Through The Keyhole: A Look Inside 13 Princelet Street

The tight grid and tangle of streets in Spitalfields are some of the best preserved and atmospheric in the city. 

The area has an extraordinary amount of surviving eighteenth century architecture; townhouses built largely for the Huguenot silk-weavers who moved to London to after fleeing religious persecution in France. 

I was lucky enough recently to visit one of these beautiful houses, 13 Princelet Street, today owned and maintained by the Landmark Trust. 

Spitalfields and the Huguenots

Spitalfields, being just outside the old city walls to the North-East, had long been a place where enterprising outsiders, who were not allowed to trade within the city walls, set up shop.

Huguenots particularly had been emigrating to London and settling in Spitalfields since the reign of Elizabeth I. The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Protestants in France in 1572 led to a large migration and then again after 1685 when the ‘Edict of Nantes’, which had given Protestants some freedom to worship in the country, was revoked.

It is thought around 100,000 came to England. Many destitute, arriving on boats in Southern England but they brought with them many skills from clock-making, silversmithing and most notably silk-weaving.

The city was in the throes of reconstruction after the Great Fire and the migrants were fairly easily accommodated. From the early 1700s they built themselves the tall townhouses, many of which still survive today. Note the large, bright loft spaces where they would keep and operate their looms.

They were known for decorating their houses with window boxes and often hung singing birds outside their doors. 

13 Princelet Street

Princelet Street was laid out from 1705-1720 on a piece of land called Joyce’s Garden and became one of the most prestigious streets in the area. Spitalfields would have still been semi-rural in this period. 

It was originally called Princess Street, then Princes Street and Princelet Street from 1891.

Two businessmen called Charles Wood and Simon Mitchell, bought the land and then leased it to master builders and craftsmen. Number 13 was built by a stone mason called Edward Buckingham and finished in 1719.

We only know who lived in the house from the 1740s. These include the D’Amy, Durade and Allard families. From the 1780s we know for certain that those living there were working in the silk-weaving trade. 

The Decline

In the 19th century the building of houses in the area did not keep up with the influx of people coming in. Spitalfields and the East End generally, became increasingly crowded, particularly after many Irish arrived in the 1840s after the potato famine. From the late 19th century, many Jewish refugees from Europe started arriving. This pattern continued really until the 1960s. 

From the middle of the 19th century 13 Princelet Street was multi-occupancy. In 1861 for example we have Rachel Bonnington, a mangler, her four children and John Karen, a poulterer, with his wife and children living there. By 1871 the house was home to four families. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, much of London’s Georgian and Victorian architecture was demolished to make way for more modern buildings. This could easily have happened to Spitalfields but, thankfully, in 1969, Tower Hamlets designated Spitalfields a Conservation Area and by 1976 it was declared an Outstanding Conservation Area. The previous policy of demolition was reversed and grants were given to restore historic houses. 

In 1977 the Spitalfields Trust was established by historian Dan Cruikshank and other conservation activists to help protect the heritage of the area. 

Peter Lerwill And The Landmark Trust

In 1984 a conservation enthusiast called Peter Lerwill purchased the dilapidated 13 Princelet Street and over the following three years, lovingly and carefully restored it.

After the restoration Peter moved into the property and gave regular enthusiastic tours of it. He purchased period furniture and silver specifically from the year 1719.

It still today contains much of its originally joinery, features and floorplan. The ‘nicks and dents of age’ have been respected and left unfilled. 

Peter was always a big supporter of the Landmark Trust, a conservation charity, that acquires at risk buildings, restores and maintains them and lets them out for holiday stays. They also often run free public open days in the properties. 13 Princelet Street has free open days on the 14th and 15th of September.

Peter died in 2004 and bequeathed the house to the Landmark Trust who run it to this day. Established in 1965, the Landmark Trust today has over 200 properties, from medieval longhouses to artillery forts to cotton weaver’s cottages. None of the properties have a TV or wifi, so they are great for a digital detox.

Find out more about booking 13 Princelet Street here or their full brochure here.

You should also be able to watch my video of 13 Princelet Street here.

Thank you for reading, more of London’s incredible living history below!