After 1787 the house was divided into two, the residents at which, up to 1800, were Harvey Christian Combe and Charles Steers.
In the Council’s collection are:—
No. 19, Great Russell Street—View of front (photograph).
[[702]]“Thanet House,” Great Russell Street—Lithograph by G. Scharf (print).
LVIII.—BEDFORD SQUARE (General).
During the period including the latter half of the 17th and the early years of the 19th century, several large estates were laid out in the western district of London. The planning of these generally included several squares, each provided with a central garden for the use only of the residents living in the surrounding houses.
When the 112 acres composing the Duke of Bedford’s Bloomsbury estate were developed, over 20 acres were laid out as gardens for the use of the occupiers of the houses overlooking them.[[703]] This estate, with its wide streets and spacious squares, is an excellent example of early town planning, and affords an illustration of the advantages gained by the community when a large area such as this is dealt with on generous lines by the owner.
Bedford Square is about 520 feet long and 320 feet wide between the houses, and the oval and beautifully wooded garden (Plate 61) measures 375 feet on the major and 255 feet on the minor axis.
The general architectural scheme of the square is interesting. Each side is separately treated as an entire block of buildings, having a central feature and wings. The central feature of each side is carried out in stucco, having pilasters and pediments in the Ionic order, those to the north and south having five pilasters (Plate 97), and those to the east and west, four (Plate 89). The western house being smaller, however, has not the additional walling extending beyond the pilasters.
The houses at the ends of each block have balustrades above the main cornice, and, generally, the windows are ornamented with iron balconies at the first floor level.