BANGOR HOUSE

   The town house of the Bishops of Bangor, in Shoe Lane.

   It seems to be mentioned in 1349 as " Bancor Inn " (Ct. H.W. I. 581).

   It adjoined the churchyard of St. Andrew, Holborn, and was leased in 1540, as parcel of the demesne lands of the bishopric of Bangor (L. and P. H. VIII. XV. 296).

   It was purchased by Sir John Barkstead in 1647 with ground 168 ft. in length and 164 ft. in breadth, and permission was granted to him to build on the site. He does not, however, appear to have erected any buildings on the land. In 1660 at the Restoration it reverted to the Bishops of Bangor.

   The last Bishop who resided there seems to have been Bishop Dolben. After his death the ground was leased out and inferior dwellings were erected on it, under the name of Bangor Court, although the remains of the mansion were still visible in 1805, as shown in Wilkinson's Londina Illustrata.

   The Court was sold in 1826 under Act of Parliament, and after its removal about the middle of the 19th century, warehouses were erected on the site, now known as " Bangor House," being Nos. 66 and 67 Shoe Lane, the old name being by this means still commemorated.