The action taken by the Commissioners of Works under the
Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act, by which the house at No. 75 Dean Street, Soho, is placed under their protection for a period of eighteen months, must give much satisfaction to all who care for the really fine and characteristic pieces of architecture that remain to Old London. Attention was first called to this house by the Manchester Guardian, but the first description of it in the London Press appeared in the Spectator of December 21st, 1912, in en • article which made a strong appeal for its preservation. It urged that this house, with its stately rooms and noble stair- case, and the remarkable paintings, probably from the hand of the great Hogarth, on its staircase walls, made the ideal setting for a permanent exhibition of Queen Anne and early Georgian furniture, hangings, pictures, china, glass, and household articles, and that it should be acquired as a "chapel of ease" for South Kensington Museum. Whether Thornhill really
lived and worked in this house and painted Queen Anno there (while her Majesty's chairmen solaced themselves during their hours of waiting at The Crownand Two Chairmen 'over the way) does not so very much matter. Robbed of all senti- ment, the house is precious enough to make out its own cum for preservation. We hope, therefore, that the next official step will be to acquire the house for the nation. Failing that, we trust that some public-spirited Englishman who cares for English art in architecture, painting, and woodwork will acquire it and devote it to a public purpose.
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