John Street, located in the southeast of Bloomsbury, originally ran north from King’s Road to Little James Street. Its upper west side was developed by 1760, with houses numbered 34-36 surviving from this earliest phase. The rest was gradually completed around 1800. Horwood’s maps show the street extending north to connect with Doughty Street by the early 1800s, with a full set of houses between Little James Street and Henry Street (now Upper John Street) by 1819.

Horwood’s maps show consecutive numbering from south to north on the east side (2 to 10) and north to south on the west side (10 to 18), reflecting its planned upmarket development for the wealthy. In 1802, poet Winthrop Mackworth Praed was born at No. 35, home of his parents William Mackworth Praed and Elizabeth Winthrop.

In the Victorian era, the fine Georgian houses were converted into offices for charities, trades and professions. No. 30 housed the Ladies’ Charity School from 1847-1858 before it moved to Queen Square. No. 19 became the home of the Open Air Mission in 1853. Other organisations like the local library, stained glass manufacturers, and benefit societies also occupied buildings. The John Street Chapel on the street was destroyed in the Blitz during the Second World War.