The first known mention of this street by name (if a later recital may be relied upon) is in June 1678, when Richard Frith and William Pym leased a site on the west side for building. It was then called a new street. It is first named in the ratebooks in 1680, but with only three ratepayers. Ogilby and Morgan's map of 1681–2 shows the street fully built but this is certainly a mistake. The chief period of building was in the 1680's. Eighteen ratepayers are named in 1683, and twenty-one in 1685. The ratebooks for 1686–90 are missing. Forty-two ratepayers are listed in 1691, when the street was fully developed except for those parts (all the east side north of Bateman Street and the west side north of No. 64) which were at that time included in the curtilages of houses in Soho Square.

The street name obviously derives from that of the main developer, Richard Frith (who was conceivably the 'Mr. Frith' rated for a house on the east side in 1684): the name of the street, like Richard Frith's, was sometimes transformed into 'Thrift', as on Rocque's map published in 1746.

The east side of the street north of Bateman Street was built up in the early eighteenth century: Nos. 6–10 (consec.), which did not form part of the Portland estate, in 1718 and Nos. 2–5 (consec.) in c. 1731. Three additional houses were added at the northern end of the west side (the former Nos. 65–67 consec.) by new building or reconstruction in the 1760's on the rearward curtilage of No. 31 Soho Square.

Almost nothing is known of the identity of the building tradesmen directly responsible for the first houses here, although it happens that two houses which can reasonably be associated with a known builder, Richard Campion, still survive in carcase (Nos. 60–61). Alexander Williams, probably the bricklayer, was rated for a house on the west side c. 1691–3.

A third builder, John Markham, carpenter, was in 1680 building six houses identified as being in this street and Romilly Street. He and Frith mutually agreed for the completion of the carpenter's and bricklayer's work respectively but the disputes in which they became involved delayed the completion of the houses and consigned Markham to gaol.

From its early days until about the 1770's the street usually had two or more persons of title resident in it. The French element among the ratepaying occupants was a little less marked than in some other streets of Soho, if the occurrence of French-seeming names in the parish ratebooks may be taken as a rough guide; it becomes more noticeable in the 1730's and 1740's. As in Dean Street, by the 1790's few of the ratepayers' names look foreign.

'Dancing Schools' are mentioned in the street in 1693 and 'Mr. Hume's Dancing School' or 'great Dancing Room' in 1710–12. It was latterly run by Anthony Fert, a 'French Dancing Master'. It is probable that it was situated at the south-east corner with Bateman Street, and that the building was subsequently used by the wellknown tapestry-workers, Joshua Morris, William Bradshaw and Tobias Stranover.

In 1720 Strype described Frith Street as 'graced with good Buildings well inhabited, especially towards Golden [sic, recte Soho] Square'.

In the 1730's at about the time of, or shortly before, the realization of the Portland freehold, there was considerable rebuilding on the east side of the street, although not all of it seems to have been directly controlled by Portland building leases. On the west side the rebuilding was less extensive, and it is probable that five houses towards the northern end (Nos. 60–64 consec.) still preserve some of the original late seventeenthcentury fabric.

Most of the street south of Bateman Street is shown on the Portland estate map of c. 1792–3. South of Old Compton Street most of the buildings that are shown have ground-floor plans which indicate the existence of shop fronts. North of Old Compton Street none of the houses on the east side seems to have a recognizable shop front except at corner sites: a few shop fronts are shown on the west side.

By 1850 very few houses in the street were in wholly private occupation. There were a number of ordinary retail tradesmen, and four or five engravers, but the trades most noticeably represented were those of tailor or dressmaker, and of goldsmith, jeweller or watchmaker. In 1900 this last class was still predominant, together with metal-workers, engravers and some other 'craftsmen': the tailors had almost disappeared. An 'advertising contractor' is listed in the street, and had in fact been there since 1869.

The street is now the principal 'entertainment' street in Soho, containing the largest number of restaurants and 'clubs'. It is best seen at night when the glare of neon signs distracts attention from the dilapidated appearance of its buildings. It has been possible to identify eighteen of these as dating, at least in carcase, from the first half of the eighteenth century or earlier. But apart from Nos. 5–7 and No. 60, the early houses are barely recognizable from the outside, and two,Nos. 29 and 30, have been almost completely rebuilt, leaving wooden staircases of the early eighteenth century curiously embedded in the centre. Judging from the surviving buildings and from the evidence of the Portland estate map, the street was from the first one of modest, narrowfronted buildings having the standard two-room plan, the most notable exceptions being the former Nos. 9, 10 and 51–52. Rebuilding of a domestic character was still taking place at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Nos. 44–49 were rebuilt, Nos. 44–48 with the arcaded second storeys that were also used in refronting the former Nos. 12 and 13. By the beginning of the present century a number of large commercial buildings were being erected, some of them, like No. 8–9, of very poor quality. The newest building, No. 11–13, pays at least some attention to the still domestic scale of the street, its five-storeyed front faced with pinkish-brown brick and containing relatively small square windows.

The rateable value of the houses in the street totalled about £1,780 in 1740, with an average assessment of about £34 for each house. In 1792 the total was about £2,170 and the average about £38. In 1844 the total was about £3,510, and the average had risen to about £54. In 1896 the total was about £5,480 and the average about £96. Very little amalgamation of sites had taken place.

Residents and lodgers in houses in Frith Street which are not described elsewhere included:

• Dr. Walgrave, probably (Sir) William Waldegrave, physician to Queen Mary of Modena, c. 1685
• Lady Coney, c. 1691–2
• Robert Spencer, first Viscount Teviot, c. 1691–3
• Colonel Parsons, possibly William Parsons, chronologer, c. 1691–4
• Sir Henry Marwood, c. 1691–1709
• Dr. Samuel Wall, c. 1691–1709
• Sir William Monson, fourth baronet, c. 1691–1727, succeeded by Lady Monson, 1727–33
• Sir David English, 1692–c. 1694
• Lady Whaley, c. 1693
• Lady Garth, 1694–c. 1697
• Colonel Ingoldsby, c. 1696–7
• Sir William Norris, envoy to India, c. 1698
• Colonel Windham, c. 1703
• Lady Downes, c. 1703–10
• Lady Guise, c. 1703–19
• Sir Thomas Aston, c. 1706–17
• Richard Coote, third Earl of Bellomont, 1709–11
• Sir Roger Bradshaw, 1710–15
• Sir John Thompson, first Baron Haversham, Lord of the Admiralty, 1710, succeeded by Lady Haversham, 1711–13
• James Vernon, Secretary of State, 1711–26
• Dr. Silvester, 1715–17
• James Graham, first Duke of Montrose, c. 1716
• Joshua Morris, 1720–8, succeeded by William Bradshaw, 1729–31, and Tobias Stranover, 1730–3, all tapestry-workers
• William Vane, first Viscount Vane, 1722–c. 1725
• Richard Phillips, governor of Nova Scotia, c. 1724–5
• Lady Jenkinson, 1726–8
• Dr. Barker, 1728–45
• William Duncombe, miscellaneous writer, 1731– 1761
• Sir Charles Mordaunt, 1734–55
• William Herbert, second Marquis and second titular Duke of Powis, c. 1738–45
• Maria, Duchess of Wharton, widow of first Duke, 1739–51
• Dr. Beaumont, 1742–8
• Charles Molloy, possibly the journalist, 1743–6
• Peter Gillier, violinist of the chapel royal, 1744–68
• Dr. Oliphant, 1748–50
• John Trotter, perhaps the army contractor, and associates, 1748–99
• Matthew Mattee, perhaps Matthew Maty, physician and librarian, 1753, and Dr. Paul Mattee, 1754 or 1755–6
• Dr. Brudenell Exton, 1753–9
• Major Durand, 1753–65
• Major-General (? William) Deane, 1753–75
• Rev. Dr. Moore, 1755–9
• Dr. Fleming, 1760–2
• Dr. Hinchliffe, perhaps John Hinchliffe, headmaster of Westminster, later Bishop of Peterborough, c. 1760–5
• (Sir) Robert Foley, baronet, 1766–81, succeeded by Lady Foley, 1782–94
• Thomas Sheridan, actor, c. 1767
• Rev. Mr. Brilly, 1774–8
• J. C. Fischer, oboist, c. 1776
• William Pether, mezzotint engraver and miniaturist, 1781–6
• Timothy Sheldrake, perhaps truss-maker to the East India Company, 1785–7
• General (? George) Garth, c. 1786–92
• John Bannister, comedian, 1787–95
• Christopher William Hunneman, portrait and miniature painter, 1790–4
• Elizabeth Inchbald, novelist, c. 1788–91
• J. T. Smith, topographical draughtsman and antiquary, c. 1797
• Horne Tooke, c. 1804
• Auguste Marie, Comte de Caumont, bookbinder, 1801–14
• Arthur Murphy, actor, c. 1801
• George Lipscomb, perhaps historian of Buckinghamshire, 1806–11
• J. Foggo, painter, c. 1816–18
• Charles Ollier, perhaps publisher, 1830–2
• John Bell, sculptor, c. 1832–3
• John Hayes, painter, c. 1821–48
• John Snow, anaesthetist and investigator of cholera, c. 1840–9
• H. W. Diamond, surgeon and photographic innovator, c. 1844–9 (at former No. 22)
• Jabez Hogg, surgeon and photographic writer, 1851–3.

Some artists whose addresses are given as being in Frith Street in exhibition catalogues, but whose names do not appear in the ratebooks, are listed below, with the years in which they exhibited:

• Peter Vandyke, painter, 1764
• Joseph Farington, painter, 1769–71
• John Francis Rigaud, painter, 1772–3
• Henry Edridge, miniature painter, 1786
• Johann Heinrich Ramberg, painter, 1788
• J. A. Gresse, painter and royal drawing master, 1794
• Adam Buck, painter, 1798–1812
• G. Keith Ralph, painter, 1803
• John Constable, painter, 1810–11
• William Brockedon, painter, 1812–13
• George Robert Lewis, painter, 1823–4
• Anthony Stewart, miniature painter, 1827–8.

Text extracted from British History Online, a digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a primary focus on the period between 1300 and 1800.
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