The Royal Wardrobe was a building located on what is now Queen Victoria Street

Queen Victoria Street

Queen Victoria Street may refer to one of the following:*Queen Victoria Street, Fremantle*Queen Victoria Street, Hong Kong*Queen Victoria Street, Leeds*Queen Victoria Street, London*Queen Victoria Street, Reading...

 in the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

, near Blackfriars. It was used as a storehouse for royal accoutrements, housing arms and clothing among other personal items of the Crown.

History

The Wardrobe was used to house orphans during the Commonwealth of England

Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...

. Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...

 records that a party of children sang to Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich

Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG was an English Infantry officer who later became a naval officer. He was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House....

 when he was appointed as Master of the Royal Wardrobe during the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

 but he was unmoved, the orphans were evicted, and the Wardrobe resumed its usual function.

The Royal Wardrobe was destroyed in the Great Fire of London

Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...

 in 1666 and was not rebuilt.

Trivia

• The building's legacy survives in the curious name of the church of St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe
  St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe
  St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe is a Church of England church located on Queen Victoria Street, London in the City of London, near Blackfriars station.-History:...
  
  , also destroyed in the fire, but built anew by Sir Christopher Wren.