North Side
Nos. 4 and 5
Nos. 4 and 5 consist of a five-storey building at No. 5, anda lower, two-storey extension, having a canted front to thecorner with Avery Row, at No. 4. No. 5, with its trimmingsof a deep cornice and quoins, was originally a separatehouse which was built in 1863 to designs by SydneySmirke, but with an elevational treatment largely dictatedby the estate surveyor, Thomas Cundy II. Smirke took abuilding lease of the site, which had formerly beenoccupied by the Lion and Goat public house, 'that he maysecure an unobjectionable building' opposite to his ownhouse at No. 80. (fn. 1) An extra storey was added in 1905, (fn. 2) andin 1928 this house and its neighbour at No. 4 (which hadbeen rebuilt as two 'kiosks' in 1888 (fn. 3) ) were drasticallyaltered to their present appearance. The author of theconversion, which uses vestigial classical mouldings atfirst-floor level, was L. Youngman Harris of GordonJackson and Lambert. (fn. 4) Sir Edwin Lutyens acted for theEstate but it is unlikely that he had much influence on thedesign.
Nos. 6–8 (consec.)
Nos. 6–8 (consec.) are the much-mutilated survivors ofa group of four houses (originally including No. 9) whichwere built by John Garlick to the designs of EdwardI'Anson III in 1900–1. (fn. 5) They are tall, narrow, red-brickhouses in a Queen Anne style that is rare in the oldresidential streets of the estate. Attractive ironworksurvives on the continuous first-floor balcony.
At No. 7 the original house had by 1731 gilt leatherpanels in at least one room, a 'bath room' for Lord Pagetand a 'green house' in the garden. (fn. 6)
Occupants include: No. 6, 2nd Earl of Radnor, 1804. (Sir)Ellis Ashmead Bartlett, (kt.), politician, 1888–96 (previously atNo. 57). Sir Bruce Bruce-Porter, K.B.E., 1905–34. No. 7, LadyHillsborough, wife of 1st Viscount Hillsborough, 1725, 1728–9.Lord Paget, son of 1st Earl of Uxbridge, 1730–7. Sir GeorgeVandeput, 2nd bt., candidate in Westminster by-election of1750, 1748–51. James Stuart, architect, 1759–63. Lady AnneCecil, da. of 6th Earl of Salisbury, 1771–80. William Butter,physician, 1780–1805. Kensington Lewis, speculator, 1842. SirWalter Riddell, 10th bt., and 3rd Earl of Romney, 1850–7. SirJames Lewis Walker, 1902–27. No. 8, Dr. John Savage, divine,lecturer at St. George's, Hanover Square, 1733–47.
Nos. 9–13 (consec.)
Nos. 9–13 (consec.) is a seven-storey block ofshowrooms, offices and flats built in 1962–4 to the designsof Hillier, Parker, May and Rowden (chief staff architect,Eric H. Davie), (fn. 7) the modular pattern of the main façadebeing formed by horizontal stone bands and slendervertical brick piers.
At No. 10 tenders for a rebuilding were invited in 1867by the architect E. A. Gruning, doubtless with a Cundyfront specified in 1865. (fn. 8)
Occupants include: No. 9, Gen. Diemer or Diemar, 'ambassador', 1727–41. Sir Roger Burgoyne, 6th bt., 1742–8. RobertAndrews, London agent for the Grosvenor family, 1750–5 (alsoat No. 10). (Sir) James Peachey, latterly 4th bt., later 1st BaronSelsey, 1755–71 (later at No. 33). Lieut.-gen. Sir RobertHamilton, 6th bt., 1777–86: his wid., 1786–1816. WilliamClaridge, hotelier, 1850–6. Sir Henry Stracey, 5th bt., 1876–80.No. 10, Col. George Churchill, 1725–30. Robert Andrews,London agent for the Grosvenor family, 1730–49, 1754–63 (alsoat No. 9). Col. (latterly gen.) Felix Buckley (Bulkeley),1776–1801. Sir Hermann Weber, physician, 1868–1918. No. 11,Adm. Charles Cotterell (Cottrell), 1730–54. Sir John English, kt.,surgeon-in-chief to the Swedish army, 1817–23. SardinianAmbassador, c. 1841–50. Lady Victoria Templemore, wid. of2nd Baron Templemore, 1908–22. No. 12, Earl of Burford,latterly 2nd Duke of St. Albans, 1725–6. Lady SophiaLeominster, wid. of 1st Baron, 1727–46. 1st Baron Cowley,diplomatist, 1832–47. Sir Thomas De Trafford, 1st bt., 1847–52.Lady Louisa Cotes, da. of 3rd Earl of Liverpool, 1856–87. No.13, Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, 1st bt., latterly comptroller ofthe navy, 1787–98. William Huskisson, statesman, 1800–3. Maj.gen. George Russell, 1805–12. 5th Earl of Peterborough, 1814.5th Earl of Buckinghamshire, 1817–18. William Sotheby, author,1818–33: his son, Capt. (later rear-adm.) Charles Sotheby,1833–45. Frederick Skey, surgeon, 1845–64. Maj.-gen. J. F.Brocklehurst, 1906–10.
No. 14
No. 14, which once formed a pair with No. 13, waserected in 1852–3 by the builder John Newson to anelevational design by Thomas Cundy II. (fn. 9) It is a brickfaced two-bay house of four main storeys with the typicalItalianate appendages favoured by the Estate at that period.
Occupants include: 1st Earl of Leicester of Holkham,1839–42. Henry Sturt, later 1st Baron Alington, 1856–64. HenryGraves, later 5th Baron Graves, 1883–92. 4th Baron Abercromby, 1893–1909.
No. 15
No. 15 was the rectory of St. George's, Hanover Square,until 1937 when it acquired its present-appearance. Theoriginal rectory house on the site was sold by its buildinglessee, John Jenner, bricklayer, to the 'Fifty ChurchesCommissioners' in 1724 for £1,300, and in the same yearSir Richard Grosvenor conveyed the freehold to them for£135 (thirty years' purchase of the ground rent of£4 10s). (fn. 10) In 1826 the house is said to have been 'rebuilt' ata cost of £3,960, (fn. 11) and after ceasing to be the rector'sresidence it was virtually rebuilt again in 1937, when thefront elevation was altered to match that of No. 16 so thatthe two houses could be occupied jointly by a firm ofdressmakers. The architects for the conversion wereWimperis, Simpson and Guthrie. (fn. 12)
Occupants include the following rectors: Andrew Trebeck,1725–59. Dr. Charles Moss, latterly Bishop of St. David's,1760–74. Dr. Henry Reginald Courtenay, latterly Bishopsuccessively of Bristol and Exeter, 1774–1803. Robert Hodgson,latterly Dean successively of Chester and Carlisle, 1803–44.Henry Howarth, 1845–76. Edward Capel Cure, 1876–91. DavidAnderson, 1891–1911. F. N. Thicknesse, 1911–33. H.Montgomery-Campbell, 1933–7.
No. 16
No. 16, one of the largest houses on the estate, was builtby the architect Thomas Ripley, who when he entered intoan agreement to develop the plot in 1720 was described as acarpenter, but who had risen to the rank of 'esquire' by thetime he was granted a building lease in 1724. (fn. 13) Hisadvance in the world was largely due to the patronage ofSir Robert Walpole, (fn. 14) whose eldest son was the firstoccupant here. In 1740 Ripley sold the house for £5,000 tothe second occupant, the second Baron Conway, later firstEarl and first Marquess of Hertford. (fn. 15)
Despite later alterations, the decent but unadventurousstreet elevation that might have been expected from thearchitect of the Admiralty in Whitehall is still visible (Plate9a, fig. 15). The exceptional width (fifty-five feet) allowedfor five generous bays and probably accounts for the factthat the house has not been heightened from its originalthree main storeys and garrets. The ground storey hasbeen altered beyond recognition but the upper floors, thefirst with straight-headed windows (perhaps altered) andthe second with segmental ones very similar to those of theAdmiralty, have retained much of their Georgian character. Inside little, if anything, has survived from the timethe house was built (unless the lateral corridor in the garretstorey is a remnant of the early arrangement). The firstevidence of the interior is in an inventory and plans ofc. 1763 (fig. 15), when the rather contrived-lookingdisposition of the entrance hall and staircase compartmentsuggests that some reconstruction, conceivably to replace asquare, front-compartment staircase hall by somethingeven more stately, may already have been effected. Onechange of use had certainly occurred, bringing the diningroom down from the first-floor front room to the highpanelled front room on the ground floor, where thecrimson window curtains contrasted with the black-seatedchairs and the black busts on the white marble chimneypiece. Gilded pier-glass frames and girandoles, gildedframes supporting marble slabs, and pictorial overdoorsheightened the tone of this room, like that of the frontroom above. Ionic columns flanked the doorway to theback parlour, which was papered above the dado in a blueen suite with the curtains and furnishings. Lord Hertford'sdressing-room was high panelled. Ceremonial access to thefirst floor was by the great stone, iron-balustraded stairs atthe back of the hall, which turned and rose in a long flight,interrupted by a half-landing, to the front of the house.The walls of the staircase compartment were 'stuco withornamental painting on ditto' and there were 'ornamentframes in the Ceiling and paintings, as the walls'. Thestaircase led only to the long drawing-room, which, like thefront room below, also had 'ornamental frames' on theceiling. (fn. 16) In 1761 Robert Adam had designed LordHertford a ceiling for a 'drawing room' here (fn. 17) (Plate 16b invol. XXXIX). Later references to Adam ceilings and otherdecoration in the house (fn. 18) suggest something was done, butif this was completed by 1763 the Adam ceiling design,lacking any obvious 'frames', was probably for a backroom. The drawing-room was hung with tapestry on a sideand end wall, and had a fitted Wilton carpet, and a brasschandelier. Otherwise, in its gildings it was like the roombelow, but the curtains and furnishings were green, andthat colour prevailed throughout the first floor, where theback rooms were wholly en suite, with green damaskhangings above panelled dadoes. The second floorcontained family bedrooms (one also in green en suite) anda lady's-maid's bedroom. In the garrets the upper servants'bedrooms were also decorated en suite. The footmen's andmaids' rooms had three and two beds respectively (only themaids had a table), and there were other servants' rooms,including the cook's, in the rearward stable-and-kitchenblock. (fn. 16) Even so, some of the twenty-three servants or soprobably lived out. (fn. 19) Throughout, the chimneypieces wereof marble or (in garrets and basem*nt) Portland stone. Onthe main floors they were evidently fitted with 'stoves'.Here the window shutters were all of mahogany, and so,predominantly, was the movable furniture. There wasmore than one water closet, at the back of the house, servedby a 'force Engine' in the basem*nt designed 'to throwwater to the Cistern' above them, (fn. 16) and draining to acesspool in the back area. (fn. 20) The segregation of the kitchenfrom the house is noticeable. (fn. 16)
In 1763 Lord Hertford agreed to let the house furnishedfor three years to the third Duke of Portland, (fn. 21) and in 1799Lord Hertford's son let it to the Duke's son, the Marquessof Titchfield. (fn. 22) An inventory in the latter year shows that arear wing had been added, containing the present Venetianwindow. The main stairs had probably been rearranged,and the old interior reconstructed, to give, at first-floorlevel, approximately the present plan. The dining-roomhad been moved again, to the former back parlour (nowextended eastward). It retained the favoured red for itscurtains but everywhere else in the main rooms the oldfurnishing colours in silk or damask had been replaced byprinted or striped cottons, chintzes and calicoes. Therewere 'pink Stormont' curtains with festoon drapery in thelibrary, for example, and 'geranium calico windowcurtains' under 'white and gold cornices' throughout therooms on the first floor, where the old rooms now all hadfitted Brussels carpets. In the former dining-room thepanelling was now only dado high. There were waterclosets on all floors, still supplied from a cistern at the topof the house served by the 'hydraulic engine' below. Theyard was 'clayed and gravelled' over lead, for a garden. (fn. 22)
In 1801 Lord Hertford granted a nineteen-year lease tothe fifth Duke of Rutland, (fn. 15) but in 1819 the terms assessedby the estate surveyor, William Porden, for the renewal ofthe lease (a rent of £250 and a fine of £13,015) were so highthat there were no takers and the house stood empty from1820 to 1824, when Thomas and George Seddon ofAldersgate Street, cabinet-makers and upholsterers, weregranted a twenty-one-year lease at a rack rent without afine. (fn. 23) Three years later, having spent £7,000 on repairsand improvements, they were given a sixty-three-yearlease on particularly favourable terms. (fn. 24) They were to usethe house solely as a showroom and not as a manufactory oropen shop, and all loading and unloading of goods was totake place at the rear. (fn. 25)
Within a few months of receiving their first lease in 1824the Seddons had sub-let the upper part of the housefurnished to the newly founded Oriental Club. Anadditional staircase and entrance were provided and adouble portico was erected in Grosvenor Street, possiblyto the designs of George Basevi, who was then acting forboth the club and Seddons. The Oriental Club remained atNo. 16 until 1828 when it moved to newly built premises inHanover Square. (fn. 26) Part of the house continued to be letseparately, and the (Royal) Institute of British Architectsoccupied rooms there from 1837 to 1859. (fn. 27)
In 1860 the house was taken by Collard and Collard,piano-makers, who engaged Owen Jones to colour thesupposed 'Adam' ceilings and other parts. They alsoadapted a room somewhere at the back for afternoonconcerts. (fn. 28) In Grosvenor Street, however, a small brassplate 'on the inside door was the only outward and visiblesign of the considerable inward activities that took placethere. Only top hats were allowed in the front, caps andaprons finding entrance at the back. If an unsuspectingvanman pulled up at the front door the whole streetshuddered . . .' (fn. 29)
The house reverted to single private occupation in 1909when Collards assigned their lease to Mrs. GeorgeKeppel, the confidante of King Edward VII. She engagedthe architect F. W. Foster to make extensive alterations,and his plans were shown to and approved by the King. (fn. 30) Externally the double portico was remodelled and enclosed(fig. 15), and internally Mrs. Keppel's alterations were saidto have included 'a new branching staircase' and theinstallation of a 'Dutch room' for which she paid £5,000.Little decoration was required, 'the old panelling beingperfect, and the style of the house the best period ofAdam', but Mrs. Keppel seems to have installed somechimneypieces of her own. (fn. 31) In March 1910 she had beenanxious for the work to be done as quickly as possible as theKing was going to see the house, (fn. 32) but he died on 6 May ofthat year, and Mrs. Keppel did not take up residenceherself until 1912. (fn. 33)
In 1927, and again in 1932, Lenygon and Morant madealterations which included 'rebuilding portions' of thehouse for the last private occupant, Captain GerardLeigh, (fn. 34) and in 1935–6 the premises were re-adapted forcommercial use by a firm of dressmakers, with Wimperis,Simpson and Guthrie as architects for the conversion. Onthe exterior the portico and a continuous balcony with ironrailings were replaced by pilasters framing the entranceand individual window guards at first-floor level, whileinside on the ground floor one large open space was createdby substituting columns and beams for the dividing walls.The columns were designed to match existing ones at thefoot of the staircase (Plate 14d). The rear premises facingBrook's Mews were completely rebuilt. (fn. 35)
Inside the house there is now little evidence of the'Adam' decorations which were more than once the subjectof comment in the past. The ground floor is one vast spacewith Ionic columns and pilasters, mainly dating from1935–6 and now artificially marbled. There are, however,two handsome marble chimneypieces, one with a bas-reliefin the centre and the other with a sculptured frieze (Plate15e), which are of late eighteenth-century appearance. Thestone, open-well staircase, with lyre-shaped iron balusters(Plate 14d) does not fit the description of Mrs. Keppel's'branching' staircase and possibly dates from CaptainLeigh's occupation, although the delicately wroughtbalusters may have been preserved from the original greatstairs. There is more decorative work in a mid- to lateGeorgian manner on the first floor. The two main roomshave ceilings modelled in low relief, and in the largeformer drawing-room at the front there are also Corinthianpilasters and a frieze of acanthus-leaf scrolls picked out ingilt to the walls. In the rear wing two adjoining rooms havesimple plaster panelling and decorations to the walls andAdam-style architraves to a communicating doorway.There is also a marble chimneypiece decorated with urnshere and another imposing one with a bas-relief in the largeroom at the front of the house.
Occupants include: 1st Baron Walpole, son of Sir RobertWalpole the statesman, later 2nd Earl of Orford, 1725–38. 2ndBaron Conway, latterly successively 1st Earl and 1st Marquess ofHertford, 1740–63, c. 1766–94. 3rd Duke of Portland,1763–c. 1766. 2nd Marquess of Hertford, son of 1st Marquess,1794–7. Marquess of Titchfield, later 4th Duke of Portland,1799–1801. 5th Duke of Rutland, 1801–14. Oriental Club,1824–8 (occupying only part of the house). (Royal) Institute ofBritish Architects (occupying only part of the house), 1837–59.Collard and Collard, pianoforte makers, 1860–1909. Lieut.-col.George Keppel and his wife Alice Keppel, confidante of KingEdward VII, 1912–24.
No. 17
No. 17, originally four windows wide, was rebuilt, threewindows wide and set back, by the builder John Newson in1855–6 for a private tenant. The architect was J. P. St.Aubyn (with G. R. Crickmay as his clerk of works) butThomas Cundy II, as usual at this period, provided theelevation. (fn. 36) Behind this front, subsequent alterationsinclude work by or for the architect and speculator, F. W.Foster, in 1914. A number of alterations have since beenmade to the interior and at the rear, (fn. 37) but, apart fromchanges at ground-floor level, the façade in GrosvenorStreet remains an excellent example of the kind of streetelevation favoured by the second Marquess of Westminster and his surveyor. Three windows wide and of fourmain storeys, it is faced with Suffolk bricks above astuccoed ground floor with a Doric porch and balcony ofPortland stone and has cement dressings to the windows,those on the first floor with hoods carried on consoles, anda deep, crisply modelled cornice with a Vitruvian-scrollfrieze (Plate 9a: see also fig. 14c in vol. XXXIX).
The previous house is known chiefly from documents of1798–9, when the decoration and furnishing materials(mainly new, from Gillows) matched both within andbetween adjacent rooms—striped linen fabrics on theground floor, yellow in the first-floor drawing-rooms (withboth the curtain-cornices and the chairs white-and-gold),green silk in the state bedroom, and flowered or yellowcottons on the second floor. The carpets were mostlyfitted—imitation Turkey in the dining-parlour and libraryand Brussels in the first-floor rooms. The front door waspainted and grained mahogany. At least three of theservants' beds in the two 'large attics' were double. (fn. 38)
Occupants include James Vernon, clerk of the Privy Council,1725–55. Lady Sandys, wid. of 1st Baron, 1775–9. SamuelWhitbread, brewer and politician, 1792–8. Sir John CoxeHippisley, 1st bt., politician, 1802–25 (previously at No. 43).Viscount Milton, eldest son of 4th Earl Fitz William ofNorborough, 1869–73. 2nd Baron Chesham, 1874–82. 5th BaronLyttelton, 1884. Sir Benjamin Phillips, warehouseman andsometime Lord Mayor of London, 1886–9.
No. 18
No. 18 is structurally a four-bay early-Georgian houseerected under a building lease granted to ThomasRichmond, carpenter, in 1723, (fn. 39) but refronted in stone atthe beginning of this century (Plates 9a, 13a, 14b).Decimus Burton made additions of unknown extent in1835–6, (fn. 14) and in 1851 the façade was heightened and'improved' to the usual Estate specifications (John Kelk,builder). (fn. 40) In 1901–2 John Garlick, the builder, made, as aspeculation, a number of alterations including the erectionof a new stone front with a canted bay. An advertisem*ntcommended the 'moderate number of bedrooms'—twelve. (fn. 41) The architects may have been Ayling andLittlewood, who did other work for Garlick at about thistime. In 1937 Sidney Parvin was granted permission toreplace the bay at ground-floor level with a shop front andmake other alterations to the ground storey. (fn. 42)
Internally the pressures of commercial occupation andsubdivision have resulted in many changes, but a numberof Adamesque ceilings and neo-classical doorcases remain,perhaps mostly dating from the late nineteenth century. Agrand stone staircase with unusual balusters (Plate 14b)may date from the late eighteenth century.
Occupants include: Elizabeth Strangeways, latterly duch*essof Hamilton, 1725–9: her husband, 5th Duke of Hamilton, 1729.Baron Hervey, politician, 1740–1. John Crewe, latterly 1st BaronCrewe, 1777–1829. Baron Norreys, latterly 6th Earl of Abingdon,1845–84: his son, Francis Bertie, later 1st Viscount Bertie,1884–96.
Nos. 19 and 20
Nos. 19 and 20 received their present appearance in1935–6 when No. 19 was rebuilt with three neo-Georgianred-brick storeys and an attic above a ground-floor shop,and No. 20 was refaced to match. The architects were C. S.and E. M. Joseph. (fn. 43)
No. 20 had been rebuilt in 1852–3 for the builder andspeculator, Wright Ingle. His architect was HenryHarrison but the façade had to adhere to the Estate's usualItalianate formula (fn. 44) (Plate 9b). Ingle contracted thebuilding work out to R. Watts of Motcomb Street. (fn. 45) In1929–30 Frederick Etchells designed a Georgian-styleshop window and doorcase, but these too were removed in1935–6. (fn. 46)
Occupants include: No. 19, Col. John Laforey, Huguenot,1744–8, 1751–3. Gen. William Hargrove, 1750. Sir FrankStandish, 3rd bt., 1780–1812. Viscount Normanby, latterly 2ndEarl of Mulgrave, 1822–34. James Stuart-Wortley, lawyer andpolitician, 1843–6. Lord Kenlis, later styled Earl of Bective,1868 (later at No. 34). Viscount Maidstone, later 14th Earl ofWinchilsea, 1913–18. No. 20, Lady Stapleton, wid. of SirWilliam Stapleton, 4th bt., 1745–8. Dow. Countess of Essex(d. 1784), wid. of 3rd Earl, and Lady Mary Ker, da. of 2nd Dukeof Roxburghe, 1780–6. Sir Thomas Stepney, 8th bt., 1814–20.
Nos. 21 and 22
Nos. 21 and 22 were erected as private houses in 1898–9to the designs of Eustace Balfour, the estate surveyor, andThackeray Turner, his partner. Above the ground floor theonly serious alteration since has been the enlargement ofthe attic windows, and the buildings are excellent examplesof the forceful and original domestic style of thispartnership. Even the chimney-stacks with their decorative brick and stone arcading have survived. Originallyit was intended that the façades should be entirely of stone,but the first Duke of Westminster, displaying his usualpredilections, wanted them to be of red brick. (fn. 47) The resultwas a felicitous compromise in which irregular bands ofbrick and stone alternate in a display of polychromy ofalmost Butterfieldian intensity, relieved by a boldlyprojecting cornice of unusual design above the fourthstorey and a subsidiary one above the ground floor whichforms the base for a Philip Webb-derived arcade in shallowrelief. Originally the houses had a remarkable doubleportico with a pitched roof and arched entrances and sideopenings, the latter filled with decorative ironwork (Plate8a). The builder was Walter Holt of Croydon. (fn. 48)
The houses were built as speculations for Dr. JosephWalker, a dentist, who had had premises at No. 22 forseveral years. He was granted new ninety-year leases inconsideration of rebuilding, but the houses proved difficultto let. In 1900 Dr. Walker complained that he had 'beentrying for more than a year to let the houses as privateresidences, and the tenants complain of the smallness ofthe rooms and state that there is not a good one in thehouses. The premises are badly planned for privateresidences; the elevations and the small panes of glass inthe windows are also objected to.' The Estate Board gavepermission for the houses to be turned into a private hoteland they continued in this use until 1930. (fn. 49) They wereafterwards converted into shops, showrooms and flats withconsequent alterations to the ground floor, which wasagain altered in 1976 to the designs of Nicol StuartMorrow. (fn. 50) Some of the original ironwork of the arearailings survives.
Occupants include: No. 21, Gen. William Phillips, 1769–81.James Moore, surgeon, 1791–1802. With No. 22, Hagen's Hotel,1901–6. Earle's Hotel, 1909–30.
Nos. 23–25 (consec.)
Nos. 23–25 (consec.) were rebuilt in 1854–7 with theusual elevational treatment dictated by the estate surveyor,Thomas Cundy II (Plate 8a). The builder of Nos. 23 and24 in 1854–5, and most probably of No. 25 in 1856–7, wasJohn Newson, and the architect for all three was F. W.Bushill (restricted, of course, by Cundy's watching brief).Nos. 23 and 24, at least, were rebuilt as speculations. Aperiodical commented on the similarity of the planning(which provided a 'gentleman's business room' on theground floor) to that of houses in Rutland Gate. (fn. 51)
Apart from the insertion of a shop window the exteriorof No. 23 has been little changed, but Nos. 24 and 25 havebeen joined together and altered at ground-floor level sothat No. 25 has lost its portico and the balcony at first-floorlevel has also been removed. Anachronistically smallpaned sashes have been substituted for Victorian ones insome of the windows.
Occupants include: No. 23, Governor Morris, ? BaconMorris, Governor of Landguard Fort, 1726–7. Lady FitzWalter,wid. of 18th Baron, 1728–38. Viscount Wallingford, son of 4thEarl of Banbury, 1739–40. Edward Lascelles, latterly ViscountLascelles, 1801–14. Sir Humphry Davy, bt., natural philosopher,1816–24. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, kt., colonial governor,1825–6: his wid., 1827–36. Lieut.-col. Lord Frederick Fitzroy,younger son of 4th Duke of Grafton, 1857–1916. No. 24, Dr.Jeremiah Mills, President of the Society of Antiquaries, 1745–71.Lady Dorothy Hotham, wid. of Sir Charles Hotham-Thompson,8th bt., 1794–8. Lord George Seymour, son of 1st Marquess ofHertford, 1800. No. 25, Italian Legation, 1875–6.
No. 26
No. 26 was built in 1913–16 as a speculation by thebuilder William J. Garlick to the designs of Wimperis andSimpson. Edmund Wimperis was the estate surveyor atthe time but this individualistic neo-Georgian house (Plate9c: see also fig. 26c in vol. XXXIX) is more likely to have beenthe work of William Begg Simpson, who 'explained' theplans and elevation to the Grosvenor Board. (fn. 52) Planned toinclude nine bedrooms, it is a tall house for its narrowtwenty-five-foot frontage, with five main storeys and anattic.
Occupants include: Adm. Richard Edwards, 1788–94. AylmerBourke Lambert, botanist, 1803–42. Caesar Hawkins, surgeon,1842–84.
No. 27
No. 27 was erected by Richard Davies, joiner, under abuilding lease granted in 1725. (fn. 53) At some time in the earlynineteenth century the house was heightened and thefaçade stuccoed, but since then it has been relatively littlealtered externally and provides an attractive example of astucco front dating from before the period of the secondMarquess's elevational improvements (Plate 9c). Of fourmain storeys and garrets with three closely spacedwindows to each floor, it has a balcony at first-floor levelwith elegant, thin iron rails, shallow mouldings to thewindows, those on the first floor also having detachedhoods carried on consoles, a plain cornice at third-floorlevel, and at the top of the house a decorative panel ofanthemions and palmettes. Inside little of interestsurvives.
Occupants include: duch*ess of Atholl, wife of 2nd Duke,1746.
No. 28
No. 28, a corner house with a long frontage and entrancein Davies Street, was built in 1906–7 for Lord EdwardSpencer-Churchill, son of the sixth Duke of Marlborough,to the designs of C. W. Stephens, the architect ofClaridge's and Harrods (Plate 9c). The builders were W.King and Son of Vauxhall Bridge Road. (fn. 54)
There is little of the ornateness of Claridge's or Harrodsin this rather sober design by Stephens for a four-storeytown mansion in red brick with stone dressings, in which'Queen Anne' is modified by the onset of EdwardianBaroque. The interior has little of interest.
Stephens found himself in difficulties with the Estateover this house. After having had to change his designsbecause he 'had not read the building contract', hestubbornly refused to carry out the specifications requiringfireproof floors. Eventually the Board resolved 'that Mr.Stephens' name be not approved of as the architect for anyother buildings on the estate'. (fn. 55)
The previous house had had some work done to it by(Sir) William Chambers for Charles Turner in c. 1774–5. (fn. 56)
Occupants include: 7th Viscount of Falkland, 1750–5. (Sir)Charles Turner, latterly 1st bt., 1766–83. Christopher Wilson,Bishop of Bristol, 1784–92. Richard Beadon, Bishop ofGloucester, 1792–1801. Dow. Countess of Carnarvon, wid. of 1stEarl, 1813–26. 6th Viscount Allen, 1827–31. Sir WilliamDomville, 2nd bt., 1835–8. 2nd Baron Templemore, 1852. Dow.duch*ess of Marlborough, wid. of 6th Duke, 1868–97: her son,Lord Edward Spencer-Churchill, 1899–1911: his wid., 1911–40.
Nos. 29–31 (consec.)
Nos. 29–31 (consec.) were rebuilt with Nos. 29–37(odd) Davies Street in 1926–8 (see page 76).
Occupants include: No. 30, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, 1746. 4thBaron Bellew, 1747–51. James Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie,son of 3rd Earl of Bute, 1809–18. 2nd Baron Auckland, later 1stEarl of Auckland, 1820–34. Henry Bence Jones, physician andchemist, 1843–55. No. 31, Charles George Perceval, later 2ndBaron Arden, 1782–4. Robert Barnes, obstetric physician,1870–8. Lieut.-col. C. L. Fitzwilliam, consulting surgeon,1920–4.
No. 32
No. 32 was rebuilt in 1933–5 to the designs of Toms andPartners as a shop with six storeys of flats above, the topstorey contained within a mansard roof (Plate 9d). Thestyle is a mechanical neo-Georgian with regularly spacedwindow openings and red brick as the principal facingmaterial. The builders were William Moss and Son. (fn. 57) (fn. c1)
The original house on the site was erected under abuilding lease granted in 1725 to Robert Scott, carpenter, (fn. 58) who in the following year sold it for £2,800 to CharlesEdwin, later M.P. for Westminster. (fn. 59) Until its demolitionin 1933 this house remained one of the best early-Georgianhouses in the street, despite the addition of a portico andbalconettes in 1865. (fn. 60)
Occupants include: Lady Catherine Edwin, wid. of SamuelEdwin, M.P., 1726: her son, Charles Edwin, M.P., 1726–56: hiswid., 1756–76. Lady Fetherstonhaugh, wid. of Sir MatthewFetherstonhaugh, 1st bt., 1777–80. Francis Charteris, known asLord Elcho after the death in 1787 of his uncle David Wemyss,who, but for his attainder in 1746, would have been 6th Earl ofWemyss, 1787–8 (later at No. 51). Felix Ladbroke, later owner ofthe Ladbroke estate in North Kensington, 1826–46. 22nd BaronDacre, 1871–87. 7th Viscount Galway, 1898–1904.
No. 33
No. 33 was thoroughly recast, inside and out, in 1912 byTurner Lord and Company, but structurally it is still theoriginal house erected under a building lease granted toRichard Lissiman, mason, in July 1725. (fn. 61) In 1867 various'improvements' were made to the façade in the usualmanner of that period. (fn. 62)
Several alterations were made to the interior before thehouse was taken under a new sixty-three-year lease in 1910by Auguste Lichtenstadt, a stockbroker. (fn. 63) He engaged thearchitect W. L. Lucas with Howard and Sons as decorators to carry out an internal remodelling whichincluded fitting up a back drawing-room 'in the Germanmedieval style' with elaborately carved panelling and ahighly ornate wooden hooded chimneypiece with themonogram AL repeated several times on the hood (Plate13b): other rooms were in pleasantly simple Georgianstyles. (fn. 64)
The following year, however, Lichtenstadt arranged tosell the house to the recently widowed Princess Hatzfeldt.She was the former Clara Huntington of Detroit, anheiress in her own right, whose husband, Prince FrancisHatzfeldt, had been a member of the German diplomaticservice and owner of the winning horse in the GrandNational of 1906. (fn. 65)
Princess Hatzfeldt promptly engaged Turner Lord andCompany to replace the brand-new decorative scheme byanother. Outside, they intended to alter the façade byremoving the 'compo work' (presumably dressingsadded in 1867). The Estate refused to sanction this ('theDuke's friends would tell him that the appearance of thehouse had been spoiled'), but agreed to a completerefronting in stone. The refacing was begun during theLondon Season of 1912, and then postponed for a fewmonths on protests from neighbouring tenants. Thebuilder was Charles Ansell of Chicheley Street. (fn. 66)
Although structurally still a Georgian house, No. 33 isto all intents and purposes a first-rate town house of theperiod before the war of 1914–18, executed with great careand fine craftsmanship. The felicitous proportions of thefaçade (Plate 9d), which is four windows wide and fourstoreys high, were determined by the existing house, butthe distinctive detailing is entirely work of 1912. Themouldings, which stand out sharply from the smoothashlar facing of the upper storeys, are executed with greatprecision and the ironwork of the balcony railings, thesides of the portico, and of the entrance door is particularlyinventive and delicately handled.
In sharp contrast to the front, the rear of the house ismade up of a picturesquely accretive jumble of projections,some of them no doubt the work of John Newson and Son,who, in 1856, had enlarged a back drawing-room. (fn. 67)
Inside a stone staircase with elegant wrought-ironbalustrading (fig. 6c in vol. XXXIX) is the only importantearly-Georgian feature to survive. Originally it was wallhung, but the underside is now partially enclosed. Thepanelling and much, if not all, of the plasterwork of thestaircase compartment is, however, later. ElsewhereTurner Lord completely transformed the main rooms,even replacing the existing chimneypieces with 'copies ofold French mantelpieces'. (fn. 68) The two principal rooms onthe first floor are panelled throughout, the front room withrich carving in the manner of Grinling Gibbons, a woodenCorinthian cornice and pilasters and plasterwork modelled in high relief to the ceiling. The back room is treated ina different manner with oak panelling intricately carvedwith trophies and musical instruments, apparentlyincorporating sections of original boiseries of the FrenchRégence period imported by Princess Hatzfeldt. (fn. 69) Abovethe panelling, on the coving of an otherwise plain ceiling, isa delightful plaster frieze in low relief of goddesses andcherubs among intertwining plants and animals.
Occupants include: Baron Sparre, Swedish Envoy, 1727–36.John Spencer, son of 3rd Earl of Sunderland, 1738–45. ViscountTrentham, later 2nd Earl Gower and 1st Marquess of Stafford,1747–54. John Spencer, later Viscount and 1st Earl Spencer ofAlthorp, 1754–60. (Sir) John Fleming, latterly bt., 1761–3. 8thEarl of Northampton, 1764–8. duch*ess of Beaufort, either wid.of 4th Duke or wife of 5th Duke, 1768–9. Sir James Peachey, 4thbt., latterly 1st Baron Selsey, 1772–1808 (previously at No. 9): hisson, 2nd Baron, 1808–16: the latter's wid., 1816–37. 9th(Scottish) and 1st (U.K.) Baron Kinnaird, 1850–64. LordStanhope, latterly 7th Earl of Chesterfield, 1865–7. 8th ViscountDoneraile, 1868–80. Lady George Lennox, wid. of younger sonof 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox, 1881–2. 7th BaronRodney, 1893–6. Princess Hatzfeldt (née Clara Huntington ofDetroit), 1912–15. 6th Earl Cadogan, 1918–28.
No. 34
No. 34 has always been one of the finest houses on theestate, and, despite considerable alteration both inside andout, it still conveys much of the grace and elegance of thegreat Georgian town house. The builder was RichardLissiman, mason, who was granted a building lease in July1725. (fn. 70) Almost three years later, in March 1728, when thehouse was nearly complete, he sold it for £4,500 to thediplomatist Sir Paul Methuen, (fn. 71) whose fine picturecollection (now at Corsham Court) attracted QueenCaroline and Lord Hervey to breakfast with him in 1735 toview it. (fn. 72)
The stucco façade (Plate 9d), parts of which look to bequite early, may have been added by Paul Cobb Methuen,who, in 1796, obtained a renewal of the original lease until1858. (fn. 73) The architect John Nash, who remodelled part ofCorsham Court in Wiltshire for Methuen, was directingwork by Joseph Trollope's paperhanging firm at Grosvenor Street in 1798 for Methuen. (fn. 74)
In 1866 the estate surveyor found the floors shook (fn. 75) andin the 1870's William Cubitt and Company did extensivework for Lord Vernon including 'forming new rooms',apparently under the direction of George Devey. (fn. 76) Thefull nature of the changes made is now obscure, but a smallsingle-storey lobby which has a surprisingly elaboratePalladian façade to the garden was added at the rear, nextto No. 33, and the present secondary staircase may alsodate from this time. Work was also done in 1880 forSamuel Morley, (fn. 77) but the alterations most affecting thepresent interior were, however, made in 1909–13 to thedesigns of Owen Little for the banker Rupert Beckett. In1912 The Lady reported Mr. and Mrs. Beckett's 'amazement' on finding out that 'having spent large sums indecorating, panelling and beautifying their new house',structural defects necessitated 'pulling down all theircharming boiseries'. In fact the remedial work appears tohave been confined to the party wall with No. 33 and partof the front. (fn. 78)
When Beckett left the house in 1936 it was taken byKeeble Limited, the firm of decorators and antiquedealers, who immediately inserted a grossly over-largeshop window in the ground floor covering all three bays tothe east of the entrance porch. (fn. 79) During restoration workby Haslemere Estates in 1976–7 the shop window wasreplaced by three new sash windows aligned with those ofthe upper storeys. A plan of 1795 inexplicably shows onlytwo windows to the right of the entrance. (fn. 80)
An immediately striking feature of the façade of thehouse (Plate 9d) is the height of its three main storeys,which makes it almost as tall as its four-storeyedneighbours on each side. All three houses were built byRichard Lissiman under one building agreement, (fn. 81) and thediscrepancies in storey heights as well as in the widths ofthe frontages indicate how little the early-Georgian builderwas concerned with uniformity.
The present front must date from several periods butdocumentary evidence is lacking. The plain stucco of theupper storeys with mouldings in low relief to the windowslooks to be early, but the portico and balconettes wereprobably added later and the enclosing of the portico wasdone later still.
The original plan of the house has survived with littlealteration except for the elimination of the 'passage room'(as it was called in 1761) at the rear of the secondarystaircase and the consequent enlargement of the 'greatroom' in the rear wing (fn. 82) (fig. 17).
One of the best rooms in the house must always havebeen the main double-storey staircase compartment (Plate9b, figs. 5d, 6f in vol. XXXIX). When Sir Paul Methuenbought the house in 1728 he held back £500 of thepurchase money until certain items had been completed tohis satisfaction. The most important instructions were thatthe staircase was to be wainscotted with oak in the samemanner as No. 52 and the walls and ceiling above thepanelling were to be plastered 'with Ornaments of Stucco'.For the latter work Lissiman (who signed the agreementwith his mark) was to incur no greater expense than £40,Methuen having to pay the remainder if he 'should bedesirous to have it done very finely'. (fn. 83)
The principal feature of the staircase compartment—byfar the finest part of the house to have survived—is thegreat stone staircase itself which rises around three sides tofirst-floor level where a gallery occupies the fourth side.The stairs are wall-hung with a wrought-iron balustrade ofdelicately worked lyre pattern up to the gallery, where, inthe level railings, the pattern becomes more complex: thewooden handrail appears to have been renewed relativelyrecently. The floor of the hall is paved with diagonally-laidblack and white marble squares which have probably beenrenewed but equally probably repeat the original floorpattern. The walls are covered with long raised-andfielded panels, and on the wall side of the staircase there is amoulded dado-rail with small-scale Composite pilasters atthe turns. Above the panelling is a plaster cornice and theceiling of the compartment and the underside of the galleryhave pleasant, rather conventional decorative plasterworkwith acanthus-leaf scrolls and rosettes, which looks likelynot to have cost more than the £40 specified. Thedoorcases have richly carved friezes and pediments withmodillion cornices.
The principal rooms on the ground and first floors arealmost entirely panelled, but only in the ground-floor frontroom does some of this panelling look original, althoughthis room has undergone many changes. Here there areraised-and-fielded panels with carved borders, a dado-railcarved with a wave motif and a modillion cornice. Thechimneypiece, an overblown affair with Compositepilasters supporting an open pediment and decorated witha cartouche and other carvings, looks to be Edwardian orlater. The remaining rooms are panelled in a variety ofwoods and are principally the work of Owen Little.The secondary staircase occupies the same position as theoriginal one but is a replacement, probably of the 1870's.
The rooms on the second floor, which have goodpanelling, box cornices and some simple marble fireplaceswith shouldered architraves, have been altered less.
Occupants include: Sir Paul Methuen, K.B., diplomatist,1728–57: his cousin and heir, Paul Methuen, 1757–95: the latter'sson, Paul Cobb Methuen, 1795–1816. Sir William Rowley, 2ndbt., 1818–29. 2nd Earl of Glengall, 1840–58: his wid., 1858–61.2nd Viscount Lismore, 1863–7. Lord Kenlis, later styled Earl ofBective, 1870 (previously at No. 19). 6th Baron Vernon, 1871–80.Samuel Morley, philanthropist, politician and textile manufacturer, 1880–6. Sir Theodore Henry Brinckman, 2nd bt.,1893–1905: his son, Sir Theodore Francis Brinckman, 3rd bt.,1905–9. Rupert Beckett, chairman of Westminster Bank Ltd. andof Yorkshire Post, 1909–36.
Nos. 35 and 36
Nos. 35 and 36 were completely rebuilt in 1976–7 buttheir façades are facsimiles of those of the previous houseson the two sites. The architects were the Rolfe Judd GroupPractice and the builders were F. G. Minter and, in thelater stages, A. E. Symes Construction Limited. Rebuilding became necessary when a partial collapse occurredduring extensive alterations to the interiors of both houses.
At No. 35 the original house was erected under abuilding lease granted to Richard Lissiman, mason, in1725, (fn. 84) but the façade that has been reproduced datedlargely from the nineteenth century when the groundstorey was stuccoed, a Doric open portico was erected (in1865 (fn. 85) ) and stucco dressings were added to the windows(probably in 1882–3 (fn. 86) ). In the rebuilding no attempt hasbeen made to duplicate the shop window that had beeninserted, and the ground storey has been given itsnineteenth-century form.
The present red-brick façade at No. 36 duplicates as faras possible the dignified Georgian elevation of four mainstoreys, each four windows wide, of the house which wasdemolished. The fourth storey was, however, a lateraddition, the house consisting of only three main storeysand garrets when originally erected under a building leasegranted to John Simmons, carpenter, in 1726. (fn. 87) Individualcast-iron window guards which were added to the firstfloor windows in the late eighteenth or nineteenth centuryand a blockish Doric doorcase inserted during the presentcentury have also been reproduced.
The house was originally square on plan without a closetwing, and had the unusual arrangement of a main staircaserising to first-floor level at the back of the house, with asecondary staircase serving all floors immediately adjacent(fig. 3e in vol. XXXIX). The dining-room was originally onthe first floor. (fn. 88) Little of note remained inside by the timeof demolition.
Occupants include: No. 35, Col. (latterly gen.) George Warde,1804–12. Col. (latterly Sir) Henry Bentinck, K.C.B., 1852–65.(Sir) Alfred Webb-Johnson, surgeon, later Baron WebbJohnson, 1913–37. No. 36, 6th Earl of Salisbury, 1736–79. SirHenry Dashwood, 3rd bt., 1783–8. Gen. (?Joseph) Smith,1788–91. Sir Edward Leslie, bt., 1791–7. Peter Latham,physician, 1824–68. (Sir) Robert Burnet, (kt.), physician,1896–1909. (Sir) Henry Simson, K.C.V.O., physician, 1906–28.
Nos. 37–40
Nos. 37–40 (demolished) occupied part of the site of thelarge block of flats and offices now numbered 1–3Grosvenor Square and 38–41 Grosvenor Street. Thehouses, all four storeys high, were built under leasesgranted to John Simmons, carpenter, in 1731. (fn. 89) At No. 37in 1737 the dining-room was on the first floor: the roomsand great staircase were panelled, the hall stone-paved, andthe chimneypieces of marble or stone. (fn. 90) This house wasdemolished in 1858 to make way for a two-storey stableblock for No. 2 Grosvenor Square which had its rearelevation in, but set back from, Grosvenor Street (fn. 91) (Plate8b). The remaining Georgian brick houses were demolished in 1935.
The best of these houses, No. 38, was three windowswide and had a modillion cornice, a plain Doric porch anda balcony with particularly elegant iron railings of an earlynineteenth-century type (Plate 8b). William Haldimand,who was one of the leading developers of Belgrave Square,occupied the house from 1819 to 1825 and George Basevi,his architect in Belgrave Square, acted for him innegotiations over the renewal of the lease, although it is notknown whether Basevi was responsible for the 'improvements' made to the house. (fn. 92)
Occupants include: No. 37, Sir Thomas Hesketh, 1st bt.,1761–9. Sir Robert Lawley, 6th bt., later Baron Wenlock,1794–1801. Sir Culling-Eardley Smith, 1st bt., 1802–12. RichardRyder, politician, 1815–28. Lieut.-gen. Sir Edward Bowater,1850. 3rd Baron Wodehouse, later 1st Earl of Kimberley,politician, 1852. No. 38, Lady Gray, ?wid. of Sir James Gray, 1stbt., 1733–4. Sir James Calder, 3rd bt., 1768–75: his wid, 1775–7:their son, Sir Henry Calder, 4th bt., maj.-gen., 1777–83,1788–90. Sir John Bridger, kt., 1783–8. Baron Shuldham,admiral, 1791–8. William Haldimand, philanthropist anddirector of the Bank of England, 1819–25. Fox Maule, later 2ndBaron Panmure and 11th Earl of Dalhousie, politician, 1838–51.Marshall Hall, physiologist, 1852–7. Richard Cobden, statesman,1855–8. (Sir) John Reynolds, latterly bt., physician, 1854–96.William Playfair, obstetric physician, 1898–1903: his son, (Sir)Nigel Ross Playfair, actor-manager, later kt., 1898–1902. Dow.duch*ess of Roxburghe, wid. of 7th Duke, 1904–8. Earl ofRonaldshay, later 2nd Marquess of Zetland, 1909–22. No. 39,Marquess of Graham, later 2nd Duke of Montrose, 1734–42. 3rdViscount Lisburne, 1744. 2nd Earl Cowper, 1744–50: hisbrother, Spencer Cowper, Dean of Durham, 1751–7. Sir GeorgeWombwell, 2nd bt., 1811–12. Gen. Bayley Wallis, 1823–7.No. 40, Henrietta Wyatt-Edgell, latterly suo jure Baroness Braye,1875–9: her son, 5th Baron Braye, 1880–9. Marquis de CasaMaury, 1929–30. Sir Alexander Roger, kt., company chairman,1936.
