Leconfield House is a building in Mayfair, London. It was the headquarters of the Security Service (MI5) from 1945 to 1976.

History

Early history

The site at the junction of South Audley Street and

Curzon Street Curzon Street is a street in Mayfair, London, within the W1J postcode district, that ranges from Fitzmaurice Place, past Shepherd Market, to Park Lane. It is named after Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 2nd Baronet, who inherited the landholding during ...

was occupied in the second half of the 18th century, all of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century by Chesterfield House, which was built in 1749 for

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfie ...

. In 1869 Chesterfield House was purchased by the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

merchant

Charles Magniac Charles Magniac (1827 – 23 November 1891) was a British financier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1868 and 1886. Magniac was the eldest son of Hollingworth Magniac of Colworth, Bedfordshire. Fol ...

, who considerably curtailed the grounds in the rear, and erected a row of buildings overlooking

Chesterfield Street Chesterfield Street is a "virtually intact" Georgian street (except for No. 6, which is a reconstruction) in London's Mayfair district. Several of the buildings are Listed building#England and Wales, Grade II listed on the National Heritage List ...

, named Chesterfield Gardens; the first occupier at No. 9 Chesterfield Gardens was

Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield (31 July 1830 – 6 January 1901), was a British peer and Conservative Member of Parliament. Early life and education A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, Leconfield was the eldest surviving son of Geo ...

. After Chesterfield House was demolished in 1937, part of the site was used for the construction of Leconfield House, named after Lord Leconfield, who had died in 1901. The new building, completed in 1939, served as the operational headquarters of London District throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Occupancy by MI5

The structure went on to be occupied by the Security Service (MI5) in 1945; by 1969, when

Stella Rimington Dame Stella Rimington (born 13 May 1935) is a British author and former Director General of MI5, a position she held from 1992 to 1996. She was the first female DG of MI5, and the first DG whose name was publicised on appointment. In 1993, Rimi ...

arrived, it was "dreadfully run down....the inside had not been painted in an age..." The headquarters of MI5 remained at Leconfield House until 1976, when it moved to 140 Gower Street.

Later uses

The building, which has since been substantially rebuilt, is now occupied by various businesses including that of

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

and

Vincent Tchenguiz Vincent Tchenguiz (born 9 October 1956) is an Iranian-British entrepreneur born in Tehran. Robert Tchenguiz is his younger brother. Tchenguiz is known as a major donor to the Conservative Party (UK) and an investor in the controversial compan ...

. In May 2020, Robert Tchenguiz submitted plans to

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...

to convert the building into a 65-bedroom private members' hotel. He had bought the building for his Rotch property business in 2004 for about £140 million. The submitted plans were refused permission by the Council, and Tchenguiz's subsequent appeal against that decision also failed. In October 2022 Tchenguiz lodged a further appeal.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Mayfair Intelligence agency headquarters in the United Kingdom MI5