While the tenements and the friary's kitchen gardens have disappeared, aspects of Cromwell's original mansion and the Dutch Church around the corner still give visitors a sense of Cromwell's 16th century surroundings. The complex was mainly demolished, with just Cromwell's house retained to become the Drapers' Hall and the nave of the friary church incorporated into the 19th-century Dutch Church. In 1540, Cromwell's residence was seized by the Crown (we won't say more - you'll have to read the book!) and sold to the Drapers' Company. However, nestled alongside modern architecture today, it is hard to imagine how this property was originally integrated into the urban fabric. We can build a picture of his property from Drapers' Company reports from the 17th century, which describe a substantial 14-room, three-storey brick house fronting onto the street. He used it as both a family home and an administrative base. It was common for monastic houses to lease tenements, and a number within the precinct were rented to notables such as the Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador Eustace Chapuys (featured in Wolf Hall), the humanist scholar Erasmus and Thomas Cromwell, whose house lay to the west of the friary church. Founded as an Augustinian Friary in the 1260s, the site remained a monastic complex until 1538, when Cromwell was instrumental in its dissolution. incongruously with a catch for three voices, as did come away, fellow sailors, which, the title line informs us, was sung by bass John wiltshire.136.
Many of the scenes in Wolf Hall revolve around Cromwell's home at Austin Friars in the heart of the City of London.
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