The Albany
Encyclopedia
The Albany or Albany is an apartment complex in Piccadilly
, London
.
for Viscount Melbourne
, as Melbourne House. It is a three-storey mansion seven bays (windows) wide, with a pair of service wings flanking a front courtyard. In 1791, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
abandoned Dover House
, Whitehall
(now a government office) and took up residence. In 1802 the duke gave up the house and it was converted by Henry Holland
into 69 bachelor apartments (known as "sets"). This was achieved not only by subdividing the main block and the two service wings, but also by adding two parallel sets of buildings running the length of the garden.
, and numerous members of the aristocracy. Nonetheless, occupants have been known to complain that the accommodation is often rather cramped.
Residents no longer have to be bachelors.
by Oscar Wilde
which repeatedly refers to the character Jack Worthing's residence at "the Albany," and in Charles Dickens
's novel Our Mutual Friend
. Raffles
, the gentleman thief in the stories by E. W. Hornung is referred to as living at "the Albany". Beginning in the early 20th century, "Albany" without the article again became the accepted usage, memorialised, for example, in the early 20th century novels of Dornford Yates
, a careful observer of upper class
manners. The historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, perhaps an even more careful observer of upper class manners than Yates, refers to the home of Macaulay
as "the Albany". In the words of the English Heritage
Survey of London
, "the present resolute omission of the article seems to spring not so much from awareness of correct usage as from a sense, about the beginning of the 20th century, that 'the Albany' sounded 'like a publichouse'".
In a 1958 review of a book about the building, Peace in Piccadilly, The Times
wrote, "Albany or the Albany? It has long been a snobbish test of intimate knowledge of the West End. If one was in use, a man could feel superior by using the other. When G. S. Street
wrote The Ghosts of Piccadilly more than 50 years ago, he said that 'the Albany' was then 'universal', but that to the earliest tenants it was 'Albany'."
. Many tenants were in residence for only a short time when they were quite young.
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...
, 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...
.
Building
The Albany was built 1770-74 by Sir William ChambersWilliam Chambers (architect)
Sir William Chambers was a Scottish architect, born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where his father was a merchant. Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making several voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration.Returning to Europe, he studied...
for Viscount Melbourne
Viscount Melbourne
Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the Lamb family. This family descended from Matthew Lamb, who represented Stockbridge and Peterborough in the House of Commons. In 1755 he was created a Baronet, of Brocket Hall in the County of...
, as Melbourne House. It is a three-storey mansion seven bays (windows) wide, with a pair of service wings flanking a front courtyard. In 1791, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...
abandoned Dover House
Dover House
Dover House is a Grade I-listed mansion in Whitehall, and the London headquarters of the Scotland Office. It is on the western side of the street immediately south of Admiralty House...
, Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
(now a government office) and took up residence. In 1802 the duke gave up the house and it was converted by Henry Holland
Henry Holland (architect)
Henry Holland was an architect to the English nobility. Born in Fulham, London, his father also Henry ran a building firm and he built several of Capability Brown's buildings, although Henry would have learnt a lot from his father about the practicalities of construction it was under Brown that he...
into 69 bachelor apartments (known as "sets"). This was achieved not only by subdividing the main block and the two service wings, but also by adding two parallel sets of buildings running the length of the garden.
History
Since its conversion, the Albany has been the best known and most prestigious set of bachelor apartments in London. The residents have included such famous names as the poet Lord Byron and the future Prime Minister William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, and numerous members of the aristocracy. Nonetheless, occupants have been known to complain that the accommodation is often rather cramped.
Residents no longer have to be bachelors.
Governance
About half of the freehold of the Albany is now owned by Peterhouse, a small Cambridge College. The Albany is governed by a Board of Trustees. Rents are well below commercial levels and the apartments or "sets" are rumored to be allocated on the basis of social connections."Albany" or " The Albany"?
There has been dispute as to whether the name of the building is "Albany" or "the Albany." The rules adopted in 1804 laid down that "the Premises mentioned in the foregoing Articles shall be called Albany". However, 19th century sources refer to it as "the Albany," such as the play The Importance of Being EarnestThe Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
which repeatedly refers to the character Jack Worthing's residence at "the Albany," and in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's novel Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend
Our Mutual Friend is the last novel completed by Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining psychological insight with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. Hillis Miller, "money, money, money, and what money can make of life" but is also about human...
. Raffles
A. J. Raffles
Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, a brother-in-law to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes — he is a "gentleman thief," living in the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing...
, the gentleman thief in the stories by E. W. Hornung is referred to as living at "the Albany". Beginning in the early 20th century, "Albany" without the article again became the accepted usage, memorialised, for example, in the early 20th century novels of Dornford Yates
Dornford Yates
Dornford Yates was the pseudonym of the British novelist, Cecil William Mercer , whose novels and short stories, some humorous , some thrillers , were best-sellers in the 21-year interwar period between the First and Second world wars.The pen name, Dornford Yates, first in print in 1910, resulted...
, a careful observer of upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
manners. The historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, perhaps an even more careful observer of upper class manners than Yates, refers to the home of Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
as "the Albany". In the words of the English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
Survey of London
Survey of London
The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
, "the present resolute omission of the article seems to spring not so much from awareness of correct usage as from a sense, about the beginning of the 20th century, that 'the Albany' sounded 'like a publichouse'".
In a 1958 review of a book about the building, Peace in Piccadilly, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
wrote, "Albany or the Albany? It has long been a snobbish test of intimate knowledge of the West End. If one was in use, a man could feel superior by using the other. When G. S. Street
G. S. Street
George Slythe Street was a British critic, journalist and novelist. He was born in Wimbledon, London on July 18, 1867. He was associated with William Ernest Henley and the 'counter-Decadents' on the staff of the National Observer. His works were characterized by "whimsy, detachment, sympathy,...
wrote The Ghosts of Piccadilly more than 50 years ago, he said that 'the Albany' was then 'universal', but that to the earliest tenants it was 'Albany'."
Tenants
The list below is based mainly on the much longer list in the Survey of LondonSurvey of London
The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
. Many tenants were in residence for only a short time when they were quite young.
- Antony Armstrong-Jones, later 1st Earl of Snowdon, photographer.
- Sir Squire BancroftSquire BancroftSir Squire Bancroft , born Squire White Butterfield, was an English actor-manager. He and his wife Effie Bancroft are considered to have instigated a new form of drama known as 'drawing-room comedy' or 'cup and saucer drama', owing to the realism of their stage sets.-Early life and career:Bancroft...
, actor. - George BaseviGeorge BaseviElias George Basevi FRS was an English architect. He was the favourite pupil of Sir John Soane.-Life:Basevi was the youngest son of a City of London merchant, also named George Basevi...
, architect. - Sybille BedfordSybille BedfordSybille Bedford, OBE was a German-born English writer. Many of her works are partly autobiographical. Julia Neuberger proclaimed her "the finest woman writer of the 20th century" while Bruce Chatwin saw her as "one of the most dazzling practitioners of modern English prose".-Early life:She was...
, writer, lived in Aldous Huxley's servant's room. - Sir Thomas BeechamThomas BeechamSir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
, conductor. - Isaiah BerlinIsaiah BerlinSir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
, philosopher. - Philip BobbittPhilip BobbittPhilip Chase Bobbitt is an American author, academic, and public servant who has lectured in the United Kingdom. He is best known for work on military strategy and constitutional law and theory, and as the author of Constitutional Fate: Theory of the Constitution , The Shield of Achilles: War,...
, scholar. - Henry Brougham, later Lord ChancellorLord ChancellorThe Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
. - Lord Byron, poet.
- George CanningGeorge CanningGeorge Canning PC, FRS was a British statesman and politician who served as Foreign Secretary and briefly Prime Minister.-Early life: 1770–1793:...
, politician. - George CattermoleGeorge CattermoleGeorge Cattermole was an English painter and illustrator, chiefly in watercolours. He was a friend of Charles Dickens and many other literary and artistic figures.-Life and work:...
, artist. - Bruce ChatwinBruce ChatwinCharles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
, writer. - Alan ClarkAlan ClarkAlan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
, historian and politician. - Sir Kenneth ClarkKenneth ClarkKenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
, art historian. - George BaseviGeorge BaseviElias George Basevi FRS was an English architect. He was the favourite pupil of Sir John Soane.-Life:Basevi was the youngest son of a City of London merchant, also named George Basevi...
, architect. - Keith CoventryKeith CoventryKeith Coventry is a British artist and curator. In September 2010 his Spectrum Jesus painting won the £25,000 John Moores Painting Prize.-Early life:...
, artist. - William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, later Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. - Dame Edith Evans, actress.
- Bryan Guinness, poet.
- Edward HeathEdward HeathSir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, later Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. - Georgette HeyerGeorgette HeyerGeorgette Heyer was a British historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer...
, writer. - David Nightingale HicksDavid Nightingale HicksDavid Nightingale Hicks was a British interior decorator and designer, famous for his employment of bold, shockingly vibrant colours, for mixing antique and modern furnishings and contemporary art for his famous clientele....
, interior decorator and designer. - Henry HollandHenry HollandHenry Holland may refer to:* Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter , Lancastrian leader during the Wars of the Roses* Henry Holland , English writer on witchcraft...
, architect. - Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
, writer. - Sir Simon JenkinsSimon JenkinsSir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
, newspaper editor and author. - Edward KnoblockEdward KnoblockEdward Knoblock was an American-born British playwright and novelist most remembered for the often revived 1911 play, Kismet-Biography:...
, playwright and author. - John LaneJohn Lane (publisher)-Biography:Originally from Devon, where he was born into a farming family, Lane moved to London already in his teens. While working as a clerk at the Railway Clearing House, he acquired knowledge as an autodidact....
, publisher. - Lord Lee of FarehamArthur Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of FarehamArthur Hamilton Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham, GCB, GBE, GCSI, PC was a British soldier, diplomat, politician and patron of the arts. After military postings and an assignment to the British Embassy in Washington, he entered politics and served as Minster of Agriculture and Fisheries and First...
, politician. - Edward Bulwer Lytton, writer and politician.
- Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
, historian and politician. - Lord John Manners, politician.
- John MorganJohn Morgan (etiquette expert)John Morgan was a British expert on etiquette. His Saturday column in The Times, "Modern Manners", ran for three years and became an institution...
, writer on etiquette. - Malcolm MuggeridgeMalcolm MuggeridgeThomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
, journalist and broadcaster. - Sir Harold NicolsonHarold NicolsonSir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG was an English diplomat, author, diarist and politician. He was the husband of writer Vita Sackville-West, their unusual relationship being described in their son's book, Portrait of a Marriage.-Early life:Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the younger son of...
, writer and politician. - J.B. Priestley, writer.
- A.J. Raffles, fictional gentleman burglar in the works of E.W. Hornung.
- Terence RattiganTerence RattiganSir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
, playwright. - Baroness Pauline de RothschildPauline de RothschildPauline de Rothschild was a writer, a fashion designer, and, with her second husband, a translator of both Elizabethan poetry and the plays of Christopher Fry...
(socialite, writer, fashion designer). - Roger ScrutonRoger ScrutonRoger Vernon Scruton is a conservative English philosopher and writer. He is the author of over 30 books, including Art and Imagination , Sexual Desire , The Aesthetics of Music , and A Political Philosophy: Arguments For Conservatism...
, philosopher. - Sebastian ShawSebastian Shaw (actor)Sebastian Lewis Shaw was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions....
, actor. - Sir Robert SmirkeRobert SmirkeRobert Smirke may refer to:* Robert Smirke , 18th/19th century English painter* Robert Smirke , son of the painter, 19th century English architect...
, architect. - Terence StampTerence StampTerence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
, actor. - Lord StanleyEdward Stanley, 15th Earl of DerbyEdward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Stanley from 1844 to 1869, was a British statesman...
, politician, later 15th Earl of DerbyEarl of DerbyEarl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...
. - Martin Stevens, actor.
- William Henry Fox Talbot, pioneer photographer.
- Herbert Beerbohm TreeHerbert Beerbohm TreeSir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
, actor-manager.
External links
- Survey of London - detailed history with plans and photographs.
- Page on georgianindex.net - but note that the picture at the top of the page is not the Albany. While a number of the residences of past Dukes of York have been known as York HouseYork House-Royal residences:York House was traditionally the name given, often temporarily, to houses in London, England occupied by holders of the title of Duke of York:*The Albany in Piccadilly*Cumberland House in Pall Mall*Dover House in Whitehall...
(including the Albany during the residence of Frederick Duke of York), the illustration is of the past York House which went on to acquire an extra storey and to be renamed Stafford House and then Lancaster HouseLancaster HouseLancaster House is a mansion in the St. James's district in the West End of London. It is close to St. James's Palace and much of the site was once part of the palace complex...