Monmouth House

Monmouth House was a 17th-century mansion in Soho Square (then called King’s Square) built for the Duke of Monmouth, the oldest illegitimate son of King Charles II.

After the Duke's execution for attempting to lead a rebellion against the unpopular Catholic successor to Charles, James II, the house was owned by the Bateman family and loaned to various important people including the French ambassador before being demolished in 1773.

In 1681, the Duke of Monmouth leased a large site on the South side of the square from Richard Frith and his partner Cadogan Thomas of Lambeth (a timber merchant), in association with Benjamin Hinton (citizen and goldsmith), and William Nutt of London (a merchant).

[1] Monmouth House occupied the south side of what was then called King’s Square.

[5] It is not entirely clear why the Bateman family decided to demolish the house, but at the end of the 18th century the area seems to have fallen out of fashion: "as the stream of fashion was setting westwards, they [the Bateman family] travelled along with it, and, pulling down the mansion, let out the site on building leases.