For a more detailed view of each part
of the street, click on one of the parts above for whichever section you
wish to magnify.
The print shows the visit of Mary de Medici, daughter of the grand
duke of Tuscany, in 1639. She was the mother of the English Queen, the
wife of Charles I. She stayed in England for about two years but was generally
hated by the populace as a scheming political intriguer and, being a Catholic,
was suspected of desires to overthrow English Protestantism. The houses
would have been mostly constructed of wood and wattle daub. They have the
typical overhanging construction of the Elizabethan period, made possible
by the use of oak beams. A house front of a similar style and date is kept
at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Further details of the buildings are given with each individual enlargement.
The print is from Histoire de L'entree de La Reine Mere dans La
Grande Bretagne, by P. de la Serre. 1639.
Re-printed in London in 1775 by W. Bowyer and J. Nichols.