Arthur Onslow held the position of Speaker of the House of Commons for a record 33 years from 1728 until 1761 and became renowned for his integrity and impartiality. For his final eight years as Speaker he lived at 20 Soho Square.

‘INTEGRITY IN AN AGE OF CORRUPTION’

Onslow, born in Kensington, initially trained for a legal career, but in 1720 became a Whig MP. Eight years later he was elected Speaker, becoming the third member of his family to hold the position. A close friend of Sir Robert Walpole, Onslow has been described as ‘a man of rare integrity in an age of corruption’. By the time of his retirement, impartiality and authority had become established elements of the Speaker’s role.

20 SOHO SQUARE

Soho Square (formerly King Square) was laid out in 1677 but was greatly altered in subsequent centuries, and both of the plaques in the square (the other is to Sir Joseph Banks and his fellow botanists) commemorate houses now demolished.

Onslow lived at number 20 in moderate splendour from about 1753 until 1761, when he retired from Parliament due to ill-health and moved to Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury. The original house was built in the 1680s for Earl Fauconberg and at the time Onslow lived there was one of the finest in the square. Onslow held parliamentary levées at the house, and entertained contemporaries such as the printer and novelist Samuel Richardson.