Albany, sometimes referred to as the Albany, is an English apartment complex in
Piccadilly
Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The three-storey mansion was built in the 1770s and divided into apartments in 1802.
Building
Albany was built in 1771–1776 by Sir
William Chambers for the newly created
1st Viscount Melbourne who had bought the land and residence (Piccadilly House) it was to replace from
Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland for £16,500. It was called Melbourne House and cost at least £50,000 to build. It is a three-storey mansion, seven bays (windows) wide, with a pair of service wings flanking a front courtyard.
In 1791, Lord Melbourne, who by then had built up considerable debts to fund his and his wife's extravagant lifestyle, downsized by exchanging Melbourne House for
Dover House,
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
(now a government office) with the recently married
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, who required a larger property in order to "entertain in style".
The sale price was £23,571.
In 1802 the Duke in turn gave up the house and it was converted by
Henry Holland into 69 bachelor apartments (known as "sets"). This was achieved by subdividing the main block and its two service wings, and by adding two new parallel long buildings covering most of the garden, running as far as a new rear gate building on
Burlington Gardens. Named The Ropewalk, Holland's new buildings of 1802–1803 flank a covered walkway supported on thin iron columns and with an upswept roof. The blocks are white painted render in a simpler Regency style than Chambers' work. Most sets are accessed off common staircases without doors, like Oxbridge colleges and the Inns of Court.
History
From the time of its conversion, Albany was a prestigious set of bachelor apartments. Residents have included the poet
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, the future prime minister
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
and numerous members of the aristocracy.
During the Second World War, one of the buildings received significant
damage from a German bomb, but was reconstructed after the war to appear as an exact replica.
The
Albany Trust is named after the building, as it held its inaugural meetings there in the late 1950s, at the home of its founding trustees
Jacquetta Hawkes and
J. B. Priestley.
Residents no longer have to be bachelors, although children under the age of 14 are not permitted to live there.
Ownership and governance
The apartments or "sets" are individually owned as
flying freeholds, with the owners known as "proprietors"; a set that came up for sale in 2007 had an advertised guide price of £2 million.
Around half the sets were owned by
Peterhouse, a college of the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
.
These were acquired by William Stone (1857–1958) during the Second World War.
Stone, nicknamed the "Squire of Piccadilly", was a former scholar of Peterhouse, a bachelor and a lifelong resident of Albany.
He bequeathed 37 sets to the college,
along with other endowments.
Albany is governed by a board of trustees on behalf of the proprietors. The annual rent of a set can be as much as £50,000 and prospective tenants are vetted by a committee before being allowed to take up residence. Only recently have women been allowed to apply.
Name

The names "Albany" and "the Albany" have both been used. The rules adopted in 1804 laid down that "the Premises mentioned in the foregoing Articles shall be called Albany". Both names have been used in the 19th and 20th centuries. In a 1958 review of a book about the building, ''Peace in Piccadilly'', ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' 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'' in 1907, he said that 'the Albany' was then 'universal', but that to the earliest tenants it was 'Albany'."
In fiction
An early use of the building in fiction was the novel, ''The Bachelor of the Albany'' (1847) by
Marmion Wilard Savage. Still earlier is the hero of
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
’s novel ''
Sybil'' (1845), Charles Egremont, who lives there; he has a portrait by
Cristofano Allori hung over his fireplace halfway through the book.
In
Dorothy Sayers' novel ''
Clouds of Witness'' (1926), Dennis Cathcart, whose death is central to the story, is said to "have a room in Albany."
Mr Fascination Fledgeby, a
moneylender in
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
' novel ''
Our Mutual Friend'' (1865), is described as living there. Several scenes from the book take place in his apartment. In the novel ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray
''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American period ...
'' (1890) by
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
, Lord Fermor, the uncle of the character Lord Henry Wotton, resides in Albany. In Oscar Wilde's play ''
The Importance of Being Earnest'' (1895), the character John (Jack) Worthing has a set at Albany (number B.4), where he lives while staying in London under the assumed name of Ernest.
A. J. Raffles, the gentleman burglar created by
E. W. Hornung who first appeared in "
The Ides of March"
(1898), lived at Albany, as did the adventurer
Lord John Roxton of
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
's novel ''
The Lost World'' (1912), and Roger Sheringham, the amateur detective in the works of
Anthony Berkeley Cox
Anthony Berkeley Cox (5 July 1893 – 9 March 1971) was an English crime writer. He wrote under several pen-names, including Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley and A. Monmouth Platts.
Early life and education
Anthony Berkeley Cox was born 5 July ...
who first appeared in ''The Layton Court Mystery'' (1925). In
G. K. Chesterton's
Father Brown Stories, in "The Queer Feet" (1910), the character Mr Audrey "
ookslike a mild, self-indulgent bachelor, with rooms in the Albany -- which he was".
In the comic short story "
Uncle Fred Flits By" (1935) by
P. G. Wodehouse, the young gentleman
Pongo Twistleton resides in Albany.
In ''
The Foundling'' (1948), a novel by
Georgette Heyer, Captain Gideon Ware of the Life Guards rents a set of chambers at Albany. In the film ''
Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949), Louis Mazzini takes a small set at Albany as he moves up the social ladder.
In the James Bond novel ''
Moonraker'' by
Ian Fleming (1955), Max Meyer, the bridge partner of Sir Hugo Drax, was said to live in Albany.
Simon Raven's ''
Alms for Oblivion'' novels (including 1974's ''
Bring Forth the Body'') feature Somerset Lloyd-James, a politician and resident of Albany.
In
Graham Greene's ''
The Human Factor'' (1978), Dr Percival resides at D.6. In the Major Harry Maxim novels by
Gavin Lyall, George Harbinger, Harry's boss, who first appears in ''
The Secret Servant'' (1980), has an apartment at Albany where he lives with his spouse, Annette. In Susan Howatch's Starbridge series, especially
ystical Paths Perry Palmer lives in Albany. In
Julian Fellowes' novel ''Belgravia'' (2016), Mr John Bellasis resides in an apartment at Albany.
Tenants
The list below is based mainly on the much longer list in the
Survey of London.
Many tenants were in residence for only a short time when they were young.
*
Antony Armstrong-Jones, later
1st Earl of Snowdon, photographer
* Sir
Squire Bancroft, actor
*
George Basevi, architect
*
Clifford Bax, poet and playwright
*
Sybille Bedford, writer, lived in Aldous Huxley's servant's room
* Sir
Thomas Beecham, conductor
*
Isaiah Berlin, philosopher
*
Philip Bobbitt, scholar
*
Henry Brougham, later
Lord Chancellor
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
*
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, writer and politician
*
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, poet
*
George Canning, politician
*
George Cattermole, artist
*
Bruce Chatwin, writer
*
Alan Clark, historian and politician
* Sir
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissa ...
, art historian
*
Keith Coventry, artist.
*
Fleur Cowles, writer and editor.
*
Maurice Cowling, historian.
*
Edward de Bono, thinker.
*
Dame Edith Evans, actress.
*
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
, later
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
.
*
Norman Foster, architect
*
Andrew Grima, jewellery designer.
*
Bryan Guinness, poet.
*
Jacquetta Hawkes, archaeologist.
*
Edward Heath, later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
* Sir
Frederick Henniker, traveller.
*
Georgette Heyer, writer.
*
Ashley Hicks, interior designer and architect.
*
David Nightingale Hicks, interior decorator and designer.
*
Bill Nighy, actor.
*
Henry Holland, architect.
*
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the ...
, writer.
* Sir
Simon Jenkins, newspaper editor and author.
*
Edward Knoblock, playwright and author.
*
John Lane, publisher.
*
Lord Lee of Fareham, politician.
*
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was an English historian, poet, and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 184 ...
, historian and politician.
*
Lord John Manners, politician.
*
John Morgan, writer on etiquette.
*
Malcolm Muggeridge, journalist and broadcaster.
* Sir
Harold Nicolson, writer and politician.
*
John Hare Powel, agriculturalist and politician.
*
J. B. Priestley, writer.
*
Terence Rattigan, playwright.
*
Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset.
*
John Richardson, art critic.
* Baroness
Pauline de Rothschild, socialite, writer, fashion designer.
* Sir
Roger Scruton, philosopher.
*
Sebastian Shaw, actor.
*
Michael Sherard, fashion designer.
*
Anthony Smith, broadcaster.
* Sir
Robert Smirke, architect.
* Sir
David Tang, businessman.
* Sir
Peter Tapsell, politician.
*
Terence Stamp, actor.
*
Lord Stanley, politician, later 15th
Earl of Derby.
*
Martin Stevens, politician, MP for Fulham.
*
William Henry Fox Talbot, pioneer photographer.
* Sir
Bryan Thwaites, mathematician, educationalist, administrator.
*
Herbert Beerbohm Tree, actor-manager.
References
External links
"London's Best and Most Secretive Address" by Christopher Gibbs, ''
The New York Times Magazine'', 14 April 2013
"Albany", ''Survey of London: Volumes 31 and 32, St James Westminster, Part 2'', pp. 367-389 (1963)- detailed history with plans and photographs
- (
n.b. 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 House (including 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 House.)
{{Authority control
Houses in Westminster
Housing in London
Royal residences in the City of Westminster
Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster
Buildings and structures on Piccadilly
Townhouses in the United Kingdom