Cornwall Terrace (also 1-21 Cornwall Terrace) is a Grade I listed building of consecutive terraced mansions overlooking

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

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 ...

. It is situated at the park's southwest corner, near

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

, between York Terrace and

Clarence Terrace Clarence Terrace overlooks Regent's Park in Marylebone, City of Westminster, London, England. This terrace is the smallest in the park. The terrace is a Grade I listed building. Architecture This row of terraced houses is named after William ...

, within the park's Crown Estate development. Cornwall Terrace was part of the scheme of the Prince Regent, later

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, to develop grand housing in Regent's Park. The buildings are Grade I listed buildings.

History

Cornwall Terrace was one of the earliest buildings constructed in Regency Park, and the park's first completed

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

. The terrace was constructed, between 1821 and 1823, by the property developer James Burton, to a

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

design by

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...

and Sir John Nash. After 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 ...

, the terrace was refurbished. It became a Grade I listed building on 9 January 1970. In January 1975,

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

groups moved in and

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

the entire terrace. The Divine Light Mission opened up a

health food store A health food store (or health food shop) is a type of grocery store that primarily sells health foods, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. Health food stores typically offer a wider or more specialized selection of fo ...

. Later in 1975, after the squatters were evicted, the terrace became the headquarters of British Land, a large property development company. In the 2000s, much of the terrace was refurbished by Oakmayne Developers, who turned 18 of the houses into 8 luxury residences. The refurbishment of eight mansions was overseen by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

. Each home was given the name of a notable person connected to the terrace.

Architecture

Architectural features give the building a regal appearance. The ground storey is rusticated, while the principal storeys are of the

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

. The terrace block originally consisted of 19 houses, with Nos. 20 and 21 constructed later from the south pavilion. The original design contained three main storeys, an attic storey, pavilions, mansards, and basements, as well as shallow porches, square headed doorways, shallow architraves, first floor cornices, balustraded parapets, wings with Venetian-style windows, cast iron balconies, and spearhead area railings. There are fluted shafts, well proportioned capitals, and an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

, No. 1 was adorned with a caryatid-bow.

No. 1

No. 1 Cornwall Terrace is in size. It has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a hydraulic elevator, and 11 reception rooms; it is described as a "Trophy Home". The interior consists of hardwood floors and doors, Italian marble, period fireplaces, cornices. No. 1 was the home of the New Zealand High Commissioner from 1955 until the mid-1970s; Sir

Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, in ...

was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to live here. By 2002, it belonged to telecommunications entrepreneur

Charles Wigoder Charles Wigoder (born 2 March 1960) is an English telecommunications entrepreneur, associated with building both Peoples Phone and Telecom Plus (The Utility Warehouse) into substantial and successful businesses. Biography The son of The Right ...

. Oakmayne Developers bought the mansion in 2007. When they refurbished it, two extra floors were added in the basement by digging below the original basement. Moza bint Nasser, the consort of a former

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

bought numbers 1, 2 and 3 Cornwall Terrace in 2013 for an estimated £120 million. The following year, a planning application was made to merge the three properties into one 34,155 square foot home. The plan for a superhome with 17 bedrooms, 14 lounges, four dining rooms, a swimming pool, a cinema and a cigar lounge was recommended for refusal and withdrawn.

No. 6

No. 6 was put on sale in 2011 for £39 million. The refurbishment included marble floors, a £60,000 fireplace and a hydraulically operated lift.

No. 9 - Siddons House

Pramod Agarwal bought No. 9 from

Christian Candy Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

for £37.5 million in October 2013 and was later forced to sell it. The residence is made from two townhouses knocked together in the 2000s. Since its refurbishment it is known as Siddons House after

Mary Frances Scott-Siddons Mary Frances Scott-Siddons (1844 – 8 November 1896), frequently referred to as Mrs. Scott-Siddons, was a British actor and dramatic reader. Her paternal great-grandmother was Sarah Siddons. After a struggle, Scott-Siddons secured an engagemen ...

, who complained to the Prince Regent about the plans for Cornwall Terrace ruining her views of the park from Upper Baker Street.

No. 11 - Silk House

Silk House (No. 11) was judged the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

's'' best new luxury home in 2011. It has a gym with spa, library, vault, five bedrooms, six reception rooms and staff quarters. It is named after former resident James Silk Buckingham.

No. 13

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation has been based at Nos. 13-14 since 1993. It was formerly the home of

Arthur Lasenby Liberty Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty (13 August 1843 – 11 May 1917) was a London-based merchant, and the founder of Liberty & Co. Early life Arthur Liberty was born on 13 August 1843 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, the son of a draper. He be ...

No. 17

The

Royal College of Ophthalmologists The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, founded in 1988, is an independent professional body and one of the Medical Royal Colleges. They set the standards and examinations for medical doctors aiming to become ophthalmologists, and provide surgical ...

was based at No. 17 from 1993 until 2014.

No. 18/19

Numbers 18 and 19 are owned by

Vijay Mallya Vijay Vittal Mallya (born 18 December 1955) is an Indian businessman, former politician and fugitive. He is the subject of an extradition effort by the Indian Government to return him from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India. T ...

, who is subject to an extradition request by the

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...

for various financial crimes. In 2018, he claimed that the property did not belong to him but his mother. Banks wanting to claim his assets found that the property was owned by a British Virgin Islands-based company called RCV, which is owned by Gladco Properties, which is owned by Continental Administration Service Ltd (CASL). CASL is a trustee of the Sileta Trust, which is a Mallya family trust.

UBS Group AG UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

pursued an order for possession in November 2018, seeking to evict Mallya, his son Sidhartha and his 95-year-old mother Lalitha Devi. The bank claimed that the five-year £20.4 million mortgage had not been repaid. The judge threw out Mallya's arguments and set a trial for May 2019. Mallya then negotiated a settlement with UBS and the trial was vacated. According to the terms of the agreement, Mallya can remain in the property and if the mortgage is not repaid by April 2020, UBS have a right to immediate possession. Mallya must also pay the interest of £820,333 accrued up to April 2019 plus any further amount accrued up to 1 May 2020. He was also instructed to pay legal costs of £1,047,081 and receivers' costs of £223,863. Mallya is still appealing his extradition to India.

No.20 - Lethbridge House

Lethbridge House (No.20) is a six bedroom house with swimming pool, gym, steam room, cinema and ballroom. It was put on sale in 2012 for £48 million. It is named after former resident

Roper Lethbridge Sir Roper Lethbridge (23 December 1840 – 15 February 1919) was a British academic and civil servant in India and a Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892. Early life and education Lethbridge was the s ...

References

{{reflist Houses in the City of Westminster Regent's Park Grade I listed houses in London Houses completed in 1823 1823 establishments in England John Nash buildings Decimus Burton buildings Neoclassical architecture in London James Burton (property developer) buildings Regency architecture in London Former squats Squats in the United Kingdom