Lord North Street is one of my favourite London streets.
It’s hidden away near the Houses of Parliament and over the years, several of Britain’s country MP’s have made their London homes here. (Hope they’ve remembered to declare them.)
Why do I love it so? Well, it’s virtually a perfect 18th century street full of early, narrow Georgian terraced houses. The way they open right onto the street makes it very atmospheric.
Imagine the people that have lived here. They’ve lived through changes made by the industrial revolution, wars with Napolean, the era of the British Empire, the First and Second World Wars – especially the Blitz, when it was particularly vulnerable because of its close proximity to Government buildings. You can still see faded painted signs on some of the houses signalling bomb shelters in their basements.
So many famous people have made homes here. My favourite story is about Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister from 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1976.
Wilson didn’t like living at No 10 Downing Street, he thought it too impersonal. So, he bought a house in Lord North Street (no 5) and when the working day was over, secretly made the short journey here to relax with his wife and sleep the night. Mind you, he was pretty paranoid at the time. He thought as a left-wing politician during times of difficult relations with communist USSR, that MI5 was bugging his Lord North Street home to listen to private conversations. Never proved of course, but bearing in mind that MI5’s offices are about 2-3 mins away, maybe not so far-fetched.
And who was Lord North? He was another British Prime Minister, this time from 1732 – 1792. Apparently he was very upset when we were defeated in the American War of Independence and lost the colonies. Just to give you some historical timeline context!