Escaping the inquisition, Alvares (or Alvaro), a wealthy merchant of Portuguese Jewish origins, had arrived in England in 1661 as part of the entourage of Charles II’s wife, Catherine of Braganza. Other members of his family joined him in the country, including Fernando Mendes, his cousin and brother-in-law, who became the Queen’s physician. Because of the anti-Catholic fervour of the late 1670s, the family came out openly as Jewish, and thus Cromwell House became the first Jewish-owned property in England since the 1290 Jewish expulsion. The building became the suburban hub of the large da Costa clan, and during their 74-year ownership the house was expanded to meet their needs. Other distinguished family members included the banker Moses da Costa and the miniaturist Catherine da Costa. In 1705, Alvares da Costa bought back the nineteen acres of adjoining land sold by Sir Robert Sprignell, eighteen acres (7.2 hectares) of which was subsequently sold in 1742 by his son who had inherited the estate, but had been in financial difficulties ever since losing heavily in the South Sea Bubble of 1720. He kept only the acre to the east adjoining the garden of the house.