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 the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s. Most of the houses were occupied by 1840. The square takes its name from one of the Duke of Westminster's subsidiary titles, Viscount Belgrave. The village and former manor house of Belgrave, Cheshire, were among the rural landholdings associated with the main home and gardens of the senior branch of the family, Eaton Hall. Today, many embassies occupy buildings on all four sides.
History
The north-east side of Belgrave Square, soon after constructionStatue of Prince Henry the Navigator in Belgrave Square, erected in 2002
The square is perfectly 650 feet (200 m) across, inclusive of small porch projections. The square is surrounded by four terraces, three of eleven houses and the fourth (south-east) of twelve. These houses are all white stucco except for the cream-coloured projecting corner houses. In addition there are detached mansion houses in three of the corners, and a private central garden.
Numbering is anticlockwise from the north: NW terrace, No.s1 to 11; west corner mansion, No.12; SW terrace, No.s13 to 23; south corner mansion, No.24; SE terrace. No.s25 to 36; east corner mansion, No.37; NE terrace No.s38 to 48. The slightly later north corner mansion No.49 was drawn up by Cubitt (not to be confused with his son George, another architect, ennobled as Lord Ashcombe) for Sidney Herbert in 1851.
From its construction until the Second World War the square saw building rentals and longer leases by the upper echelons of capitalists seeking further influence, status or socialising in the capital. Such success was immediate.[2] This was encapsulated by the decision of another of London's leading freeholders and estate planners, the Duke of Bedford, to choose No.6 as London accommodation rather than any house on his own Bloomsbury estate, which had lost its aristocratic cachet.[2]
The square has included embassies since its first century, including the German Embassy, which occupies three houses on the west side. During the Second World War the square was used as a tank park; most of the houses were afterwards converted into offices for charities and institutes. The 21st century has seen more domestic leases granted, such as three by the Grosvenor Estate in 2004.[citation needed]
Listed status
Grade I
The buildings on the square are listed. In this highest category are:
1 Belgrave Square was the official residence of the Ambassadors of Romania from 1936 to 2005. The building has continued to host events for the Embassy since 2006, and is also headquarters of the Romanian Cultural Institute in London.[15]
2 Belgrave Square was first leased (c. 1829) to James Goding, whose Lion Brewery on the south bank of the River Thames was denoted by the iconic South Bank Lion and Twickenham Stadium Lion. Later residents included James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn, Edward Balfour and Nathaniel Clayton. In the 20th century, the house was purchased by the British soldier and politician Ernest George Pretyman and his wife, Lady Beatrice, daughter of George Bridgeman, 4th Earl of Bradford. In 1935, after Pretyman's death, it was sold to Grace, Lady Dance. On 12 May 1953, it was reopened by the Duke of Gloucester as the base of the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Council, which remained until it moved to 14-15 Belgrave Square in 2013. Since 2021, it has become the residence to Lalit Modi the former Chairman of the Indian Premier League.
17 Belgrave Square was the base of the Royal College of Psychiatrists until the college relocated in October 2013, and was home to two MPs, Sir Ralph Howard and Pandeli Ralli. Leontine, Lady Sassoon was in residence from 1929 to 1952. She is said to have held parties for soldiers during the Second World War, while part of the property was used as a Red Cross supply depot. No.17 was taken over by the Institute of Metals in 1956; the college arrived in 1974.[21]
18 Belgrave Square has been the home of the Austrian Embassy since 1866. It is the only building of those used by the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Foreign Service that is still used today by diplomats of the Republic of Austria.[22] Between 1846 and 1851, it was inhabited by Sir Francis Egerton (born Leveson-Gower), the 1st Earl of Ellesmere, and his family. Owing to the rebuilding of Cleveland House in St. James's, which would be renamed Bridgewater House, the Earl was also forced to house his famed "Bridgewater Collection of Pictures" here, using bedrooms, dining rooms, hallways, etc.[23] The collection reopened to the public once it moved back to Bridgewater House in 1851.
19–20 Belgrave Square houses the Bruneian High Commission. Previously, No. 20 was the London home of the 9th Baron Barnard.[24]
24 Belgrave Square is now the Embassy of Spain. In the early part of the 20th century, it was known as Downshire House and was the London home of Lord and Lady Pirrie. Lord Pirrie was the chairman of Harland & Wolff, a leading shipbuilding firm located in Belfast, Ireland. One evening in July 1907, the Pirries hosted J. Bruce Ismay and his wife Florence for dinner. Ismay was the managing director of the White Star Line, one of the top shipping companies of the North Atlantic. Harland and Wolff constructed all White Star vessels. White Star's main rival was the Cunard Line. The Cunard Line's newest ships, the Mauretania and Lusitania, the largest ships in the world, had just entered service. Pirrie and Ismay discussed the new ships during the dinner, and how to counter the competition of these new ships. Their discussions led to them planning that night the construction of three ships, larger than any in the world. The names of these ships would be RMS Olympic, RMS Titanic and HMHS Britannic.
29 Belgrave Square is where Sir Winston Churchill received his first cabinet appointment in 1906, from the Prime Minister at that time, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
31 Belgrave Square was the home of the Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association and the Speedway Control Board.
32 Belgrave Square was an overseas residence of Heidi Horten.
43 Belgrave Square has been the Embassy of Turkey since 1954. In the early part of the 20th century, it was the London home of the Earls of Harewood.[28]
42-45 Belgrave Square
45 Belgrave Square was the home of Caroline Agnes Horsley-Beresford (1818–1894) (Duchess of Montrose),[29] who used the pseudonym "Mr Manton", also of Sefton Lodge, Newmarket, a notable racehorse owner, a "wildly extravagant woman" who "strode across the racing scene". It is now the Malaysian High Commission. It featured in the 1954 film The Million Pound Note, as the spot where the actor Gregory Peck lost the note in the wind.[30]
The private communal garden is 2 hectares (4.9 acres) in size and contains mature plane, chestnut and lime trees, and various shrubs. Its gravel walks were laid in 1854, with privet hedges planted around its perimeter. Wooden pergolas and shelters stand within, and it features a tennis court. The garden is listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.[31][32]
^Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 32. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 592. ISBN0-19-861382-2. Article by H.E. Wortham, revised by K.D. Reynolds.
^Catalogue of the valuable collection of porcelain, old French and other decorative objects and furniture, of her grace Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, deceased, removed from 45 Belgrave Square, and Sefton Lodge, Newmarket ... Christie's London. London : Christie, Manson & Woods, 1895 [1]
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