Poland Street
Poland Street is a street in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Oxford Street in the north to Broadwick Street in the south. It was named after the "King of Poland" pub, which was renamed in honour of Poland's King John III Sobieski in the heading of a coalition of western armies, crucially defeated the invading Ottoman forces at the 1683 Battle of Vienna.[1] In the eighteenth century, Polish Protestants settled around Poland Street as religious refugees fleeing the Polish Counterreformation.[2]
It was the site of the St James Workhouse whose infirmary may have been the original St. James Infirmary[3] (see plan). The lane that led into the workhouse in now the driveway to Q-Park Soho garage.
Notable residents
The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley lived at 15 Poland Street.[4]
The poet William Blake lived at 28 Poland Street until 1791. The original building has since been rebuilt.[5]
The writer Fanny Burney had her childhood home (1760–1770) at 50 Poland Street. In 1909, nearby Portland Street was renamed D'Arblay Street in her honour, after her married name of Madame D'Arblay.[6] Her father was the musicologist Charles Burney, whose other children, also living there, included writer Sarah Burney, explorer James Burney, and classicist Charles Burney.
References
- ^ Anna Kalinowska, Martyna Mirecka Londyńskie ślady Jana III, wilanow-palac.pl
- ^ Weinreb et al. 2008, p. 647.
- ^ Peter Higginbotham. "The Workhouse in Westminster (St James), London: Middlesex". Workhouses.org.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ Wheatley, Henry B. (1891). London past and present: Its history, associations, and traditions. Vol. III. London: John Murray. pp. 100–101.
- ^ "William Blake's London – Picture Essay". Tate. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Bebbington, Gillian. (1972) London street names. London: B. T. Batsford. p. 108. ISBN 0713401400
- Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher; Keay, John; Keay, Julia (2008). The London Encyclopaedia (3rd ed.). Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-405-04924-5.
External links
Media related to Poland Street, London at Wikimedia Commons
