Description
Wardrobe Place is so-called after the King's Great Wardrobe, which housed the Crown's storage of clothing and arms. It was moved from the Tower of London to Lombard Street in 1311 and then in the 1360s to a house here that Edward III purchased from Sir John Beauchamp. The Wardrobe was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and the buildings in Wardrobe Place today date from the C18th and C19th. It is reached through an archway from Carter Lane, a paved courtyard laid out with a few trees and seats.
Practical Information
| Site location | Wardrobe Place off St Andrew's Hill/Carter Lane |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EC4 |
| What3Words | ///blur.origin.sober |
| Type of Site | Square |
| Borough | City of London |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: St Paul's (Central); Blackfriars (District, Circle) |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2002 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
A pleasant paved courtyard with 4 trees reached through an archway from Carter Lane, Wardrobe Place is so-called after the King's Great Wardrobe, which housed the Crown's storage of clothing and arms. The Wardrobe was moved from the Tower of London to Lombard Street in 1311 and then in the 1360s to a house here, which was purchased by Edward III from Sir John Beauchamp. The Wardrobe was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, and a plaque on the site records this. in 1720 Strype observed that 'the Garden of the King's Wardrobe is converted into a large and square court, with good houses'. This subsequently became known as Wardrobe Place. The courtyard has a number of C18th houses including No. 2 built in the early C18th, Nos. 3 and 5 of c.1714 and Wardrobe House in the south, 1881. The east side has the backs of late C19th buildings on Addle Hill. The brickwork of No. 6 has the remnants of a painted sign, ‘Snashall & Son. Printers, Stationers and Account Book Manufacturers', indicating the former use of the building.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ318810 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0399 |
| Site Ownership | City of London Corporation |
| Site Management | Open Spaces Dept. |
| Dates | C18th on |
| Listed Structures | LBII: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5A, 5B Wardrobe Place and adjoining archway |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | City of London |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | St Paul's Cathedral |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - St Paul's Heights Policy Area |
| Other LA Designation | Strategic Viewing Corridor |
Gallery
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Nearby parks and gardens
In 1670 St Paul's Deanery was built in Dean's Court, a fine mansion attributed to Christopher Wren, located behind substantial walls and piers decorated with carved pineapples, behind which is a garden forecourt with two substantial mature trees.
The church was first called St Andrew's juxta Baynard's Castle after a tower erected on the banks of the Thames by the Baynard family, who came to England with William the Conqueror. Baynard's Castle was later owned by the Crown and occasionally used as a Royal residence. St Andrew's later became known as St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe due to the proximity of the Royal Wardrobe, which had moved from the Tower in the mid C14th to a site now Wardrobe Place north of the church. Baynard's Castle, the Wardrobe and St Andrew's were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, the church rebuilt in 1685-94 by Wren. The steep terraced churchyard that lies between the church front and Queen Victoria Street was laid out as a garden in 1901 when the front wall with urns and ornamental wrought iron gates were erected, presented in memory of church warden Professor Banister Fletcher.
The parish of St Ann Blackfriars was established after the dissolution of the C13th Friary of the Dominicans or Black Friars, so called for the colour of their clothes. The Priory church, initially used as the parish church from 1544, was demolished in 1550 and subsequent complaints by local inhabitants deprived of a place of worship led to the building of St Ann Blackfriars in 1597. It was built on the site known as Ireland Yard, once part of the Provincial's Hall of the Priory. Part of the site of the nave of the Friary church became the burial ground of St Ann, the site now known as Church Entry. St Ann's burnt down in the Great Fire of 1666 and was not rebuilt, the parish amalgamating with that of St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe and the church site became a burial ground. The two churchyards closed in 1849 and were later laid out as public gardens by Madeline Agar, MPGA landscape gardener, in 1907. They are largely paved, both raised and containing a number of tombstones.
