Queen Anne's Gate is a short street in central
Westminster,
London, named after
the memorable dead Queen, Anne. Originally two separate streets, Queen's Square
to the west and Park Street (for
St James's Park) to the east, divided by a
wall and a gate.
Queen's Square originally dates from about
1704, when it
was built by developer
Charles Shales on the site of
White Hart Yard, part
of a local inn.
Park Street was added in
1774. The wall was changed from a
high brick wall to a low one surmounted by railings during the 18th century, and
the statue of Queen Anne that had been set on it was moved to the south side of
the street. The wall was not finally removed until 1873, when the name of 'Queen
Anne's Gate' was given to the entire street by the
Metropolitan Board of
Works. It is said that this was done partly to dissuade the residents from
putting up a new wall to keep the traffic out. However, by this stage
Victoria
Street was nearly complete, and before too long the area lost almost all its
through traffic. According to legend, the street is haunted by the ghost of
Queen Anne, which, either independently or by possessing the statue, walks three
times around the street on the night of 31 July, the anniversary of the queen's
death.
There are lots of offices here for government agencies, housed in some fairly historic buildings. The
Two Chairmen pub is at the north end. Organisations having offices in the street include
Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the
National Trust, and the
Home Office. The Home Office building, on the site of the White Hart Inn, as near as I can tell, is a hideous modern block.
The
Two Chairmen pub, on the corner of Queen Anne's Gate and Dartmouth Street,
was once a hiring point for
sedan chairs, when nearby
Cockpit Steps was
still the site of the
Royal Cockpit.