A shop named 'The Old Curiosity Shop' can be found at 13–14 Portsmouth Street, Holborn, London, WC2A 2ES, and is now owned by the London School of Economics. The building dates back to the sixteenth century (1567) in an area known as Clare Market, but the shop name was added after the novel was released, as it was thought to be the inspiration for Dickens's description of the antique shop. At one time it functioned as a dairy on an estate given by King Charles II to one of his many mistresses. It was built using timber from old ships, and survived the bombs of the Second World War.