Front elevation of Essex Hall, 1-3 Essex Street, City of Westminster. Essex Street is a cul-de-sac running south from the Strand. It was laid out by Nicholas Barbon between 1675-1680, in the grounds of Essex House, formerly Leicester House built in 1575 by Robert Dudley, first Earl of Leicester. Unitarian Church Headquarters building, with three storeys and a bookshop on the ground floor, built in 1958, architect Kenneth S. Tayler. It replaced the Essex Street Unitarian Chapel built in 1778 on the footprint of the Tudor chapel of Essex House. Founded by the Reverent Theophilus Lindsey, it was the first Unitarian church in England. Rebuilt in 1887, this building was destroyed by bombing in World War II. A plaque on the wall records its history. Also inscribed in the concrete to the right are names of notable residents and visitors to Essex Street: Lord Keeper Sir Orlando Bridgeman, novelist Henry Fielding, Lord Mayor Brass Crosby, architect James Savage, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie), and Dr Samuel Johnson.