MODERN HOMES
the rake’s progress. An 1858
account notes that ‘almost
every house you come to is
a public house or something
worse, open all night for the
entertainment of bullies and
prostitutes… you can almost
hear the last dying shriek
of virtue’. A further activity
popular on the street were
auctions where a man would
sell the ‘virtues of his wife’
to the highest bidder and be
a willing cuckold, the theatre
royal in particular gained a
notorious reputation for artistic
lechery.
Kay & co reveal that tavistock
street became the home of
posh titles as country life,
vanity fair and the stage, whilst
the original sotheby’s bookshop
was also on the street.
he echo, the first halfpenny
newspaper in london, was
based on catherine street along
with the court gazette, naval
and military gazette, the london
gazette; the illustrated times,
the era and the racing times.
Kay & co observe that as these
In order to change its image,
brydges street became
catherine street in 1872,
named after two aristocratic
ladies; queen catherine of
braganza (the consort of charles
ii) and catherine the baroness
brydges of bedford. The ‘royal
makeover’ worked and 22
tavistock street became the
o ces of the strand board of
works, responsible for renaming
the street, and began the
process of raising the status of
catherine street and tavistock
street toward the end of the
19th century.
9
HOUSE FEATURE