Seaford House, originally called Sefton House, is a former aristocratic mansion and the largest of the detached houses sited on each corner of Belgrave Square,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is a magnolia stucco building with four main storeys most famed for its interiors (the first floor, or

piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...

, being decorated in the French style). Dating from 1842, Sefton House was designed by

Philip Hardwick Philip Hardwick (15 June 1792 in London – 28 December 1870) was an English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere. Hardwick is probably best known for London's demolished Euston Arch ...

to meet the requirements of 3rd Earl of Sefton. The house, with its railings and gate piers, have been listed Grade II* for their architectural merit. The 3rd and 4th Earls used it as their town house; the 5th Earl, being an invalid, could not do so and after he died childless in 1901, the lease was sold to

William Tebb William Tebb (22 October 1830 – 23 January 1917) was a British businessman and wide-ranging Reform movement, social reformer. He was an anti-vaccinationist and author of anti-vaccination books.''Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in E ...

. Lord Howard de Walden, who was also Baron Seaford, acquired the lease for Sefton House in 1902 and renamed it Seaford House. He installed friezes, panelling, and a staircase of green onyx specially imported from South America. The house was requisitioned by the wartime Government in 1940, and for a while was used as offices by the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

. It was badly damaged by aerial bombing in October 1940, and rebuilt thereafter (but without the porte-cochere). In 1946, the house became the home of the Imperial Defence College, now the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

. Seaford House is usually open to the public free of charge on Open House Weekend each September. But it can also be seen on screen. The main vestibule doubled as ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

Grand Staircase The Grand Staircase is an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch south from Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, through Zion National Park, and into Grand Canyon National Park. Ch ...

in the 1979 miniseries ''

SOS Titanic ''S.O.S. Titanic'' is a British- American 1979 drama disaster television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 maiden voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class. The script was written by J ...

''. It was also used in the filming of ''

Upstairs, Downstairs Upstairs Downstairs may refer to: Television *Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series), ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971 TV series), a British TV series broadcast on ITV from 1971 to 1975 *Upstairs Downstairs (2010 TV series), ''Upstairs Downstairs'' ...

''. Seaford House later stood in as the exterior of the home of

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, Naomi Achs, and the older sister o ...

's character Nessa Stein in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and SundanceTV television miniseries '' The Honourable Woman'' in 2014. It can also be seen (doubling as the US Embassy) in the 2021 film ''

The King's Man ''The King's Man'' is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the British ''Kingsman'' film series, which is based on the comic book ''The ...

''*.

References

5 https://thecinemaholic.com/where-was-the-kings-man-filmed/

Bibliography

External links

History of Seaford House from the Defence Academy of the United KingdomFlickr images tagged Seaford House
Belgravia Headquarters in the United Kingdom Houses completed in 1842 Houses in the City of Westminster Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade II* listed houses in London {{london-struct-stub