all, built 1638, stood at the north end of James Street. It was
the residence of Viscount Stafford, to whom it had come from his mother
Alethea, daughter and heiress of the seventh Earl of Shrewsbury. Lord
Stafford was the fifth son of the Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and was
made first a Baron and then a Viscount by Charles I. He was condemned
for high treason on the manufactured evidence of Oates and Turberville,
in the reign of Charles II., and was beheaded on Tower Hill, December
29, 1680. After his execution the house was turned into a museum and
place of public entertainment. The gateway under which he passed to his
death was never again opened after that event, but it was left standing
until 1737. Among the notable residents in the street were Dr. White
Kennet, Bishop of Peterborough, an indefatigable collector of MSS., and
Glover, the poet.

The present street contains many pleasant, picturesque houses,
especially at the northern end. At the corner of Castle Lane is the
Westminster Chapel, the largest Independent place of worship in the
Metropolis excepting Spurgeon's Tabernacle. It seats 2,500, and has two
galleries, one above the other, running round the whole interior. It was
opened in 1865 to replace a smaller chapel which had previously stood on
the same site.

Emanuel Hospital was a charming old building which stood south of the
chapel on the same side of the street. It was founded in 1594 by Lady
Dacre "for the relief of aged people and the bringing up of children in
virtue and good and laudable arts, whereby they might the better live in
time to come by their honest labour." The low range of buildings running
round a quadrangle had tall chimneys, and the central house was
decorated by a cupola and clock. It was the sort of place that took the
sharpness off charity by covering it with a sheath of that dignity which
is always to be found in antiquity.

By Lady Dacre's will there were to be twenty almspeople, and each of
them was at liberty to bring up one child. It was, however, not until
the year 1728 that a school was first established, for before that the
funds had been insufficient.

In 1890 thirteen of the almshouses stood empty from failure of income,
and subsequently it was resolved to demolish the almshouses and offer
the present valuable site for building purposes. It is not the
intention of the trustees to erect new almshouses. The charity will in
future be entirely in money pensions known as