2-368-328 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Southampton or Bloomsbury Square, London, 18th century (1907). Bloomsbury Square was laid out in the late 17th century by the Earl of Southampton, after whom it was originally named. The large house at the top was Bedford (previously Southampton) House, the residence of the Earl of Southampton and later the Dukes of Bedford. The square was originally fashionable with the upper classes, but had become less desirable by the early 19th century. Around this time the Duke of Bedford moved out and Bedford House was demolished to make way for terraced houses. The square became well known in the early 20th century because of its assoaciation with the Bloomsbury Group of artists. A print from The History of the Squares of London Topographical and Historical by E Beresford Chancellor, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co Ltd, London, 1907.