Northumberland House

Northumberland House was a large Jacobean mansion in London, which was so called because for most of its history it was the London residence of the Percy family, who were the Earls and later Dukes of Northumberland, and were one of England's richest and most prominent aristocratic dynasties for many centuries. It stood at the far western end of The Strand from around 1605 until it was demolished in the late 1860s. In its later years it overlooked Trafalgar Square.

Related Topics:
Jacobean - London - Percy family - Dukes of Northumberland - The Strand - Trafalgar Square

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In the 16th century The Strand, which connects the City of London with the royal centre of Westminster, was lined with the mansions of some of England's richest prelates and noblemen. Most of the grandest houses were on the southern side of the road and had gardens stretching down to the River Thames. In around 1605 Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton cleared a site at Charing Cross and built himself a mansion, which was at first known as Northampton House. The facade to The Strand was 162 feet (49 metres) wide and the depth of the house was marginally greater. It had a single central courtyard and turrets in each corner. The layout reflected medieval traditions, with a great hall as the principal room, and separate apartments for members of the household, who would still at that time have included gentlemen attendants. Many of these apartments were reached from external doors in the courtyard in the manner still seen at Oxbridge colleges. The exterior was embellished with classical ornament in the loose way of ambitious Jacobean buildings. The most striking external feature was the elaborate four storey carved stone gateway fronting The Strand. The garden was 160 feet wide and over 300 feet long, but unlike those of the neighbouring mansions to the east it did not reach all the way down to the river.

Related Topics:
City of London - Westminster - Prelate - Noble - River Thames - Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton - Charing Cross - Medieval - Great hall - Oxbridge

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The house passed from Lord Northampton to the Earls of Suffolk, who were another branch of the powerful Howard family headed by the Dukes of Norfolk, and in the 1640s it was sold to the Earl of Northumberland at the discounted price of £15,000 as part of the marriage settlement when he married a Howard.

Related Topics:
Earls of Suffolk - Dukes of Norfolk

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Regular alterations were made over the next two centuries in response to changes in fashion and to make the layout more convenient for the lifestyle of the day. John Webb was employed from 1657 to 1660 to relocate the family's living accommodation from the Strand front to the garden front. In the 1740s and 1750s the Strand front was largely reconstructured and two wings were added which projected from the ends of the garden front at right angles. These were over 100 feet long and contained a ballroom and a picture gallery, the latter itself 106 feet (32 metres) long. The style of the new interiors was late palladian and the architects were Daniel Garrett until his death in 1753, and then the better known James Paine. In the mid 1760s Robert Mylne was employed to reface the courtyard in stone, and he may also have been responsible for extentions to the two garden wings which were made at this time. In the 1770s Robert Adam was commissioned to redecorate the state rooms on the garden front. The Glass Drawing Room at Northumberland House was one of his most celebrated interiors. Part of the Strand front had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1780. In 1819 Thomas Cundy rebuilt the garden front five feet further south as the wall was unstable, and in 1824 he added a new main staircase.

Related Topics:
John Webb - Palladian - Daniel Garrett - James Paine - Robert Mylne - Robert Adam - Thomas Cundy

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By the mid 19th century all of the other mansions in The Strand had been demolished. The area was largely commercial and was not a fashionable place to live. However the Duke of Northumberland of the day was reluctant to leave his ancestral home, despite pressure from the Metropolitan Board of Works, which wished to build a road through the site to connect to the new roads along the Embankment. He eventually accepted an offer of £500,000 in 1866. Northumberland House was demolished and Northumberland Avenue was constructed in its place.

Related Topics:
Metropolitan Board of Works - Northumberland Avenue

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One of the largest buildings in Northumberland Avenue was a 500 bedroom hotel called the Victoria Hotel. This building was taken over by the government in the Second World War and remains a Ministry of Defence office, which is now known as Northumberland House.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Ministry of Defence

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