View of the north wing of Somerset House, Strand, City of Westminster. The first palace on this site was built by Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, in 1547 but after his execution in 1552 the property passed to the crown. In 1609 Inigo Jones was invited by James I's queen, Anne of Denmark, to redesign and renovate the palace and it was renamed Denmark House. It was used in the eighteenth century as grace and favour apartments and was eventually demolished in 1775. The new building was constructed between 1776-96 by Sir William Chambers. The Strand block front is nine windows wide with three central bays open as carriage arches leading into the quadrangle. Ground-floor and first-floor windows with pilasters and triangular pediments. Corinthian columns on the facade with a balustraded parapet on the first floor and flanking the attic. The Royal Academy of Arts became the first resident in 1779 and other occupants have included the Admiralty and the Inland Revenue from 1848. The building suffered some bomb damage during World War II and in 1950 Sir Alfred Richardson undertook renovation work. The Courtauld Institute of Art moved into the North Wing in 1989, and still remains. The building is Grade I listed, number 1237041. To the right at 151 Strand, a three-storey building with attics and a shop on the ground floor occupied by G. Smith and Company, Saddlers. In the window are numerous saddles, and painted signs for 'Saddlery and Harness Manufactory Established over Half a Century'. 'Stable Requisites, Horse Clothing'. The company began trading in Mile End in 1829. Below the third-floor window a sign advertises ‘C.M. Holloway, Advertisement Specialist, Bill Posting Systematist’. The building remains although altered.
