Judge Jeffries House, Duke St., Westminster: Green Park front

This watercolour depicts a section of Judge Jeffrey's house in Duke Street, Westminster. Judge Jeffrey's lived from 1645-1689 during the reign of James II when he became Lord Chancellor. He became notorious for his harsh sentencing policy.

Very little is known about James Lawson Stewart who exhibited watercolours in various London galleries between 1883-1889. He died in c. 1918 and towards the end of life was employed to copy prints of London; the accuracy of some of the locations should therefore be questioned.

The Museum was gifted a large selection of watercolours featuring locations which appeared in Dickens's works in 1934 and a set of cigarette cards was issued by R and J Hill Ltd in 1926 and 1934 entitled Historic Places from Dickens Classics which featured watercolours by Stewart.