29 Facts About Somerset House

Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge.

The present Somerset House was designed by Sir William Chambers, begun in 1776, and was further extended with Victorian era outer wings to the east and west in 1831 and 1856 respectively.

The site of Somerset House stood directly on the River Thames until the Victoria Embankment parkway was built in the late 1860s.

Somerset House's commissioned a number of expensive additions and improvements, some to designs by Inigo Jones.

Somerset House built a fountain known as Mount Parnassus with a grotto carved with sea-shells and a black marble female figure representing the River Thames.

Related searches

Royal occupation of Somerset House was interrupted by the Civil War, and in 1649 Parliament tried to sell it.

Somerset House was still technically a royal palace and therefore Crown property, with most work being done by the King's Master Mason, John Deval.

Therefore, the 1775 act annulled this arrangement and instead provided for another property, Buckingham Somerset House, to be vested in trust for the Queen on the same terms.

Somerset House spent the last two decades of his life, beginning in 1775, in several phases of building at the present Somerset House.

Key reason for rebuilding Somerset House was to provide accommodation for a diverse variety of learned societies, public offices and naval administrators.

North Wing of Somerset House was initially fitted out to house the Royal Academy, the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries.

In 1857, the Royal Society moved out of Somerset House, followed in 1874 by the Society of Antiquaries, the Geological Society and the Royal Astronomical Society; they were all provided with new purpose-built accommodation in Burlington House.

Somerset House continued in use by the Inland Revenue throughout the 20th century.

Somerset House was replaced as principal chemist by Sir Thomas Edward Thorpe.

In 1837, following the establishment of civil registration in the United Kingdom, the Registrar General of Births, Marriages and Deaths set up his office in the North Wing of Somerset House, establishing a connection that lasted for over 130 years.

Somerset House had its share of trials and tribulations during the London blitz in the Second World War.

Somerset House skillfully recreated the Nelson Room and rebuilt the Nelson Stair.

In 1984 the Somerset House Act was passed, legislating the way for Somerset House to be redeveloped as a centre for the arts.

In 1997 the Somerset House Trust was established as a charity to maintain the building and develop it as a centre for arts and culture.

Somerset House now puts on a programme of art exhibitions, drawing on various sources.

Somerset House is residence to more than a hundred tenants, comprising a large and diverse collection of creative organisations and artists including Dance Umbrella, 7Wonder, Outset Contemporary Art Fund, Hofesh Shechter Company and the Royal Society of Literature.

Somerset House is a popular filming location, with its exterior featuring in several big-budget Hollywood films.

Somerset House was used as a filming location in several Sherlock Holmes films, including 1970's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and, more recently, Sherlock Holmes, starring Jude Law and Robert Downey, Jr.

Exterior shots of Somerset House were used in the 1999 Tim Burton horror film Sleepy Hollow, starring Johnny Depp, and the 2006 film Flyboys.

Somerset House was a filming location in the 2012 Bollywood film Jab Tak Hai Jaan, which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, directed by Yash Chopra.

Related searches

Somerset House Courtyard was used in the 2008 movie Last Chance Harvey, with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.

Exterior shots of Somerset House stood in for Himmler's HQ in Berlin in the 1976 film The Eagle Has Landed.

The tunnels under Somerset House have been used in filming Harry Potter, specifically some of scenes depicting 'Diagon Alley'.

Somerset House was the main location for the BBC's New Year Live television show, presented by Natasha Kaplinsky, which celebrated the arrival of the year 2006.