Two years before the death of Lord North, the inhabitants of the Square received a new neighbour of a very different type, as the demagogue John Wilkes moved into what later became No. 35 (but was then No. 30) at the corner of South Audley Street. His latest biographer noted the situation:
"In 1790 he removed from the old, unpretending house in Prince's Court to a more stately one in Grosvenor Square, from where with unfailing punctuality, he walked into the City to attend to his duties."
And here, said his biographer Almond, "in a salubrious situation he resided with his daughter during the winter months for several years."
Leigh Hunt puts the matter in a somewhat different form: "Wilkes prospered so well by his patriotism that he maintained three establishments at one time; one in the Isle of Wight, another in Grosvenor Square, where his daughter Mary kept house for him, and a third in Kensington Gore."
But although Leigh Hunt could hardly speak well of any successful man, he might, considering his own opinions, have refrained from the sneer implied in this statement.
Wilkes actually died insolvent, to the amazement of many who regarded a large house as inevitably indicating a large fortune.
Angelo, in his Reminiscences, refers to Wilkes's house in Grosvenor Square: "Wilkes removed to the corner of South Audley Street, with one front leading into Grosvenor Square, and the last time I had the honour to meet him was immediately after the Mount Street rioters broke the glass of his parlour windows, which perhaps were the most valuable of any in the world, for the whole of the lower sashes, composed of very large panes, were of plate glass, engraved with eastern subjects in the most beautiful taste. These were naturally the more valued by Wilkes as they were the ingenious labour of his daughter."
Wilkes was taken ill in December of 1797, and after a short struggle for life, died on Christmas Day. He apparently met his death "with exemplary calmness and fortitude," a characteristic of many strong minds whether they be religious or otherwise.
By a provision in his will, he ordained that his body should be carried from his house in Grosvenor Square to the vaults of the church in South Audley Street, where he lies buried, by six poor men.
His old house later became the residence of the Duke of Somerset.