 During the 17th century , many of the grand mansions on the Strand were demolished as the aristocracy moved to the West End . The Duck and Drake tavern on Strand was famed as a venue for the conspirators involved in the Gunpowder Plot . In the time of the Civil War , the Nag 's Head tavern was the venue of a meeting between Henry <unk> and some of the <unk> which resulted in the production of <unk> of the Army , demanding the abolition of the monarchy and the trial of King Charles I. 
