LXXII.—No. 10, BEDFORD SQUARE.[[722]]
Ground landlord and lessee.
Ground landlord, The Crown; lessees, The Virol Research Laboratories, Ltd.
General description and date of structure:—
No. 10 was not built by 20th November, 1777, for a lease[[723]] of No. 9, granted on that date, refers to the northern boundary as “ground contracted to be built upon.” It does not find a place in the parish ratebooks until 1781.
This house is the northernmost of the eastern block. The plan has been considerably altered, especially on the ground floor.
The alterations made on that floor include the removal of the partition at the rear of the front room, the formation of a passage to the modern premises at the rear, the closing of the windows in the rear wall, the shifting of the fireplace from the flank to the rear wall, and the construction of a large bay window in its place. On the first floor a portion of the external wall has been removed, and a small addition constructed for use as offices.
Fortunately the beautiful ceilings on this floor have been preserved. That to the front room is segmental in shape and ornamented with plaster decorations and three painted circular panels (Plate 74). The frieze and ceiling of the rear room are similar to those of No. 1, Bedford Square,[[724]] even to the painted panels. The paintings are well preserved. The central panel, reproduced below, should be compared with that illustrated in Plate 68.