Chandos House is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

at N° 2 Queen Anne Street,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, in central

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 ...

. It was designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

, the most prominent architect in Georgian Britain, and built by William Adam and Company. It is seen as the first of a series of large

townhouses A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residenc ...

in London, including 20 St. James's Square and Derby House.

Construction

The house was built speculatively with monies from the Adam family and from the banker Sir George Colebrooke, later to be an Adam client himself. It was started in 1769 and finished in 1771, on a plot between another Adam house to the west and the garden wall of Foley House to the east, on land which was part of the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

's estate. The façade is of

Craigleith Craigleith () is a small island in the Firth of Forth off North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic ''Creag Lìte'' meaning "rock of Leith". It is at its highest point. Geography and geology Craigleith is ...

stone, perhaps as an advertisement for the quarry to the west of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on which the Adam brothers' firm had recently taken a lease.

Notable occupants

In 1813, the house was still home to Anna Eliza Brydges, Duchess of Chandos, whom the 3rd Duke of Chandos had married as his second wife in 1777. However, following the sudden death of the duke in 1789, the duchess was declared a lunatic. As a consequence, she was confined to the house and lost control of her estates. In May 1815, the unexpired portion of the lease (51 years) was sold by her executors and purchased by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

embassy. The first resident ambassador was Prince Esterházy, and for the next 25 years, Chandos House was the scene of entertainment on the most lavish scale. Contemporary newspapers record his wasteful splendour and oriental pomp. Eventually, his extravagance proved his ruin. He left the embassy in 1842 and was succeeded by Baron von Neumann. In 1866, the Austrian embassy moved to

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

, where the Embassy of Austria is still housed currently. Newspaper magnate Gomer Berry (later Viscount Kemsley), became the last private owner of Chandos House, buying it from

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury (31 August 1869 – 25 March 1961) was an English peer, soldier, and public servant. He was the son of the Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury and Lady Harri ...

in 1927. It was his London home and the venue for his London entertaining until 1959 when the house was sold to the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

.'Queen Anne Street and Chandos Street'
''Bartlett School of Architecture Survey of London'' Chandos House is currently owned by Cosmetic Doctor at Work Limited.

References

External links

*
Chandos House website
{{coord, 51, 31, 07, N, 0, 08, 42, W, region:GB, display=title Robert Adam buildings Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Houses in the City of Westminster Grade I listed houses in London Townhouses in the United Kingdom