Salisbury House stood next to the west. It was built by Sir Robert Cecil before he was made Earl of Salisbury and Lord High Treasurer. Elizabeth honoured Cecil by being present at the housewarming.
Besides the large house occupied by the Earls, there was a smaller which they let to people of distinction. In the smaller house lived for some time William, third Earl of Devonshire, father of the first Duke.
These houses were pulled down in 1695, and Cecil and Salisbury Streets built on the sites of the houses and gardens. They in their turn have gone, and the Hotel Cecil now occupies the site.
Other houses on the north side of the Strand had also been built, the most famous being Exeter House, the residence of Thomas Cecil, Earl of Exeter. It was first known as Cecil or Burleigh House.
During the Commonwealth, Evelyn gives a graphic description of his attending Divine service in the chapel attached to this house, and the Parliamentary soldiers pointing their muskets at them as they went up to receive the Sacrament. Exeter Street and Burleigh Street mark the site of this mansion now.
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