Apsley House in 1942

Robin James

An 1869 map of London, showing some of the houses that used to stand along Piccadilly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccadilly#/media/File:Apsley_house_on_an_1869_Ordnance_Survey_Map.JPG

Hello everyone, here is a short one for you. Collage (the London picture archive) is a really useful website for finding old photographs of London. There are some of Apsley House too, and here is one that I found particularly interesting:

Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner

As you know, Apsley House is isolated now from the rest of Piccadilly. However, the image that the link will take you to shows the rear of the house in 1942. Whoever took the photograph must have been standing near the back of the garden. At the left hand side of the image is another building which actually towers over Apsley House. This photograph was taken before the house next door was demolished (I believe as a result of bomb damage during the war). It is very fortunate that Apsley House survived! You can see that there was really no space between the two houses, and what is now Park Lane would then have been another grand London home. The map above shows this part of Piccadilly from above in 1869, and provides some sense of the scale of Apsley House’s old neighbours and the layout of their gardens. The Intercontinental Hotel now occupies land on which these houses once stood. You can also see where the coach house used to be at the front of Apsley House, at the western side of the forecourt. The Wellington Arch is also in its old location opposite the screen leading into Hyde Park.

Something else that is interesting about the Collage photograph might be recognised by anyone who has been to Stratfield Saye. The statue present on the lawn of Apsley House in the 1942 photograph is still in the possession of the Duke, and is now outside the entrance to Stratfield Saye house. It shows a dragon being trampled by a horse, and is perhaps an allegory for Saint George. This is fitting as the first Duke was a Knight of the Order of the Garter, of which George is the patron saint.

You can also see that Apsley House is looking somewhat worse for wear, with several broken windows!

Robin James