The Duke of York's Headquarters is a building in Chelsea in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

, England. In 1969 it was declared a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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

History

The building was completed in 1801 to the designs of John Sanders, who also designed the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. 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, in Guston, Kent, commonly known as the Duke of York's, is a co-educational academy with military tradition for students aged 11 to 18. In 2010, the school became an academy under the Ministry of Defe ...

. In 1909, the school moved to new premises in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 the First World War at Gallipoli, Salonika and in Palestine, where one of i ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

courts martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

of German spies,

Josef Jakobs Josef Jakobs (30 June 1898 – 15 August 1941) was a German spy and the last person to be executed at the Tower of London. He was captured shortly after parachuting into the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Convicted of espionage und ...

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 ...

, (both tried under the

Treachery Act 1940 The Treachery Act 1940 ( 3 & 4 Geo. 6. c. 21) 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, terr ...

) were both conducted in the building. On 20 September 1973 a

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

bomb exploded at the barracks injuring five people, three civilians and two soldiers, at which time it was the headquarters of the 14th Parachute Brigade (TA). In 1980 the building was extensively restored and renovated, with the £1.5 million programme being carried out by Donald Insall Associates. At that time the building served as the Headquarters for the Territorial Army in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, 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 Sec ...

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 t ...

. In addition, it served as the headquarters of the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

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 structured like a military reserve unit. which primarily provides surge relief to civil and military authoriti ...

, and as the home of the Coldstream Guards Band, and a

Light Aid Detachment A Light Aid Detachment is an attached independent minor unit of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, or Royal New Zealand Army Log ...

of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. It also housed the offices of the

RAF Escaping Society The Royal Air Forces Escaping Society, was a UK-based charitable organization formed in 1946 to provide help to those in the former occupied countries in World War II who put their lives at risk to assist and save members of the ''"Royal Air For ...

, the Army Historical Association, the

Army Benevolent Fund The Army Benevolent Fund, formerly ABF The Soldiers' Charity, is the national charity of the British Army. Since 1944, it has provided a lifetime of support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families when they are in need. In the finan ...

, and the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Families Association. On 16 March 1992, '' Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims'', the first collection by British designer

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...

, was produced at the Duke of York's Barracks, as the thesis collection for his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in fashion at

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

(CSM) art school. 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. They also hold the ...

by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, 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 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, moving to the ...

, which relocated there in 2008. Hill House School, a prep school based in and around the

, uses the field of the Barracks for regular 'games' (sports and activities practices) and for their annual end-of-year 'field day'. 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