Sackville Street

Sackville Street is a street in central London which today is mainly composed of offices and the rears of retail premises, but once was the home to several important medical figures.

The land on which Sackville Street stands, like Albany and Burlington House, was formerly known as Stone Conduit Close. It was bounded on one side by Penniless Bank and on the other by Swallow Close. It passed into Crown ownership in 1536 and formerly belonged to the Abbot and Convent of Abingdon. The land was then much divided. leases granted and ended and ownership changed several times. Sackville Street is first mentioned in the Ratebooks in 1679.

By 1730 the former leases on the land that is currently Sackville Street had all expired and William Pulteney, later the Earl of Bath, had the site cleared in order to rebuild the street. The rebuilding laid out the street according to the former leasehold divisions with the houses on the west side corresponding with Richard Bull's former lease, and the roadway and eastern side houses corresponding with the former interests of Edward Bew and Robert Chipp.

On 1 May 1730, Pulteney signed an agreement with Thomas Phillips of St. George's, carpenter, and John Mist of St. Anne's paviour. These were likely the principal contractors for the construction of the houses, and by 1733 most of the houses were completed. From the start the street attracted a mixed occupancy and included fine homes and shops. At the time of building it included two apothecaries, a cheesemonger, a tavern and a coffee house. Tailors were also prominent, including 13 listed in the Post Office directory of 1830.