 What later became Essex House on the Strand was originally an Outer Temple of the Knights Templar in the 11th century . In <unk> , ownership passed to the Knights of St John . Henry VIII gave the house to William , Baron Paget in the early 16th century . Robert Dudley , Earl of Leicester , rebuilt the house in 1563 , originally calling it Leicester House . It was renamed Essex House after being inherited by Robert <unk> , 2nd Earl of Essex , in <unk> . It was demolished around 1674 and Essex Street , leading up to the Strand , was built on the location by property speculator Nicholas <unk> . 
