Number 8 Adam Street

Number 8 Adam Street is located on the eastern side of the street, and was to the north of the centre of the block. The façade of this house survives, albeit with a largely twentieth-century fabric behind.

The first resident of this house is not known, but in 1788-92 it was occupied by Sir Richard Arkwright, the inventor of the spinning frame, and innovator of water- and then steam-powered cotton manufacturing. According to the Survey of London, ‘during the last 10 years of his life Arkwright was constantly engaged in lawsuits concerning his patents and had frequently to visit London in connection therewith, and it was probably for this reason that he took the house in the Adelphi.’ From 1848 it was home to Thomas Brassey, a railway contractor, and from 1859 Thomas Roger Smith, an architect.