The Embassy of Spain in London is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Formerly known as Downshire House, the embassy is located at 24

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

in the

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

area of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Spain also maintains a Consulate General at 20 Draycott Place in Chelsea, a Defence Office at 3 Hans Crescent in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, an Education, Employment & Social Affairs Office at 20 Peel Street in

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

, and an Economic & Commercial Section at 66

Chiltern Street Chiltern Street is a road in the Marylebone area of Central London. Located in the City of Westminster, it runs north to south connecting Marylebone Road and Blandford Street. Baker Street runs parallel a little way to the west. It meets Dorse ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

. The embassy is situated in a detached,

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

house designed by Henry E. Kendall and built between 1840 and 1850 on Belgrave Square in Belgravia. The building is

Grade I 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, H ...

listed for its architectural merit.

History

In the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, the Bishops of Ely let their palace and chapel in

Ely Place Ely Place is a gated road of multi-storey terraces at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden in London, England. It hosts a 1773-rebuilt public house, Ye Olde Mitre, of Tudor origin and is adjacent to Hatton Garden. It is privat ...

to the Spanish Ambassador and, until the reign of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, it was occupied by the High Representative of the Court of Spain. During this period, the chapel (now

St Etheldreda's Church Saint/St/St. Etheldreda's Church or the Church of Saint/St/St. Etheldreda may refer to any church dedicated to Æthelthryth or Etheldreda. These churches include: England (A-Z by English county) *St Etheldreda's Church, Ely, Cambridgeshire *St Et ...

) was freely used by English Roman Catholics. After the restoration of Charles II, the Spanish Embassy was re-established in London, first on Ormond Street and then at

Hertford House Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea ...

on Manchester Square, where the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

is now housed. Here, in 1793–96, shortly after the

Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 ( 31 Geo. 3. c. 32) is an act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1791 relieving Roman Catholics of certain political, educational, and economic disabilities. It admitted them to the practice of la ...

repealed some of the laws affecting Catholic worship, a chapel,

St James's, Spanish Place St James' Church is a large English Gothic Catholic church in George Street, Marylebone, London. Although currently situated in George Street, the church maintains its connection with Spanish Place, the road opposite the current church, becau ...

, was built to designs by Joseph Bonomi on the corner of Spanish Place and Charles Street (now George Street), Westminster, largely through the efforts of Thomas Hussey, chaplain at the embassy. In 1827, the official Spanish connection with the chapel ceased.

Current location (Downshire House)

Downshire House's first tennent was the MP

Thomas Read Kemp Thomas Read Kemp (23 December 1782 – 20 December 1844) was an English property developer and politician. Life He was the son of Sussex landowner and Member of Parliament Thomas Kemp, and his wife Anne, daughter of Henry Read of Brookla ...

, who financed the construction, which was part of a redevelopment of the Belgravia area in the early 19th century. From 1898, Downshire House was rented by Lord Pirrie, the director of

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

, a prominent Belfast shipbuilding company. During a meeting in the house with White Star Line managing director J. Bruce Ismay in 1907, the first plans for the

Olympic-class ocean liners The ''Olympic''-class ocean liners were a trio of British ocean liners built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard for the White Star Line during the early 20th century, named (1911), ''Titanic'' (1912) and (1915). All three were designated to be t ...

are said to have been conceived. In the dining room there is a table which was built for

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

but remained in the house. Pirrie passed away in 1924 and the building became the Spanish Embassy four years later in 1928. A refurbishment was then carried out and adjecent premises were acquired for administrative offices.

Gallery

File:Embajada de España en Londres, Londres, Reino Unido, enero de 2015.jpg, Entrance on

with the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and EU flags File:Embassy_of_Spain_in_London_3.jpg, Plaque outside the embassy depicting the

coat of arms of Spain A coat is typically an outer clothing, garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of Button (clothing), buttons, zippers, Hook-and-loo ...

File:Embassy_of_Spain_in_London_2.jpg, Entrance on Chesham Place

References

Diplomatic missions of Spain Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade I listed houses in London Houses completed in 1850 Spain–United Kingdom relations Belgravia {{London-stub

History

Current location (Downshire House)

Gallery

See also

References