Place name
Named after Sir Henry Bennet (January 30, 1618 – July 28, 1685), a loyal supporter and member of Charles II’s Cabal ministry. In 1650 Bennet followed the royal family into exile, an act for which he was later rewarded with the Earldom of Arlington and land in the Green Park and Tottenham Court areas. Following his return to England in 1661 he became keeper of the privy purse and Secretary of State, a job which included the unenviable task of procuring and managing the royal mistresses – a pretty full-time job under Charles II. The street was laid out in 1822 along an old footpath that ran from Islington village to Sadler’s medicinal wells and was known as Arlington Street until 1936.
