History

A discreet address steeped in history

Molyneux Street takes its name from 1st Baron Molyneux Shuldham, previously an officer in the British Navy who was imprisoned in Poitiers during the Seven Years’ War. Shuldham was responsible for important and covert despatches home from North America, and later he received the title of ‘Baron’ in recognition of his services. Fifty years later the dastardly Cato Street Conspiracy was conceived just one street away by the Spencean Philanthropists, who plotted to assassinate all of the British cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool. The plan was thwarted thanks to whistleblower George Edwards, though the legacy lives on throughout literature.