Chesterfield House was a grand London townhouse built between 1747 and 1752 by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773), statesman and man of letters. The exterior was in the

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

style, the interior

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

. It stood in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...

on the north side of

Curzon Street Curzon Street is located within the Mayfair district of London. The street is located entirely within the W1J postcode district; the eastern end is north-east of Green Park underground station. It is within the City of Westminster, running a ...

, between South Audley Street and what is now Chesterfield Street. It was demolished in 1937 and on its site now stands an eponymous block of flats. The French travel writer Pierre-Jean Grosley in his 1770 book ''Londres'' (translated as ''Tour to London'') considered the house to be equal to the '' hotel particuliers'' of the nobility in Paris.

History

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

The house was built on land belonging to

Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations aga ...

by Isaac Ware. In his "Letters to his Son", Chesterfield wrote from "Hotel Chesterfield" on 31 March 1749: "I have yet finished nothing but my ''boudoir'' and my library; the former is the gayest and most cheerful room in England; the latter the best. My garden is now turfed, planted and sown, and will in two months more make a scene of verdure and flowers not common in London."

Library

The '' Quarterly Review'' (founded 1809), no. 125, reported:

Staircase

The columns of the screen facing the courtyard and the marble staircase with bronze balustrade came from

Cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

, near

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

, the mansion of

James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, (6 January 16739 August 1744) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1698 until 1714, when he succeeded to the peerage as Baron Chandos, and vacated ...

(d.1744) which was demolished shortly after his death, the materials being sold at auction in 1747. Chesterfield also bought at the auction the portico and railings. Chesterfield also furnished his new mansion with artefacts from the sale at

Houghton Hall Houghton Hall ( ) is a country house in the parish of Houghton in Norfolk, England. It is the residence of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley. It was commissioned by the ''de facto'' first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Wa ...

, the

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peop ...

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lea ...

, including an 18-candle copper-gilt lantern. The library was hung with portraits of the earl's ancestors. As a piece of satire concerning the fashion for boasts of ancient ancestry, he placed amongst these portraits two old portraits which he inscribed "Adam de Stanhope" and "Eve de Stanhope".

Creation of Stanhope St

Chesterfield formed Stanhope Street on adjoining land purchased from the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.

Description in 1869

The following description is reproduced in

Edward Walford Edward Walford (1823–1897) was a British magazine editor and a compiler of educational, biographical, genealogical and touristic works, perhaps best known for his 6 Volumes of ''Old and New London'' (the first two of which were written by Walt ...

's ''Old & New London'':

George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex George Capel-Coningsby, 5th Earl of Essex FSA (13 November 1757 – 23 April 1839) was an English aristocrat and politician, and styled Viscount Malden until 1799. His surname was Capell until 1781. Early life George Capell was the eldest so ...

(d.1839) remembered seeing the earl sitting on a rustic seat in front of his mansion, basking in the sun.

Sale

Faced with the prospect of demolition in 1869, the house was purchased by the

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

merchant Charles Magniac, who considerably curtailed the grounds in the rear, and erected a row of buildings overlooking Chesterfield Street, named Chesterfield Gardens.

Sources

* Walford, Edward. Old & New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People & Its Places, 6 vols., London, 1878, vol 4, pp. 353–359

References

External links

Bowles' map of 1775
showing Chesterfield House {{Coord , 51, 30, 25, N, 0, 9, 0, W, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Former houses in the City of Westminster Buildings and structures in Mayfair Buildings and structures demolished in 1937 Demolished buildings and structures in London