Agar Street is named after George Agar, who built the street in the 1830s with John Ponsonby, Earl of Bessborough
Dr. Benjamin Golding (1793-1863) set up a hospital in the Charing Cross neighborhood of London in 1818, then named the West London Infirmary and Dispensary. The infirmary moved to a larger location, still in the neighbourhood, with 12 beds in 1823. The name was changed to Charing Cross Hospital in 1827, and plans were made to build a much larger hospital. The Royal Family (and especially Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent) had been pleased with Golding’s work, and raised funds for the new building. Decimus Burton was chosen as the architect. The new Charing Cross Hospital opened in 1834 on Agar Street with 60 beds. The medical school was situated in the hospital.
