| Marlborough House | |
|---|---|
 The south façade of Marlborough House | |
| Location | London,SW1Y 5HX |
| Built | 1711; 314 years ago (1711) |
| Architect | Christopher Wren |
| Owner | KingCharles III in the right ofThe Crown |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 5 February 1970 |
| Reference no. | 1331701 |
  Location of Marlborough House in City of Westminster | |
51°30′18″N0°8′9″W / 51.50500°N 0.13583°W /51.50500; -0.13583Marlborough House, aGrade I listed[1] mansion onThe Mall inSt James's,City of Westminster,London, is the headquarters of theCommonwealth of Nations and the seat of theCommonwealth Secretariat. It is adjacent toSt James's Palace.
The house was built in 1711 forSarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante ofQueen Anne. For over a century it served as the London residence of thedukes of Marlborough. It became a royal residence through the 19th century and first half of the 20th. The house was expanded for the Prince of Wales, the future KingEdward VII, and became closely associated with the prince and hissocial circle in the Victorian era. His daughter in law, laterQueen Mary, lived there when she was Princess of Wales and took a special, continuing interest in the house; she, like her mother-in-lawQueen Alexandra before her, returned to live there in her widowhood and memorials to both queens are on its grounds. The building was leased by QueenElizabeth II to the Commonwealth Secretariat beginning in 1965.
In 1708,John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough was granted a 50-year lease of the site from theCrown Estate at a low rent from Queen Anne, which beforehand had been partly occupied by thepheasantry adjoiningSt. James's Palace, and partly by the gardens ofHenry Boyle, Queen Anne'sSecretary of State.[2][3] The Duke left his wife entirely in charge of the design and building of Marlborough House; she wanted her new home to be "strong, plain and convenient and good". The architectChristopher Wren and his son of the same name designed a two-story brick building withrusticated stonequoins that was completed in 1711. The stonework and ornamentation were built byEdward Strong the Younger a friend ofChristopher Wren the Younger.[4] The Duke purchased the bricks cheaply inHolland while on campaign, and had them transported to England as ballast in the empty troop ships on their return journeys from depositing British troops.[5] Throughout the building process, the Duchess kept a close watch on even the smallest details and quarreled with the Wrens over the contractors they had hired. This ledJohn Vanbrugh to joke that the Duchess had "the direction in chief to herself, with Sir Christopher Wren as her Deputy Surveyor."[2] Eventually she dismissed the Wrens and took control of the design herself.[6]
In 1727, Sarah's political rival SirRobert Walpole purchased the lot between Marlborough House andPall Mall through his protégéThomas Ripley, reputedly to deny the Duchess a direct entrance onto Pall Mall. Wren had designed and built a gateway arch and screen in the front courtyard with this entrance in mind, which survives as a grotto.[7] Still intent on an entrance from Pall Mall, in 1729 the Duchess leased four houses to the west and had them demolished to create a "poky" diagonal entrance.[8]
In the 1770s, the4th Duke of Marlborough hired the architectSir William Chambers to add a third storey to the house and architectural details like new ceilings and chimneypieces.[9][10]
After the fourth duke's death in 1817 ownership was taken up bythe Crown so the building could be used as the residence ofPrincess Charlotte of Wales and her husbandLeopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the location of the house (north ofThe Mall and east ofSt James's Palace) making it convenient as a Royal Residence.[3][11] The Princess died before the purchase was completed, and so her widower lived there alone for some time. He was offered theBelgian throne in the house on 22 April 1831.[12] In the 1820s plans were drawn up to demolish Marlborough House and replace it with aterrace of similar dimensions to the two in neighbouringCarlton House Terrace, and this idea even featured on some contemporary maps, includingChristopher and John Greenwood's large-scale London map of 1830, but the proposal was not implemented.[13]
After Leopold became King of Belgium and left Britain, Marlborough House continued to be primarily used by members of theRoyal Family,Queen Adelaide being given the use of Marlborough House from 1831 until her death in 1849.[14] Following Queen Adelaide's death, Queen Victoria asked Parliament to allow the Prince of Wales to live there when he turned nineteen.[15] From May to September 1852, the Museum of Manufactures, a predecessor of theVictoria & Albert Museum, housed its collections in Marlborough House.[16] From 1853 to 1861Prince Albert arranged for the building to be used by the "National Art Training School", later theRoyal College of Art.[17]
From 1861 to 1863, SirJames Pennethorne substantially enlarged the structure by adding a range of rooms on the north side and a deep porch for the Prince and Princess of Wales, later KingEdward VII andQueen Alexandra, who made their home the social centre of London.[18] Their second son, the future KingGeorge V, was born at Marlborough House in 1865, and the family lived there untilQueen Victoria died in 1901, when Edward acceded to the throne and they moved to nearbyBuckingham Palace. From the 1880s the term ‘Marlborough House Set’ came into usage to denote the Prince of Wales's fast-living social circle, which included gamblers, bankers, and other "raffish" individuals.[19]
After his father moved to Buckingham Palace in 1901, Edward VII's son George, now Prince of Wales, took up residence with his wifeMary and their children. Mary extensively redecorated to make the home more comfortable, and was reluctant to move toBuckingham Palace after her husband became George V in 1910.[19] Following this, Queen Alexandra once again made Marlborough House her London home, until her death in 1925. A lateArt Nouveau-Gothic memorial fountain byAlfred Gilbert (1926–32) in the Marlborough Road wall of the house commemorates her.
In 1936, Marlborough House became the London residence of George V's widow, Queen Mary, who survived George by 17 years. In the grounds of the house remains herpet cemetery. A thatch-roofed rotatingsummer house built for her is still in place.[20] A plaque to commemorate Queen Mary was unveiled in 1967.[21]
After Queen Mary's death in 1953, Marlborough House continued to be used by various members of the royal family as a London residence before Queen Elizabeth II leased it to the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1965, an arrangement which continues today.
TheGambia Independence Act 1964 was signed at Marlborough House, before its independence on 18 February 1965.
.jpg)
The nearly cubical saloon retains wall-paintings byLouis Laguerre of theBattle of Blenheim (at which the1st Duke of Marlborough was overall commander for Britain and her allies; seat of thedukes of Marlborough isBlenheim Palace, one of England's largest houses). Acupola inserted in the ceiling is surrounded by paintings byOrazio Gentileschi andArtemisia Gentileschi[22] for theQueen's House, Greenwich, 1636. There are paired staircases flanking the saloon, with further battle pieces by Laguerre. Most of the interiors have been altered.[11]
Marlborough House is usually open to the public forOpen House Weekend each September. The house is also open for group tours by prior arrangement.[23]
