall destroyed by bombs in 1941.[3]
Chesterfield House	1747-52	1937		Mayfair	Built for Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773) by Isaac Ware.
Christ's Hospital	17-19th century	1902		Newgate Street	School founded 1552, buildings mostly rebuilt after the Great Fire, in part by Wren and Hawksmoor, relocated to Horsham in 1902.[4]
Christ Church Greyfriars	1687	1940		Newgate Street	Rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire, largely destroyed by bombing in 1940, tower and ruins remain.
City of London Lying-in Hospital	1770-1773	1940-1		Old Street	Formerly housed in Shaftesbury House, moved to new building by Robert Mylne in 1773, damaged by tube construction and partly rebuilt, destroyed by bombs 1940 and 1941.[5]
Clifford's Inn	18th century	1934		Fleet Street	The longest surviving Inn of Chancery, founded in 1344, dissolved in 1903. Only the gatehouse remains.
Cloth Fair	17th century	1917		Smithfield	An area of old houses and narrow lanes adjoining the church of St Bartholomew-the-Great, including the Old Dick Whittington Inn. One 17th-century house survives.
Coal Exchange	1847-9	1962		Lower Thames Street	One of the earliest examples of cast-iron construction, demolished for road-widening which did not take place until the 1980s.[6]
Crosby Hall	15-17th century	1909-10		Bishopsgate	Great hall re-erected in Chelsea and incorporated into a new building by Walter Godfrey. Many other buildings in Bishopsgate which escaped the Great Fire survived into the Victorian period.[7]
Crystal Palace	1851	1936		Hyde Park	Built by Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851, rebuilt in different form in South London 1854, destroyed by fire.
Cumberland House	1763	1908-12		Pall Mall	By Matthew Brettingham, occupied by the Board of Ordnance, later the War Office, from 1806.[8]
Devonshire House	c 1740	1924		Piccadilly	Built by William Kent for the Dukes of Devonshire
Doctors' Commons	c1670	1867		City of London	College of Advocates, or Doctors of Law, where proceedings of the Court of Arches, the Prerogative Court and others were held. In Knightrider Street, buildings arranged round two quadrangles, rebuilt after Great Fire, sold in 1865 and subsequently demolished.
Dorchester House	1853	1929		Park Lane	Palatial house built by Lewis Vulliamy for Robert Stayner Holford, replaced by the Dorchester Hotel.
Drury Lane	17th century	1890		Drury Lane	Old houses which survived the Great Fire of London, including the former 'Cock and Magpie' tavern (with sign), which had become Stockley's Bookshop by 1876.[9]
East India House	1729	1861		Leadenhall Street	Designed by amateur architect Theodore Jacobsen. Much of British India was governed from here until the British government took control in 1858.
Egyptian Hall	1812	1905		Piccadilly	Designed in the form of an ancient Egyptian temple for William Bullock, who used the building as an exhibition centre.
Euston Arch	1837	1961-2		Euston	Original entrance to Euston Station, demolition was approved by Ernest Marples, who considered the cost of moving the arch could not be justified.
Fleet Prison	1781-2	1846		Farringdon Street	Built 1197, rebuilt after the Great Fire and again after the Gordon Riots in 1780, closed 1842.
Foundling Hospital	1742-52	1926		Bloomsbury	Designed by amateur architect Theodore Jacobsen. Founded by Thomas Coram, the hospital relocated to Redhill in the 1920s, and later Berkhamstead.[10]
Furnival's Inn	1818	1897		Holborn	Former Inn of Chancery, rebuilt after the Inn was dissolved in 1817, home of Charles Dickens 1834-7.
General Post Office	1829	1912		St Martins-le-Grand	By Sir Robert Smirke.
Great Synagogue of London	1788-90	1942		Aldgate	By James Spiller, centre of Jewish life in London, destroyed in The Blitz.
Great Wheel	1894-95	1907		Earls Court	Constructed by Maudslay, Son & Field. Built for the Empire of India Exhibition at Earls Court in 1895. It had carried 2.5 million passengers at its time of closure in 1906.
Grosvenor House	1732-1843	1927		Park Lane	Originally Gloucester House, purchased in 1805 by Robert Grosvenor and subsequently enlarged.[11]
Haberdashers' Hall	1671	1940		City of London	In Maiden Lane, original hall destroyed in Great Fire, rebuilt by Edward Jerman, destroyed by bombs.
Holford House	1832	1944-8		Regent's Park	Home of Regent’s Park College from 1855 to 1927. Suffered bomb damage 1944, demolished 1948.
Holland House	1605	1940		Holland Park	Largely destroyed by bombs in September 1940, some remains still stand and house a youth hostel.
Imperial Institute	1893	1957-8		South Kensington	Designed by T.E. Collcutt, demolished from 1957 to make way for Imperial College, the Queen's Tower survives.
Inner Temple, Library & Hall	1827-68	1940		Fleet Street	Gothic library of 1827-8 by Sir Robert Smirke and adjoining hall of 1868 by Sidney Smirke, destroyed by bombs.
Jacob's Island	17-18th century	Late 19th century		Bermondsey	Notorious slum, featured in Oliver Twist, partly destroyed by fire in 1861, replaced by warehouses in the late 19th century.
Junior Carlton Club	1869	1963		Pall Mall	Replacement by a 1960s building led to loss of members and merger of the club with the Carlton Club.
King's Mews	1732	1830		Trafalgar Square	Rebuilt by William Kent, succeeded by present Royal Mews in 1825.
London Colosseum	1827	1874		Regent's Park	Designed by Decimus Burton, built by Thomas Hornor at huge expense to house a 360-degree panorama of London painted by Edmund Thomas Parris.
London Institution	1815	1936		Finsbury Circus	Built by Thomas Cubitt. Founded in 1806 "to promote... Science, Literature and the Arts", the Institution closed in 1912, the building then used by London University.
Londonderry House	18th century	1965		Park Lane	London house of the Marquess of Londonderry, transformed during the 1820s by Benjamin Dean Wyatt and Philip Wyatt.
Mappin & Webb Building	1870	1994		Bank	Designed by John Belcher, listed building,[12] demolished by developer Peter Palumbo to be replaced by Sir James Stirling's No 1 Poultry.
Merchant Taylors' School	c1675	After 1875		City of London	School founded 1561, located in the Manor of the Rose, Suffolk Lane until 1875, building rebuilt after the Great Fire.
Middlesex Hospital	1755-7	1927		Fitzrovia	First opened 1745, moved 1757, rebuilt after building declared structurally unsound in 1924, closed 2005.
Millbank Penitentiary	1812-21	1892-1903		Pimlico	Constructed as National Penitentiary after Bentham's Panopticon abandoned, design proved unsatisfactory, became holding depot for convicts awaiting transportation.
Montagu House, Portman Square	1777-81	1941		Portman Square	Built for Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu, patroness of the arts, to the design of the neoclassicist architect James Stuart. Damaged by an incendiary bomb.
Montagu House, Whitehall	1859-62	c1925		Whitehall	Palatial house in French Renaissance style, designed by William Burn for the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, used as government offices from 1917.[13]
Newgate Prison	1770-82	1904		Old Bailey	First built in 1188, closed 1902, the Central Criminal Court now stands on the site.
Newton's House	c1695	1913		Leicester Square	No. 35 St Martin's Street, residence of Sir Isaac Newton from 1710 to 1725.[14]
Norfolk House	c 1748-52	1938		St James Square	By Matthew Brettingham. The restored Music Room is displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[15]
Northumberland House	c 1605	1874		Trafalgar Square	London residence of the Dukes of Northumberland.
Old London Bridge	12-17th century	1758-1831		River Thames	Houses on the bridge were demolished in 1758-62, the rest after the completion of a new bridge by John Rennie in 1831.
Old Mansion House	1668	1929		Cheapside	Built by Sir Christopher Wren for Sir William Turner, Lord Mayor of London 1668-9.
Old Queen's Head Tavern, Islington	16th century	c1826		Islington	Once renowned ancient tavern in Essex Road, formerly Lower Street, rebuilt c1826, still trading.
Old St Paul's Cathedral	1087–1314	1666		Ludgate Hill	Severely in decline by the 17th century, destroyed in the Great Fire of London.
Oxford Arms, Warwick Lane	17th century	1876		City of London	One of the last surviving galleried inns in London.
Pantheon	1772	1937		Oxford Street	By James Wyatt. Rebuilt after a fire in 1792. Marks & Spencer bought the building from a wine merchant and had it demolished to make way for their new store.
Pembroke House	1723-59	1938		Whitehall	Largely rebuilt 1756-9, demolished with other buildings in Whitehall Gardens to make way for new MOD building.[16]
Pope's House	17th century	1872		Lombard Street	Birthplace in 1688 of Alexander Pope at Plough Court, Lombard Street.
Queen Square	1716-25	19th century		Bloomsbury	Many of the original houses were converted for use as hospitals. The square today is largely occupied by hospital buildings.
Regent Street	1814-25	1895-1927		Regent Street	Originally built by John Nash as a new thoroughfare, entailing much demolition, completely redeveloped 1895-1927.
River Fleet	17-18th century	18-19th century		Blackfriars	River converted into New Canal by 1680; covered, partly by New Bridge Street, prior to opening of Blackfriars Bridge in 1769.
Rolls Chapel and Rolls House	1617-1718	1895-6		Chancery Lane	Rolls Chapel rebuilt 1617, attributed, but without evidence, to Inigo Jones. Rolls House built 1718 by Colen Campbell. Demolished to make way for the former PRO, now the Maughan Library, King's College London.
Royal College of Physicians, Warwick Lane	1679	1887		City of London	By Robert Hooke, used as foundry after 1825, damaged by fire 1879, demolished 1887.
Royal Panopticon	1854	1882		Leicester Square	Showcase venue for the best achievements in Science and Arts of the time, converted to theatre after only 2 years. Destroyed by fire.
St Antholin, Watling Street	1678-1684	1874		City of London	Rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire, the roof in the form of an elliptic cupola supported by composite columns.
St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics	1786	1963		Old Street	By George Dance the Younger, closed 1916, the buildings used as a printing works by the Bank of England until the 1950s.
St Mary Aldermanbury	1668	1940		Gresham Street	Rebuilt by Wren after the Great Fire, destroyed by bombing in 1940, church reconstructed in Fulton, Missouri using original stones.
St Paul's School	1823	1884		Cheapside	School founded 1509, buildings rebuilt 1823 by George Smith, demolished when the school moved to Hammersmith in 1884.
St Thomas' Hospital	1699-1742	1862		Southwark	Begun in 1699 by Thomas Cartwright, demolished to make way for railway, hospital relocated to Lambeth 1871.
Savoy Hospital	1505	1816-20		Strand	Founded by Henry VII on the site of the Savoy Palace, closed 1702, demolished to make way for approach to Waterloo Bridge, Savoy Chapel survives.[17]
Schomberg House	1694	1956		Pall Mall	Divided into 3 (Nos. 80-2) in 1769. No. 80, home of Thomas Gainsborough 1774-88, was demolished in 1850, the rest replaced by offices in 1956. Facade survives.
Serjeant's Inn, Fleet Street	18th century	1941		Fleet Street	Rebuilt by Robert Adam and taken over by the Amicable Society after the serjeants moved to Chancery Lane in 1730. Destroyed by bombing.[18]
Serle's Place	17th century	1866		Strand	Part of a cluster of alleys and courts demolished to make way for the Law Courts.
Shaftesbury House	1644	1882		Aldersgate Street	Nos. 35-38, once known as Thanet House, built by Inigo Jones, later became a tavern, then a lying-in hospital, then a dispensary.[19]
Shakespeare's House	16-17th century	1879		Aldersgate Street	No. 134, formerly Half Moon Tavern, wrongly linked to the playwright, site now occupied by Barbican Tube Station. The nearby Shakespeare Tower preserves the association.[19]
Sir Paul Pindar's House	17th century	1890		Bishopsgate	Became a tavern in the 18th century, frontage preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
South Sea House	Before 1773	c1903		Threadneedle Street	Home of the Baltic Exchange from 1866 to 1903.
Talbot Inn, Southwark	17th century	1874		Southwark	Formerly Tabard Inn, medieval coaching inn burnt down 1676 and rebuilt, meeting place of Chaucer's pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.
Tavistock House	c 1805	1901		Tavistock Square	Built by James Burton, home of Charles Dickens 1851-60, site now occupied by the headquarters of the British Medical Association.
White Hart, Bishopsgate	15-16th century	1829		Bishopsgate	Once renowned ancient tavern, building dated 1480, rebuilt 1829. Closed 2014, due for demolition 2015.
Whitehall Palace	15-17th century	1698		Whitehall	Largest palace in Europe, residence of the English monarchs 1530-1698, all except Banqueting House and Holbein Gate destroyed by fire.
Winchester House	16th century	1839		City of London	Great Winchester Street, built by William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester.
Wych Street	16-17th century	1901		Aldwych	Part of the area around Drury Lane which survived the Great Fire of London, the street contained decrepit Elizabethan houses, with projecting wooden jetties.

See also

• Metropolitan Board of Works
• Gaiety Theatre, London
• List of demolished churches in the City of London
• List of public art formerly in London

References

1. "Bethlem Hospital (Imperial War Museum)" British History Online. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
2. "Bridewell Palace" Pastscape. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
3. "Carpenters' Hall" The Carpenters' Company. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
4. "Christ's Hospital" Pastscape. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
5. "City of London Maternity Hospital" Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
6. "Coal Exchange" BuildingConservation.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
7. "Bishopsgate" British History Online. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
8. "Cumberland House" British History Online. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
9. "Drury Lane and Clare Market" British History Online. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
10. "The Foundling Hospital" British History Online. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
11. "Grosvenor House" British History Online. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
12. "Mappin & Webb Building" British Listed Buildings Online. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
13. "Montagu House" British History Online. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
14. "Newton's House" IsaacNewton.org. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
15. "Norfolk House" British History Online. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
16. "Ministry of Defence, history" MOD. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
17. "Savoy Hospital" Pastscape. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
18. "Fleet Street: Southern tributaries" British History Online. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
19. "Aldersgate" British History Online. Retrieved April 10, 2012.