Devonshire House
Encyclopedia
Devonshire House in Piccadilly
was the London
residence of the Dukes of Devonshire in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was built for William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
in the Palladian style, to designs by William Kent
. Completed circa 1740, empty after World War I, it was demolished in 1924.
Before the early 20th century, many of Britain's peers maintained large London houses which carried their name, As a ducal house (only in mainland Europe were such houses referred to as palaces) Devonshire House was one of the largest and grandest, ranking alongside Burlington House
, Montague House, Lansdowne House
, Londonderry House
Northumberland House
and Norfolk House
. All of these, like most of the great London free-standing houses are now long demolished, apart from Burlington and Lansdowne (which have both been substantially altered).
Today, the site is occupied by offices, known as Devonshire House.
, erected at a cost of over £30,000 on his return from his tenure of the viceroyalty of Ireland; it was constructed from 1665 to 1673. The house was later occupied by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, a mistress
of Charles II
. The house, a classical mansion built by Hugh May
, had been purchased by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire
in 1697 and subsequently renamed Devonshire House.
On 16 October 1733, the former Berkeley House, while undergoing refurbishment, was destroyed by fire. The cause was attributed to careless labourers. Ironically, the Duke's former London residence, Old Devonshire House
, at 48 Boswell Street, Bloomsbury
, survived both its successors until the Blitz of World War II.
For his architect, the Duke
chose the fashionable architect William Kent
, for whom this was a first commission for a London house. The house was constructed between 1734 and about 1740. Kent was the protegee of the immensely cultivated 3rd Earl of Burlington
and had worked at Chiswick House
, built by the 3rd Earl in 1729, and also at Devonshire House's near contemporary Holkham Hall
, completed circa 1741, both in the Palladian style; these houses were at the time considered the epitome of fashion and sophistication. Chiswick House was later to come, other estates, into the Devonshires' possession through the marriage of the 4th Duke to Lady Charlotte Boyle, daughter of Lord Burlington.
flanked by service wings. The severity of the design, of three storeys in eleven bays, caused one contemporary critic to liken the mansion to a warehouse
, and a modern biographer of Kent to remark its "plain severity". However, the curiously flat exterior exterior concealed Kent's sumptuous interiors; these housed a large part of the Devonshire art collection, considered one of the finest in the United Kingdom, and a renowned library, housed in a room 40 ft long: among its treasures was Claude Lorraine's Liber Veritatis, his record in sketches of a lifetime of painting. In the Duke's sitting-room, a glass case over the chimneypiece contained the best of his collection of engraved gems and Renaissance and Baroque medallions.
Such a prominent commission could hardly fail to be included in Vitruvius Britannicus, volume iv (1767, pls. 19 and 20, illustration).
The plan of Devonshire House defines it as one of the earliest of the great 18th century town houses; at this time the design of a large town house was identical to that of a country house of the same period. Its purpose too was identical, to display wealth and consequently power. Thus a great town house, by its size and design, accentuated its owner's power by its contrast with the monotony of the smaller terraced house surrounding it.
At Devonshire House, Kent's exterior stairs lead up to a piano nobile
, where the Entrance Hall was the only room that rose through two storeys. Inconspicuous pairs of staircases are tucked into modest sites at either hand, for the upstairs was strictly private. Enfilades of interconnecting rooms, of which the largest space is devoted to the library, flank central halls, adjusting the traditions of the symmetrical Baroque state apartments, a design which did not lend itself to large gatherings; a few years later such architects as Matthew Brettingham
pioneered a more compact design, with a suite of connecting reception rooms circling a central top-lit stair hall - this allowed guest to "circulate", greeted at the head of the stairs, they then flowed in a convenient circuit rather retracing their steps. This design was first exemplified by the now demolished Norfolk House
completed in 1756. Therefore, it seems that Devonshire House was old fashioned and unsuited to its intended use almost from the moment of its completion. Thus, from the late 18th century, its interiors were vastly altered.
, over a long period, 1776–90, and later by Decimus Burton
, who constructed a new portico, entrance hall and grand stair for the 6th Duke, in 1843,. At this time, the external double staircase was swept away, allowing formal entrance to be made to the ground floor through the new portico. Hitherto, the ground floor had contained only secondary rooms and in 18th century fashion been the domain of servants. The new staircase conveyed guests directly to the piano nobile, from a low entrance hall, in a newly created recess formed by creating a bow at the centre of the rear garden facade. Known as the "Crystal Staircase" it had a glass handrail and newel posts. Burton amalgamated several of the principal rooms; he created a vast heavily gilded ballroom from two former drawing rooms and often created double height rooms at the expense of the bedrooms above, causing the house to become even more of a place for display and entertaining rather than for living.
Devonshire House was the setting for a brilliant social and political life, in the circle round William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
and his duchess, Lady Georgiana Spencer, duchess of Devonshire
, Whig supporters of Charles James Fox
.
In 1897, the house was the location of a large fancy dress ball celebrating Queen Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee. The guests, including Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
and The Princess of Wales
, were dressed as historical portraits come to life. The many portrait photographs taken at the ball serve to illustrate countless books documenting the social history of the late Victorian era.
's Clarissa Dalloway to think "Devonshire House, without its gilt leopards", (a reference to the house's gilded gates) as she passed down Piccadilly. and more notable, inspired Siegfried Sassoon
's ‘Monody on the Demolition of Devonshire House.'
The reason for the abandonment was because the 9th Duke
was the first of his family to have to pay death duties, these amounted to over £500,000. Additionally, he inherited the debts of the 7th Duke
; the double burden resulted in the sale of books by Caxton, many Shakespeare 1st editions and Devonshire House with its even more valuable three acres of gardens. The sale was finalised, for a price of £750,000, in 1920 and the house demolished. The two purchasers were Shurmer Sibthorpe and Lawrence Harrison, wealthy industrialists who developed the site, subsequently building a hotel and block of flats. When challenged that the proposed demolition was act of vandalism Sibthorpe, echoing the buildings 18th century critics replied: "Archaeologists have gathered round me and say I am a vandal, but personally I think the place is an eyesore."
.
Some of the paintings and furniture are now at the Devonshire's principal seat, Chatsworth House
. Surviving fragments of Devonshire House include the gateway at the entrance to Green Park and the wine cellar (now the ticket office of Green Park underground station). Other architectural salvage included doorways, mantelpieces and furniture which were relocated to Chatsworth. Some of these stored items were included in a Sothebys auction, 5-7October 2010. In the sale, five William Kent chimneypieces from Devonshire House, were described by the auctioneer Lord Dalmeny as being of special interest and value as: " "You can't buy them because they are all in listed buildings now. It's like being able to commission Rubens to paint your ceiling."
The wrought-iron entrance gates, between piers with rusticated
quoin
s topped with seated sphinxes, have been reerected across Piccadilly, to form an entrance to Green Park.
Of the short series of great detached houses of aristocrats which once populated the West End of London, where even the grandest were likely to live in a terraced house
, most, with Devonshire House, Norfolk House and Chesterfield House, have today joined the ranks of England's thousands of lost houses. Lansdowne House lost its front to a street-widening scheme.Just a few remain, but in corporate or state ownership: Marlborough House
passed to the crown in the 19th century; Apsley House
remains, but is a museum on a small traffic bound island, its gardens long gone, with the family only occupying the uppermost floor. Spencer House is an event venue. Manchester House houses the Wallace Collection
. Clarence House
, by John Nash
, is the last of the London's great architecturally important town houses to be occupied and used as its design intended.
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
was the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
residence of the Dukes of Devonshire in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was built for William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC was a British nobleman and Whig politician, the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire and Hon. Rachel Russell....
in the Palladian style, to designs by William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
. Completed circa 1740, empty after World War I, it was demolished in 1924.
Before the early 20th century, many of Britain's peers maintained large London houses which carried their name, As a ducal house (only in mainland Europe were such houses referred to as palaces) Devonshire House was one of the largest and grandest, ranking alongside Burlington House
Burlington House
Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in London. It was originally a private Palladian mansion, and was expanded in the mid 19th century after being purchased by the British government...
, Montague House, Lansdowne House
Lansdowne House
Lansdowne House is a building to the southwest of Berkeley Square in central London, England. It was designed by Robert Adam as a private house and for most of its time as a residence it belonged to the Petty family, Marquesses of Lansdowne. Since 1935, it has been the home of the Lansdowne Club....
, Londonderry House
Londonderry House
Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England.The house was the home to the Irish, titled family called the Stewarts who are better known as the Marquesses of Londonderry....
Northumberland House
Northumberland House
Northumberland House was a large Jacobean mansion in London, which was so called because for most of its history it was the London residence of the Percy family, who were the Earls and later Dukes of Northumberland, and one of England's richest and most prominent aristocratic dynasties for many...
and Norfolk House
Norfolk House
Norfolk House, at 31 St James's Square, London, was built in 1722 for the Duke of Norfolk. It was a royal residence for a short time only, when Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of King George III, lived there 1737-1741, after his marriage in 1736 to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, daughter of...
. All of these, like most of the great London free-standing houses are now long demolished, apart from Burlington and Lansdowne (which have both been substantially altered).
Today, the site is occupied by offices, known as Devonshire House.
The site
Devonshire House was built on the site of Berkeley House, which John, Lord BerkeleyJohn Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton was an English royalist soldier. From 1648 he was closely associated with James, Duke of York, and rose to prominence, fortune and fame.-First English Civil War:...
, erected at a cost of over £30,000 on his return from his tenure of the viceroyalty of Ireland; it was constructed from 1665 to 1673. The house was later occupied by Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, a mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
. The house, a classical mansion built by Hugh May
Hugh May
Hugh May was an English architect in the period after the Restoration of King Charles II. He worked in the era which fell between the first introduction of Palladianism into England by Inigo Jones, and the full flowering of English Baroque under John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His own work...
, had been purchased by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire KG PC was a soldier and Whig statesman, the son of William Cavendish, 3rd Earl of Devonshire and Lady Elizabeth Cecil.-Life:...
in 1697 and subsequently renamed Devonshire House.
On 16 October 1733, the former Berkeley House, while undergoing refurbishment, was destroyed by fire. The cause was attributed to careless labourers. Ironically, the Duke's former London residence, Old Devonshire House
Old Devonshire House
Old Devonshire House at 48 Boswell Street, Theobalds Road, Bloomsbury, London, was the earlier Cavendish London house, sold by William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, who built Devonshire House in fashionable Piccadilly. It was owned by Benton Fletcher in the 1930s and 1940s, and housed his...
, at 48 Boswell Street, Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
, survived both its successors until the Blitz of World War II.
Ethos
During the 18th century, existing forms of entertainment began to change and large sophisticated receptions came into fashion, often taking the form of concerts and balls. Initially, hosts would hire one of many new assembly rooms built to indulge the fashion. However, it was not long before the more frequent and wealthy hosts began to add a ballroom to their town houses and the more wealthy still to forsake their smaller town houses in favour of a new and vast palace designed purely for entertaining. The Duke of Devonshire, an owner of vast estates, belonged to the latter category. Thus the fire of the Devonshire House in 1733 provided the opportunity to build a house at the height of contemporary fashion.For his architect, the Duke
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC was a British nobleman and Whig politician, the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire and Hon. Rachel Russell....
chose the fashionable architect William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
, for whom this was a first commission for a London house. The house was constructed between 1734 and about 1740. Kent was the protegee of the immensely cultivated 3rd Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork PC , born in Yorkshire, England, was the son of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork...
and had worked at Chiswick House
Chiswick House
Chiswick House is a Palladian villa in Burlington Lane, Chiswick, in the London Borough of Hounslow in England. Set in , the house was completed in 1729 during the reign of George II and designed by Lord Burlington. William Kent , who took a leading role in designing the gardens, created one of the...
, built by the 3rd Earl in 1729, and also at Devonshire House's near contemporary Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall
Holkham Hall is an eighteenth-century country house located adjacent to the village of Holkham, on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk...
, completed circa 1741, both in the Palladian style; these houses were at the time considered the epitome of fashion and sophistication. Chiswick House was later to come, other estates, into the Devonshires' possession through the marriage of the 4th Duke to Lady Charlotte Boyle, daughter of Lord Burlington.
Architecture
In typical Palladian fashion, Devonshire House consisted of a corps de logisCorps de logis
Corps de logis is the architectural term which refers to the principal block of a large, usually classical, mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry. The grandest and finest rooms are often on the first floor above the ground level: this floor is the...
flanked by service wings. The severity of the design, of three storeys in eleven bays, caused one contemporary critic to liken the mansion to a warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
, and a modern biographer of Kent to remark its "plain severity". However, the curiously flat exterior exterior concealed Kent's sumptuous interiors; these housed a large part of the Devonshire art collection, considered one of the finest in the United Kingdom, and a renowned library, housed in a room 40 ft long: among its treasures was Claude Lorraine's Liber Veritatis, his record in sketches of a lifetime of painting. In the Duke's sitting-room, a glass case over the chimneypiece contained the best of his collection of engraved gems and Renaissance and Baroque medallions.
Such a prominent commission could hardly fail to be included in Vitruvius Britannicus, volume iv (1767, pls. 19 and 20, illustration).
The plan of Devonshire House defines it as one of the earliest of the great 18th century town houses; at this time the design of a large town house was identical to that of a country house of the same period. Its purpose too was identical, to display wealth and consequently power. Thus a great town house, by its size and design, accentuated its owner's power by its contrast with the monotony of the smaller terraced house surrounding it.
At Devonshire House, Kent's exterior stairs lead up to a piano nobile
Piano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...
, where the Entrance Hall was the only room that rose through two storeys. Inconspicuous pairs of staircases are tucked into modest sites at either hand, for the upstairs was strictly private. Enfilades of interconnecting rooms, of which the largest space is devoted to the library, flank central halls, adjusting the traditions of the symmetrical Baroque state apartments, a design which did not lend itself to large gatherings; a few years later such architects as Matthew Brettingham
Matthew Brettingham
Matthew Brettingham , sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an 18th-century Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of Holkham Hall, and eventually became one of the country's better-known architects of his generation...
pioneered a more compact design, with a suite of connecting reception rooms circling a central top-lit stair hall - this allowed guest to "circulate", greeted at the head of the stairs, they then flowed in a convenient circuit rather retracing their steps. This design was first exemplified by the now demolished Norfolk House
Norfolk House
Norfolk House, at 31 St James's Square, London, was built in 1722 for the Duke of Norfolk. It was a royal residence for a short time only, when Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of King George III, lived there 1737-1741, after his marriage in 1736 to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, daughter of...
completed in 1756. Therefore, it seems that Devonshire House was old fashioned and unsuited to its intended use almost from the moment of its completion. Thus, from the late 18th century, its interiors were vastly altered.
Usage
Alterations were made to Devonshire House by James WyattJames Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
, over a long period, 1776–90, and later by Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton was a prolific English architect and garden designer, He is particularly associated with projects in the classical style in London parks, including buildings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and London Zoo, and with the layout and architecture of the seaside towns of Fleetwood and...
, who constructed a new portico, entrance hall and grand stair for the 6th Duke, in 1843,. At this time, the external double staircase was swept away, allowing formal entrance to be made to the ground floor through the new portico. Hitherto, the ground floor had contained only secondary rooms and in 18th century fashion been the domain of servants. The new staircase conveyed guests directly to the piano nobile, from a low entrance hall, in a newly created recess formed by creating a bow at the centre of the rear garden facade. Known as the "Crystal Staircase" it had a glass handrail and newel posts. Burton amalgamated several of the principal rooms; he created a vast heavily gilded ballroom from two former drawing rooms and often created double height rooms at the expense of the bedrooms above, causing the house to become even more of a place for display and entertaining rather than for living.
Devonshire House was the setting for a brilliant social and political life, in the circle round William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, KG was a British aristocrat and politician. He was the eldest son of the William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire by his wife the heiress Lady Charlotte Boyle, suo jure Baroness Clifford of Lanesborough, who brought in considerable money and estates to...
and his duchess, Lady Georgiana Spencer, duchess of Devonshire
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , formerly Lady Georgiana Spencer, was the first wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire, and mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Her father, the 1st Earl Spencer, was a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Her niece was Lady Caroline Lamb...
, Whig supporters of Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
.
In 1897, the house was the location of a large fancy dress ball celebrating Queen Victoria's
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
Diamond Jubilee. The guests, including Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and The Princess of Wales
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, were dressed as historical portraits come to life. The many portrait photographs taken at the ball serve to illustrate countless books documenting the social history of the late Victorian era.
Demolition
Following the First World War many aristocratic families abandoned their London house and Devonshire House was to be no exception; it was deserted in 1919. The demolition was mentioned several times nostalgically in literature. It caused Virginia WoolfVirginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's Clarissa Dalloway to think "Devonshire House, without its gilt leopards", (a reference to the house's gilded gates) as she passed down Piccadilly. and more notable, inspired Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon CBE MC was an English poet, author and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's...
's ‘Monody on the Demolition of Devonshire House.'
The reason for the abandonment was because the 9th Duke
Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire
Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire , known as Victor Cavendish until 1908, was a British politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 11th since Canadian Confederation....
was the first of his family to have to pay death duties, these amounted to over £500,000. Additionally, he inherited the debts of the 7th Duke
William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire KG, PC , styled as Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1831 and 1834 and known as The Earl of Burlington between 1834 and 1858, was a British landowner, benefactor and politician.-Background and education:Cavendish was the son of William Cavendish, eldest...
; the double burden resulted in the sale of books by Caxton, many Shakespeare 1st editions and Devonshire House with its even more valuable three acres of gardens. The sale was finalised, for a price of £750,000, in 1920 and the house demolished. The two purchasers were Shurmer Sibthorpe and Lawrence Harrison, wealthy industrialists who developed the site, subsequently building a hotel and block of flats. When challenged that the proposed demolition was act of vandalism Sibthorpe, echoing the buildings 18th century critics replied: "Archaeologists have gathered round me and say I am a vandal, but personally I think the place is an eyesore."
Legacy
Today, the building fronting Piccadilly, now offices, is known as Devonshire House. During World War II, it was the headquarters of the War Damage CommissionWar Damage Commission
The War Damage Commission was a body set up by the British Government under the War Damage Act 1941 to pay compensation for war damage to land and buildings throughout the United Kingdom...
.
Some of the paintings and furniture are now at the Devonshire's principal seat, Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
. Surviving fragments of Devonshire House include the gateway at the entrance to Green Park and the wine cellar (now the ticket office of Green Park underground station). Other architectural salvage included doorways, mantelpieces and furniture which were relocated to Chatsworth. Some of these stored items were included in a Sothebys auction, 5-7October 2010. In the sale, five William Kent chimneypieces from Devonshire House, were described by the auctioneer Lord Dalmeny as being of special interest and value as: " "You can't buy them because they are all in listed buildings now. It's like being able to commission Rubens to paint your ceiling."
The wrought-iron entrance gates, between piers with rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s topped with seated sphinxes, have been reerected across Piccadilly, to form an entrance to Green Park.
Of the short series of great detached houses of aristocrats which once populated the West End of London, where even the grandest were likely to live in a terraced house
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
, most, with Devonshire House, Norfolk House and Chesterfield House, have today joined the ranks of England's thousands of lost houses. Lansdowne House lost its front to a street-widening scheme.Just a few remain, but in corporate or state ownership: Marlborough House
Marlborough House
Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient and good"...
passed to the crown in the 19th century; Apsley House
Apsley House
Apsley House, also known as Number One, London, is the former London residence of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing south towards the busy traffic interchange and Wellington Arch...
remains, but is a museum on a small traffic bound island, its gardens long gone, with the family only occupying the uppermost floor. Spencer House is an event venue. Manchester House houses the Wallace Collection
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
. Clarence House
Clarence House
Clarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall, in the City of Westminster. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is since then the official residence of The...
, by John Nash
John Nash (architect)
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
, is the last of the London's great architecturally important town houses to be occupied and used as its design intended.