Prince Henry's Room, London: Grade 2 Listed Gem

Prince Henry's Room is located on the first floor at the front of No. 17 Fleet Street in London.

The iconic house is one of the few surviving buildings in London dating from before the Great Fire of London in 1666.

A plaque used to state that it was ‘once the home or palace of Henry the VIII.’

The room, on the first floor contains one of the best-preserved Jacobian-enriched plaster ceilings in London.

It comprises mesmerising architecture.

The main feature is the fine and rare highly decorated Jacobian-enriched plaster ceiling, with the Prince of Wale’s feathers and the initials "PH" in the centre.

There is one wall of original Jacobean wood panelling left; the other panelling is Georgian.

The unexceptional fireplace has a wood surround and panelling above, with an inscription above recording the connection with the diarist and great naval administrator, Samuel Pepys.

There are also fine leaded lights with coats of arms and badges, best seen from within the room.

The site was once owned by the Templars, but after the dissolution of the Order of St John, the building was rebuilt in 1610 and became a tavern called Prince's Arms.

This coincided with the investiture of Prince Henry, son of James I, as Prince of Wales.

During the 17th century, the house was known as the Fountain Inn and was visited by Samuel Pepys on 14 October 1661.

He wrote "In the afternoon Captain Ferrers and I walked abroad to several places; among others, to Mr. Pim's my Lord's tailors and there he went out with us to the Fountain tavern and did give us store of wine."

On 28 November 1661, Pepys wrote "to the Fountain tavern and there stayed till 12 at night, drinking and singing, Mr. Symons and one Mr. Agar singing very well. Then Mr. Gauden, being almost drunk, had the wit to be gone; and so I took leave too."

Lord Thurlow frequented the place before he went on to practise law in the 1770s.

It later became a hairdressers and a plaque used to state it was once the home or palace of Henry the VIII also Cardinal Wolsey lived there.

The enriched ceiling was plastered with a"P" triple plumed.

Once the Management of the Duchy of Cornwall held their sittings here in the time of Charles I, on or about 1619 (see Mrs Green's "Calendar of State Papers").

During the early 19th century a famous exhibition "Mrs Salmon's Waxworks" was held in the front part of the house, whilst the tavern continued in the rear.

The house became the property of the London County Council in 1900 with the aid of a contribution from the City of London Corporation.

It later passed to the City of London Corporation.

From 1975, the room was a museum which hosted a Samuel Pepys exhibition — Pepys was born in Fleet Street in 1633.

The building now houses the offices of the Delegation of the Catalonian Regional Government to the UK.

Prince Henry's Room is currently only viewable when special events are held there - it was opened to the public for one day for the September 2023 London Open House Festival.

The City of London Corporation has recently completed a consultation with interested parties regarding the room's usage.

The Great Fire of London

Prince Henry's Room is one of the few surviving buildings in London dating from before the Great Fire of London in 1666.

In 1666, a devastating fire swept through London, destroying 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, The Royal Exchange, Guildhall and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

So how did it happen?

Back in the 1660s, people were not as aware of the dangers of fire as they are today.

Buildings were made of timber – covered in a flammable substance called pitch, roofed with thatch – and tightly packed together with little regard for planning.

About 350,000 people lived in London just before the Great Fire, it was one of the largest cities in Europe.

Homes arched out over the street below, almost touching in places, and the city was buzzing with people.

Lots of animals lived London too – there were no cars, buses or lorries back then – so as well as houses, the city was full of sheds and yards packed high with flammable hay and straw.

Following a long, dry summer the city was suffering a drought. Water was scarce and the wooden houses had dried out, making them easier to burn... it was a recipe for disaster.

The Great Fire of London started on Sunday, 2 September 1666 in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane belonging to Thomas Farynor (Farriner).

Although he claimed to have extinguished the fire, three hours later at 1am, his house was a blazing inferno.

At first, few were concerned – fires were such a common occurrence at the time. However, the fire moved quickly down Pudding Lane and carried on down Fish Hill and towards the River Thames.

It spread rapidly, helped by a strong wind from the east. When it reached the Thames it hit warehouses stocked with combustible products including as oil and tallow.

Fortunately, the fire didn't spread south of the river – but only because a major blaze in 1633 had already destroyed a section of London Bridge.

Pepys spoke to the Admiral of the Navy and agreed they should blow up houses in the path of the fire. The hope was that by doing this they would create a space to stop the fire spreading from house to house.

The Navy – which had been using gunpowder at the time – carried out the request and the fire was mostly under control by Wednesday, 5 September 1666.

However small fires continued to break out and the ground remained too hot to walk on for several days afterwards.

Pepys recorded in his diary that even the King, Charles II, was seen helping to put out the fire.

If you’d like to learn more about the devastating fire, you can visit the London History Museum.

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