Apsley House

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Lore & Background

In the 1600s, James Hamilton leased the property until his death in 1673, with his widow Elizabeth renewing the lease in 1692 for 99 years; Hamilton Place still bears their name. Immediately before Apsley House rose, a tavern called the Hercules Pillars occupied the ground, immortalized by Henry Fielding in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling as the location where Squire Western resided upon arriving in London. When Wellington bought the property in 1817 to pursue his political career, he hired architect Benjamin Dean Wyatt for two major renovation phases. The first, beginning in 1819, added a three-storey north-east extension with scagliola ornamentations; note that scagliola and Coade stone are different materials. The second phase, starting after Wellington became Prime Minister in 1828, introduced the Waterloo Gallery and clad the red-brick exterior in Bath stone. Wyatt's original £23,000 estimate ballooned to over £61,000 due to structural defects.

In Their Own Story

In 1828, the annual Waterloo Banquet moved from the Dining Room to the newly completed Waterloo Gallery on the west side of the house, expanding capacity from 36 guests to 74. This gallery commemorates the Duke's victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815. The space features a florid wrought iron stair-rail described by Pevsner as "just turning from Empire to a neo-Rococo." Iron shutters and railings were later added after windows were smashed during riots. Outside, across the busy road, stands an equestrian statue of the Duke cast from guns captured at Waterloo; he is cloaked and watchful, with the plinth guarded at each corner by an infantryman. The house also retains original Adam interiors, including the Piccadilly Drawing Room with its apsidal end and fireplace, and the Portico Room behind the giant Corinthian portico.

Reader's Guide

Visitors can explore much of Apsley House as a museum exhibiting the Wellington Collection, which includes paintings, artworks, and memorabilia from the 1st Duke's career. The house maintains public rooms in the original style and decor of the first Duke. While English Heritage manages the site under the Wellington Museum Act 1947, the Wellesley family retains the right to occupy a private residence within the building "so long as there is a Duke of Wellington." According to Lady Jane Wellesley, the 8th Duke and his wife Diana occupied the ground-floor apartments from 1972, corroborated by electrical plans from the 1980s showing the northern half of the ground floor as private. The official address remains 149 Piccadilly, W1J 7NT. Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke, gifted the house and its contents to the nation in 1947; it opened as a museum in 1952 under the Victoria and Albert Museum before transferring to English Heritage in 2004.

Did You Know?

• Apsley House was nicknamed "Number One, London" because it was the first house travelers passed after passing toll gates at Knightsbridge.
• The site previously held the Hercules Pillars tavern, featured in Henry Fielding's The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling as Squire Western's lodging.
• Renovations by Benjamin Dean Wyatt cost over £61,000, more than double his original estimate of £23,000 due to discovered structural defects.
• The equestrian statue outside the house was cast from captured French cannon, not standard bronze.
• The Waterloo Banquet expanded from seating 36 guests in the Dining Room to 74 guests in the new Waterloo Gallery after 1828.