lays of
fireworks which were given after the taking of Namur and the Peace of
Ryswick.

In 1726 a Bill was passed in Parliament for the cleansing and
beautifying of the square, which had become a disgrace to the
neighbourhood, being a mere offal-heap. An ornamental basin was
constructed and the square paved, and a bronze equestrian statue of
William III., clad, according to the ludicrous custom of a bygone time,
in Roman habit, was erected in 1808, on a pedestal which had been built
for it in the centre of the basin years before. The water in this basin
is associated with at least one historic scene, for in the riots of 1780
the malcontents threw the keys of Newgate into it, where they remained
undiscovered for many years. The basin was finally drained in 1840,
trees were planted, and the garden laid out. Among the historic
associations is one of a memorable night, when Dr. Johnson and Richard
Savage paced round and round the square for lack of a lodging, and
pledged each other, as they separated, to stand by their country.

Norfolk House stands on the site of that of the Earl of St. Albans,
which he built for his own use in the south-east corner, he afterwards
removed to the mansion on the north side. In the Earl's first house the
Grand-Duke of Tuscany, afterwards Cosmo III., lodged, when on a visit to
London in 1669. Frederick, Prince of Wales, rented the old house before
Carlton House was prepared for his reception, and here George III. was
born. The old house still stands behind the newer building.

Next to Norfolk House is London House, attached to the See of London
since about 1720.

Next to this, at the south corner of Charles Street, is Derby House,
with handsome iron veranda and railings running round it. It was built
by Lord Bellasis, and one of the earliest occupants was Aubrey de Vere,
twentieth Earl of Oxford. Dasent says there is some reason for supposing
it to have been occupied by Sir Robert Walpole between the years
1732-35. It was bought by the Earl of Derby about the middle of the
present century. All the houses on this side of the square are of dull
brick, in formal style, with neither beauty nor originality. The next,
at the northern corner of Charles Street (now the West End branch of the
London and Westminster Bank), was known as Ossulston House until 1753,
and belonged for a long period to the Bennet family. It covered two
numbers, of which one was occupied by Lord Dartmouth, Lord Privy Seal