Norfolk House, St James's Square - geograph

Norfolk House, 31

St James's Square St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or f ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, was built between 1748 and 1752 as his London

townhouse 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 residence ...

Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk (5 June 1686 – 20 September 1777), of Worksop Manor in Nottinghamshire and of Norfolk House in London, was a British peer, politician and hereditary Earl Marshal. Origins He was the third of the five sons o ...

(1686–1777) to the design of Matthew Brettingham (1699–1769), "the Elder", and was demolished in 1938. His

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 peopl ...

and main seat was

Worksop Manor Worksop Manor is a Grade I listed 18th-century country house in Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire. It stands in one of the four contiguous estates in the Dukeries area of Nottinghamshire. Traditionally, the Lord of the Manor of Worksop may assist a B ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. Norfolk House was built on a site formerly occupied by two houses, namely St Albans House, the residence of the

Earl of St Albans The Earldom of St Albans was created twice in the 17th century, first to Richard Bourke, Earl of Clanricarde then to Henry Jermyn, Baron Jermyn. It became extinct after the latter's death. Earls of St Albans, First Creation (1628) *Richard Burke, ...

(purchased by

Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal (11 December 1683 – 23 December 1732) was an English peer and politician. He was the first son of Lord Thomas Howard and Mary Elizabeth Savile. Upon the death of his uncle Henry Howard, 7th ...

in 1722), and the other the residence of

John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse (or Bellasis) (24 June 1614 – 10 September 1689) was an English nobleman, Royalist officer and Member of Parliament, notable for his role during and after the Civil War. He suffered a long spell of imprison ...

(1614–1689) (purchased by the 9th Duke of Norfolk in 1748). Both these houses were demolished in 1748 by the 9th Duke of Norfolk in preparation for his new house.

St Albans House

St Albans House was a royal residence for a short time, after the 9th Duke of Norfolk offered it to

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

, following his marriage in 1736 to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. The couple lived there 1737–1741, and their son

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

was born in the house. The family moved to Leicester House in 1742, which remained the prince's home until his death nine years later, and that of his widow until her death in 1772.

Norfolk House

Norfolk House remained in the ownership of the Dukes of Norfolk until 1938 when it was pulled down and replaced by an office building. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

this building served as offices for senior officers from a variety of Allied armed forces, including the Canadian 1st Army and the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...

under General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. Two plaques on the exterior of the building commemorate the role of the building in the War. The 1930s building was fully refitted in the years before 2019. The office space became obsolete for modern requirements and in 2019 plans were submitted to demolish it and rebuild at a cost of £60 million in line with modern requirements.

Music Room

Parts of the interior of the eighteenth-century house survive, having been removed before demolition, including the Music Room, designed by

Giovanni Battista Borra Giovanni Battista Borra (27 December 1713 - November 1770) was an Italian architect, engineer and architectural draughtsman. Life Borra was born in Dogliani. Studying under Bernardo Antonio Vittone from 1733 to 1736 (producing 10 plates for his te ...

for the ninth Duke's wife Mary Blount, now displayed in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, restored and redecorated to its original scheme of brilliant white paintwork with gilt, carved woodwork.

Gallery

File:Norfolkhouse.jpg, The Music Room from Norfolk House, St James's Square, London, 1748–1756 V&A Museum no. W.70:1-1938 File:Plaque 1 on Norfolk House St James's Square London.jpg, Plaque says: Norfolk House in this building 24 June 1942 – 8 November 1942 General of the army Dwight D Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander formed the first Allied Force Headquarters and in conjunction with the commanders of the fighting services of the Allied Nations and the Authorities in Washington and London planned and launched Operation "Torch" for the liberation of North Africa and later 16 January 1944 – 6 June 1944 as Supreme Allied Commander Allied Expeditionary Force in conjunction with the commanders of the fighting services of the Allied Nations and the authorities in Washington and London he planned and launched Operation "Overlord" for the liberation of North West Europe. File:Plaque 2 on Norfolk House St James's Square London.jpg, Plaque says: The United States of America recognizes the selfless service and manifold contributions of General Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, 1944–1945. At this site, General Eisenhower, on behalf of Freedom loving peoples throughout the World, directed the Allied Expeditionary Forces against Fortress Europe, 6 June 1944. This Plaque was dedicated by a United States Department of Defense delegation and the Eisenhower family on 4 June 1990 during the Centennial year of his birth and the 46th Anniversary of Operation Overlord.

References

External links

Detailed history and description
- from the ''

Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Ar ...

''.
Photograph of 1932
- from the ''