The Duke of York's Headquarters is a building in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, England. In 1969 it was declared a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

at Grade II*, due to its outstanding historic or architectural special interest.

History

Chapel to Duke of York's Headquarters 03

The building was completed in 1801 to the designs of John Sanders, who also designed the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. It was originally called the Royal Military Asylum and was a school for the children of soldiers' widows. In 1892 it was renamed the

Duke of York's Royal Military School The Duke of York's Royal Military School, more commonly called the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy (for students aged 11 to 18) with military traditions in Guston, Kent. Since becoming an academy in 2010, the school is now sponsor ...

. In 1909, the school moved to new premises in Dover, and the Asylum building was taken over by the Territorial Army and renamed the Duke of York's Barracks in 1911. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was the headquarters of the 18th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) and of the

Middlesex Yeomanry The Middlesex Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1797. It saw mounted and dismounted action in the Second Boer War and in World War I at Gallipoli, Salonika and in Palestine, where one of its offic ...

. 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 opposi ...

, the courts martial of German spies, Josef Jakobs and

Theodore Schurch Theodore William John Schurch (5 May 1918 – 4 January 1946) was a British soldier who was executed under the Treachery Act 1940 after the end of the Second World War. He was the last person to be executed in Britain for an offence other than m ...

, (both tried under the

Treachery Act 1940 The Treachery Act 1940 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom effective during World War II to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies, suspended afterwards, and repealed in 1968 or 1973, territory depending. The la ...

) were both conducted in the building. In 1980 the building was extensively restored and renovated, with the £1.5 million programme being carried out by

Donald Insall Associates Donald Insall Associates is a firm of architects, designers and historic building consultants. They have worked on contemporary and historic listed buildings, monuments and sites throughout Britain, and at UNESCO World Heritage Sites including ...

. At that time the building served as the Headquarters for the Territorial Army in Greater London, and as the home of Territorial units 144 Parachute Field Ambulance RAMC(V), 257 (Southern) General Hospital RAMC, 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists), and companies of

10th Battalion, Parachute Regiment The 10th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, originally raised as the 10th (Sussex) Battalion by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was raised during the Seco ...

and the

London Irish Rifles The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a reserve infantry regiment and then company of the British Army. The unit's final incarnation was as D (London Irish Rifles) Company, the London Regiment. On 1 April 2022 soldiers in the company transferred to ...

. In addition, it served as the headquarters of the Royal Corps of Signals and

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps) (FANY (PRVC)) is a British independent all-female registered charity formed in 1907 and active in both nursing and intelligence work during the World Wars. Its members wear a mili ...

, and as the home of the

Coldstream Guards Band The Band of the Coldstream Guards is one of the oldest and best known bands in the British Army, having been officially formed on 16 May 1785 under the command of Major C F Eley. History The band of the Coldstream Guards was officially formed un ...

, and a Light Aid Detachment of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. It also housed the offices of the RAF Escaping Society, the Army Historical Association, the

Army Benevolent Fund ABF The Soldiers' Charity, formerly the Army Benevolent Fund,Third Sector Magazine"Charity rebranding: a change of vision and strategy" ''Third Sector Magazine'', 06/04/10 is the national charity of the British Army. Since 1944, it has provided ...

, and the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Families Association. The site was sold to

Cadogan Estates Cadogan Group Limited and its subsidiaries, including Cadogan Estates Limited, are British property investment and management companies that are owned by the Cadogan family, one of the richest families in the United Kingdom, which also holds ...

by the Ministry of Defence, with initial proceeds of £66 million received in 2000 and a further £28 million when the site was vacated in 2003. Cadogan has redeveloped the site with Paul Davis and Partners as Duke of York Square. The development includes a public square, upmarket housing and retail outlets, and part of it has been let as new premises for the

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London art gallery, gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, mov ...

, which relocated there in 2008. Hill House School, a Preparatory school (United Kingdom), prep school based in and around the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, uses the field of the Barracks for regular 'games' (sports and activities practices) and for their annual end-of-year 'field day'. Garden House School, Garden House, another prep school based in the Royal Borough, occupies the Cavalry House, part of the Duke of York's Headquarters on Turks Row, which became a grade II listed building in July 1998.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Retail buildings in London Military history of London Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II* listed educational buildings Chelsea, London Drill halls in London King's Road, Chelsea, London