Pembroke House, located on
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
, was the London residence of the
earls of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...
.
History
It was built by the architect earl
Henry Herbert in 1723–24 (under
Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer who played an important part in the development of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As ...
and latterly his assistant
Roger Morris), on ground leased by the earl in 1717 and 1729 amidst the ruins of the parts of
Whitehall Palace
The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...
that burned down in 1698 (and still covered in its rubble). Its design may have inspired the 9th earl's designs for
Marble Hill House
Marble Hill House is a Neo-Palladian villa, now Listed building, Grade I listed, in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was built between 1724 and 1729 as the home of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, who lived ...
. The 9th earl died here in 1733, as did his great-grandson the
11th Earl, in 1827.
It was the subject of a major rebuild by the
10th Earl in 1756–59, and in 1762
Lady Hervey wrote that it was "taken for the
Duc de Nivernois, the French Ambassador". Gardens were created in 1818 by demolishing the house's riding-house and stables, and the main floor-level terrace (including the portion over the water-gate) was retained. The lease was repeatedly renewed (passing to the
Earl of Harrington
Earl of Harrington is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created in 1742.
History
The earldom of Harrington was granted in 1742 to William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, William Stanhope, 1st Baron Harrington, the former Secret ...
) until in or around 1853, when the land and house became crown freehold (housing the
Ministry of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
c.1930, and later parts of what would become 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 ...
). It was demolished to build the
Ministry of Defence main building
The Ministry of Defence Main Building or MOD Main Building, also known as MOD Whitehall or originally as the Whitehall Gardens Building, is a Listed building, grade I listed government office building located on Whitehall in London. The building ...
in 1938.
Several buildings nearby were also demolished to permit this development. Some of the rooms from Pembroke House survive as 'Historic Rooms' within the MOD building.
See also
*
List of demolished buildings and structures in London
This list of demolished buildings and structures in London includes buildings, structures and urban scenes of particular architectural and historical interest, scenic buildings which are preserved in old photographs, prints and paintings, but whic ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*Steven Brindle, 'Pembroke House, Whitehall', in The Georgian Group Journal, vol. VIII, 1998, pp. 88–113.
'Pembroke House', Survey of London: volume 13: St Margaret, Westminster, part II: Whitehall I (1930), pp. 167-179.'Whitehall: Precinct and gardens', Old and New London: Volume 3 (1878), pp. 376-382.
External links
Pembroke House in "The Opening of Westminster Bridge" by ConstableTHE FIRST PEMBROKE HOUSE. ELEVATION AND PLAN
{{coord, 51.5042, -0.1247, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title
Former houses in the City of Westminster
National government buildings in London
Georgian architecture in the City of Westminster
Townhouses in the United Kingdom