 Russell had Bedford House and garden built on part of the land , with an entrance on the Strand , the large garden stretching back along the south side of the old walled @-@ off convent garden . Apart from this , and allowing several poor @-@ quality tenements to be erected , the Russells did little with the land until the 4th Earl of Bedford , Francis Russell , an active and ambitious businessman , commissioned Inigo Jones in 1630 to design and build a church and three terraces of fine houses around a large square or piazza . The commission had been prompted by Charles I taking offence at the condition of the road and houses along Long Acre , which were the responsibility of Russell and Henry Carey , 2nd Earl of Monmouth . Russell and Carey complained that under the 1625 Proclamation concerning Buildings , which restricted building in and around London , they could not build new houses ; the King then granted Russell , for a fee of £ 2 @,@ 000 , a licence to build as many new houses on his land as he " shall thinke fitt and convenient " . The church of St Paul 's was the first building , begun in July 1631 on the western side of the square . The last house was completed in 1637 . 
