The street seems to date from the first decade of the 17th century. It was known as Queen Street from around 1605 and became Great Queen Street” from around 1670.
In 1646 William Newton was given permission to build fourteen large houses on the south side. Although he did not build all the houses himself, they were constructed to a uniform design, in a classical style, with Ionic pilasters rising through two storeys from the first floor to the eaves. The regular design of the houses proved influential. According to John Summerson they “provided a discipline for London’s streets which was to endure for two hundred years.”
About half of the south side is occupied by Freemasons’ Hall, the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England, dating from 1717.
In 1710, the Great Queen Street Academy was founded here.
By 1775 the Freemasons’ Tavern stood here, later the Connaught Rooms. The original Tavern was used by the public alongside the Freemasons for their receptions and dinners. There are conflicting stories about the founding in 1863 of the Football Association at the tavern, setting down the rules of the game.
The north side of the road is partly occupied by Masonic regalia shops, Masonic charities and administrative offices.
