ONE one. RACQUET COURT NE of the last courts on the north-east end of Fleet Street, Racquet Court forms a cul de sac, and for that reason, perhaps, it is not so well known as some of its neighbouring passages or alleys. Although there appear to be no historical associations of much interest connected with Racquet Court, and most of its buildings are of the painfully prosaic type of modern commercial architecture, it certainly possesses an interest of its own which should attract those who care for the relics of old Fleet Street. In this court are still to be found some beautiful old houses erected in the early eighteenth, or possibly late seventeenth century, when the district was still a residential There are but few houses left in this neighbourhood to remind us of the appearance of Fleet Street and its adjacent courts in the eighteenth century, and these few are so rapidly disappearing, it is a pity that these fine old houses are not more generally known. Owing to the preposterously high value of land in the City of London, and especially in the Fleet Street quarter, it is unlikely that these houses will be spared many more years. The expiration of leases is often responsible for the demolition, not only of single houses, but of whole streets and districts in London. Frequently a residential quarter has become a purely commercial one, and buildings originally erected for dwelling houses are found to be inconvenient, and sometimes dangerous for trade purposes. The landowners of such |