On a day in London’s past, January 4, 1698, a fire consumed Whitehall Palace, an event noted with stark brevity by diarist John Evelyn: “Whitehall burnt, nothing but walls and ruins left.” This wasn’t the palace’s first encounter with flames. Years prior, in 1691, a fire sparked within the apartments of the Duchess of Portsmouth, Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, a French noblewoman and mistress to King Charles II. Unpopular due to her Catholicism, she was a rival to another of Charles’s mistresses, the witty and beloved Nell Gwynne.
Nell Gwynne, a former actress, famously referred to the Duchess as “Squintabella” and made less-than-flattering remarks about her rival’s hygiene. In a moment of public wit, when mistaken for the Duchess and booed, Nell retorted, “Pray, good people, be civil – I am the Protestant whore.” This sharp humor and self-awareness made Nell a darling of the public, a stark contrast to the often-disliked foreign mistress.
Nell Gwynne, a popular actress and mistress of King Charles II, known for her witty remarks and rivalry with other royal mistresses.
Nell’s common touch extended beyond words. Once witnessing a brawl between her coachman and another man who had insulted her with the same derogatory term, she intervened not with anger, but with pragmatism, declaring, “I am a whore. Find something else to fight about.” This acceptance and defiance of societal labels, delivered with humor, cemented her place in popular memory.
Whitehall Palace, the backdrop to these scandals and fires, lent its name to Whitehall, the street now synonymous with British government. Ironically, the only surviving section of the palace, the Banqueting Hall, was the site of a far graver historical moment: the execution of King Charles I. Following the Restoration, Charles II, who experienced a less violent end at the palace, ruled from Whitehall, as did Oliver Cromwell during the Interregnum.
The execution of King Charles I at the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace, a pivotal event in English history.
Earlier on this same January 4th date, in 1642, Charles I had made a fateful move, entering the House of Commons to arrest five Members of Parliament for high treason. His targets – John Hampden, Arthur Haselrig, Denzil Holles, John Pym, and William Strode – had been forewarned and were absent. Speaker William Lenthall famously rebuffed the King’s unprecedented action, asserting parliamentary privilege with the words: “May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place but as this house is pleased to direct me whose servant I am here; and humbly beg your majesty’s pardon that I cannot give any other answer than this is to what your majesty is pleased to demand of me.” This moment solidified the principle of parliamentary independence and marked the last time a British monarch entered the House of Commons.
Switching continents and centuries, January 4th also marks a significant date for another kind of power center. On January 4, 1865, the New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent home at 10-12 Broad Street, near a street known as Wall Street. Wall Street’s name, surprisingly, originates from an actual wall, constructed in 1653 when New York was New Amsterdam. Built in anticipation of an attack during a war between Britain and the Netherlands, this wall, meant to be a barrier against New England colonists, ironically lends its name to a street now globally recognized as the heart of financial power, a different kind of “wall” altogether.
