Northumberland Avenue is a street in theCity of Westminster,Central London, running fromTrafalgar Square in the west to theThames Embankment in the east. The road was built on the site ofNorthumberland House, the London home of thePercy family, theDukes of Northumberland between 1874 and 1876, and on part of the parallelNorthumberland Street.
When built, the street was designed for luxury accommodation, including the seven-storey Grand Hotel, the Victoria and the Metropole. ThePlayhouse Theatre opened in 1882 and became a significant venue in London. From the 1930s onwards, properties were used less for hotels and more for British Government departments, including theWar Office andAir Ministry, later theMinistry of Defence. The street has been commemorated in theSherlock Holmes novels includingThe Hound of the Baskervilles, and is a square on the BritishMonopoly board.
The street is around 0.2 miles (320 m) long and part of theA400, a local road connecting Westminster toCamden Town. It runs fromTrafalgar Square eastwards towards theThames Embankment. At the eastern end are theWhitehall Gardens and theGolden Jubilee Bridges over theRiver Thames.[2]
The nearest tube stations areCharing Cross andEmbankment, and numerous bus routes serve the western end of the street.[3]
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The area which is now occupied by Northumberland Avenue was originally called Hartshorn Lane. It was formed around 1491 after the Abbott of Westminster granted land to the grocer, Thomas Walker, including an inn known as the Christopher and stables. The land was sold to Humfrey Cooke in 1516, then to John Russell in 1531. In 1546, it was sold back toHenry VIII.[4]
In 1608–09,Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton built a house on the eastern side of the former Chapel and Hospital of St. Mary Rounceval, atCharing Cross, including gardens running to theRiver Thames and adjoiningScotland Yard to the west.[5] The estate became the property ofAlgernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland when he married Howard's great-great niece, Lady Elizabeth, in 1642, whereupon it was known as Northumberland House. In turn, the street was namedNorthumberland Street.[5] The house was damaged in theWilkes' election riots of 1768, but was saved after its owner,Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland opened the nearby Ship Ale House, driving off rioters.[5]
By the 18th century, Northumberland Street was primarily used as a thoroughfare between markets in theWest End of London and the wharfs along the Thames. In 1720, historianJohn Strype wrote that Northumberland Street was "much clogged and pestered with Carts repairing to the Wharfs".[4]
In June 1874, the whole of Northumberland House was purchased by theMetropolitan Board of Works and demolished to form Northumberland Avenue, which would accommodate hotels.[5][6] Contemporary planning permissions forbade hotels to be taller than the width of the road they were on; consequently Northumberland Avenue was built with a wide carriageway.[6] Part of the parallel Northumberland Street was demolished in order to make way for the avenue's eastern end.[4] The street was open by 1876.[7] The hotels were popular for American visitors as they were near to theWest End, government buildings onWhitehall and all the mainline stations.[8]
By the 1930s, accommodation onPark Lane andPiccadilly was more popular, leading to closures on Northumberland Avenue. The seven floor Grand Hotel at No. 8 became a retail headquarters.[6] It is now an events venue for corporations includingMarks & Spencer.[9] The venue is the first in Europe to install amBX lighting.[10]
SeveralBritish government departments have been located in buildings on Northumberland Avenue; theMinistry of Defence and theAir Ministry formerly occupied the triangular-shapedHotel Metropole on the street.[11] Other buildings include theNigerian High Commission at No. 9[12] and aLondon School of Economicshalls of residence.[2]
ThePlayhouse Theatre on Northumberland Avenue was built bySefton Parry and opened in 1882 as the Avenue Theatre.George Alexander produced his first play here. In 1905, the theatre was destroyed after part of Charing Cross Station fell on it, and was rebuilt two years later.Alec Guinness first performed on stage at the theatre. It was used forBBC broadcasts from 1951 to 1975, broadcasting radio comedies such asThe Goon Show and several sessions bythe Beatles.[13][14]
The Grand Hotel was built between 1882 and 1887. It had seven floors, 500 rooms and a large ballroom which has largely survived intact from its original design. The original reception room was renamed the Mayflower Room in 1923, and is now called the Salon. Unlike other hotels on Northumberland Avenue that were taken over by the War Office, the Grand has survived as an entertainment and exhibition venue.[15]
The Hotel Metropole was designed by Frederick Gordon and constructed between 1883 and 1885.[16] Prince Albert, laterKing Edward VII, was a regular visitor to the hotel, entertaining guests in its Royal Suite.[17]It had become one of the most popular hotels in London by the turn of the 20th century, being described by theWar Office in 1914 as "of world-wide reputation", and was the original location of theAero Club andAlpine Club.[18] In 1936, it was leased to the Government for £300,000 (now £25,700,000) to provide temporary accommodation for various departments.[19] During World War II, room 424 was used as the headquarters ofMI9, the principal section of military intelligence supporting Alliedprisoners of war.[20] The hotel continued to be operated as a government building after the war, and began to be used by theAir Ministry in 1951.[21] The building was sold by theCrown Estates in 2007 and reopened in 2011 as part of theCorinthia Hotel London.[22][23]
The Hotel Victoria opened in 1887, its name commemorating theGolden Jubilee of Queen Victoria held that year. It held 500 bedrooms and was the second largest hotel in London of its type on opening, overrunning its budget by around £520,000 (now £61,800,000).[24] The hotel was self-powered, generating its own electricity fromdynamos. It was bought by Frederick Gordon in 1893, giving him a monopoly on all hotels on Northumberland Avenue.[25] A refurbishment was started in 1911, though delayed due to the First World War, which resulted in a new annexe, the Edward VII Rooms. It closed in 1940 and was used by the War Office in need of extra accommodation. The War Office bought the building outright in 1951, renaming it the Victoria Buildings. It was subsequently renamed Northumberland House.[26]
Thomas Edison's British headquarters, Edison House, was situated on the road. Several prominent personalities of the late 19th century had their voices recorded there byphonograph, including Prime MinisterWilliam Ewart Gladstone and poetRobert Browning.[27] Mary Helen Ferguson, the first English female audio typist, worked at Edison House and supervised all musical recordings.[28] In 1890, retired military trumpeter Martin Lanfried recorded at Edison House using a bugle he believed to have been sounded at theBattle of Waterloo in 1815 and theCharge of the Light Brigade in 1854.[29]
TheRoyal Commonwealth Society was at No. 18 Northumberland Avenue.[7] It was founded in 1868 as the Colonial Society to improve relationships with colonies in theBritish Empire including Canada and Australia, and moved to its Northumberland Avenue premises in 1885. The current name dates from 1958, reflecting the change from the Empire to theCommonwealth of Nations. It is now a hotel. The Commonwealth Club opened on the premises in 1998 and features the only suspended glass dining room in London.[30] The Royal African Society was based at the same location, before moving to theSchool of Oriental and African Studies inRussell Square.[7]
Northumberland Avenue is referenced several times inArthur Conan Doyle'sSherlock Holmes novels, includingThe Greek Interpreter andThe Hound of the Baskervilles. The stories refer to wealthy Oriental visitors staying in hotels along the avenue, including the Grand, the Metropole and the Victoria.[31] The Northumberland Arms, at the junction of Northumberland Street and Northumberland Avenue, apublic house, was renamed the Sherlock Holmes in 1957, and contains numerous Holmes-related exhibits from the 1951 Festival of London.[32]
The street is part of a group of three on the LondonMonopoly board, withPall Mall andWhitehall. All three streets connect atTrafalgar Square.[33]
Northumberland Avenue formed part of themarathon course of the2012 Olympic andParalympic Games.[34] The women's Olympic marathon took place on 5 August and the men's Olympic marathon on 12 August, with the Paralympics following on 9 September.[35][36]
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