Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces, the Western and Eastern terraces, of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street, which overlook The Mall and St. James's Park. These terraces were built on Crown land between 1827 and 1832 to overall designs by John Nash, but with detailed input by other architects including Decimus Burton. Construction was overseen by James Pennethorne. Both terrace blocks are Grade I listed buildings. Carlton Gardens is at the terrace's western end.
In the early 18th century, a townhouse built on the site was rented by Baron Carleton. A century later, Carlton House, also known as Carlton Palace, was enlarged and occupied by the Prince Regent. After falling out of favour with George IV, who began enlargeing Buckingham Palace on his accession in 1820, the house was pulled down and the Crown replaced the demolished palace with the current terraces. They are divided by the Duke of York's Steps which lead down to The Mall. A smaller flight of steps leads down from Carlton Gardens; these steps are the site of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Memorial.
Residents have included the prime ministers, Lords Palmerston and Grey, William Gladstone, who lived in houses in both the terrace and the gardens, and Arthur Balfour; other senior politicians such as Lord Curzon; and soldiers including Lords Cardigan and Kitchener. In the mid-20th century, Number 9 served as the German Embassy while Number 4 Carlton Gardens housed the offices of Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces. The terrace houses the headquarters of the British Academy, the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Federation of British Artists. Numbers 13–16 housed the headquarters of the Crown Estate in the 20th century, which continues to own the freehold of the terrace.
History Background The land on which Carlton House Terrace was built had once been part of the grounds of St James's Palace, known as "the Royal Garden" and "the Wilderness". The latter was at one time in the possession of Prince Rupert of the Rhine (cousin of Charles II) and was later called Upper Spring Garden. From 1700 the land was leased by Henry Boyle, who spent £2,835 on improving the existing house in the royal garden. Queen Anne issued letters patent granting Boyle a lease for a term of 31 years from 2 November 1709 at £35 per annum.
On Boyle's death the lease passed to his nephew, the architect and aesthete Lord Burlington, and in January 1731 George II issued letters patent granting Burlington a reversionary lease for a further term of 40 years at an annual rent of £35.
The property, by then called Carlton House, was granted by George III to his eldest son, George, Prince of Wales (later the Prince Regent) on his coming of age in 1783. The prince spent enormous sums improving and enlarging the property, running up huge debts. Despite expenditure of over £160,000 on the house, the diarist Joseph Farington recorded that it was "a thing of threads and patches" and was considered to be unsafe. The Prince Regent came to dislike the building and on his accession in 1820, he moved to Buckingham Palace.
Instructions were given in 1826 to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests that "Carlton Palace" should be given up to the public, be demolished and the site and gardens laid out as building ground for "dwelling houses of the First Class".Regent Street, Carlton Place Act 1826 (Act 7 Geo IV cap 77) By 1829 the Commissioners reported that the site was completely cleared and that part of it had already been let on building leases. Materials from the demolition were sold by public auction, with some fixtures transferred to Windsor Castle and to "The King's House, Pimlico". Columns of the portico were re-used in the design for the new National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, interior Ionic columns were moved to the conservatories of Buckingham Palace, and some of the armorial stained glass was incorporated in windows of Windsor Castle.
Construction After Carlton House was demolished the development of its site was originally intended to be part of a scheme for improving St James's Park. For this John Nash proposed three terraces of houses along the north of the park, balanced by three along the south side, overlooking Birdcage Walk. None of the three southern terraces and only two of the three northern ones were built - the west (No.1–9) and east (No. 10–18) sections of Carlton House Terrace. The terrace formed a southern end of Nash's Via Triumphalis. The two blocks which were built were designed by Nash and Decimus Burton, with James Pennethorne in charge of the construction. Decimus Burton exclusively designed No. 3 and No. 4. Carlton House Terrace. These townhouses took the place of Carlton House, and the freehold still belongs to the Crown Estate. Nash planned to connect the two blocks with a large domed fountain between them re-using the old columns of the Carlton House portico, but the idea was vetoed by the king; the present-day Duke of York's Steps took the place of the fountain. In 1834 the Duke of York's Column was erected at the top of the steps. It consists of a granite column designed by Benjamin Wyatt topped with a bronze statue by Richard Westmacott of Frederick, Duke of York.
The terraces, which are four storeys in height above a basement, were designed in a Neoclassical style, stucco clad, with a Corinthian columned façade overlooking St James's Park, surmounted by an elaborate frieze and pediment. At the south side, facing the park, the lower frontage has a series of squat Doric columns, supporting a substantial podium terrace at a level between the street entrances to the north and the ground floor level of the modern Mall. Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner wrote that they are perhaps "the greatest terrace houses ever built in Britain". The architectural historian John Summerson thought Nash's inspiration were Ange-Jacques Gabriel's buildings in the Place de la Concorde, Paris, although his praise was muted:
The authors of the Survey of London took a more favourable view:
Although Nash delegated the supervision of building to Pennethorne, he kept the letting of the sites firmly in his own hands. Ground rents, payable to the Crown, were set at the high rate of 4 guineas per foot frontage. Nash himself took leases of five sites – nos 11–15 intending to let them on the open market at a substantial profit. In the event he could not cover his total costs and made a small loss on the transactions.
Later history In 1832 the Carlton Club, which had been formed by the Duke of Wellington and others shortly beforehand, took up residence at Number 2, courtesy of one of its supporters Lord Kensington. The club moved to Pall Mall in 1835.
In the 20th century the terrace came under threat of partial or complete demolition and redevelopment, as were many country houses at that time. By the 1930s there was little demand for large central London houses, and the Commissioners of Crown Lands were having difficulty in letting the properties. Two properties were let to clubs: Number 1 to the Savage Club and Number 16 to Crockford's gambling club, but residential tenants became hard to find. Proposals for redevelopment were put forward by the architect Sir Reginald Blomfield, who had earlier been one of those responsible for replacing Nash's Regent Street buildings with larger structures in the Edwardian neo-classical style. Blomfield proposed rebuilding "in a manner suitable for hotels, large company offices, flats and similar purposes". The suggested new buildings were to be two storeys higher than Nash's houses, and there was an outcry that persuaded the Commissioners not to proceed with the scheme.
The terrace was severely damaged by German bombing during the Second World War. In the 1950s the British government considered acquiring the terrace as the site for a new Foreign Office headquarters. The Nash façades were to be preserved, but it was widely felt that the height of the redevelopment behind them would be unacceptable and the plans were not taken forward.
Occupants Number 1 was the headquarters of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining from 1972 to 2015. Joseph Hodges Choate (US Ambassador to the Court of Saint James) lived at Number 1 from 1899 to 1904. Lord Curzon (Foreign Secretary and Viceroy of India) lived there from 1905 to 1925, a statue of whom stands opposite. In 2020 it was owned by the Saudi businessman Salah Hamdan Albluewi. Number 2 is the UK office of the French asset management firm Carmignac. It was the home of the Carlton Club from 1832 to 1835. Numbers 3–4 house the Royal Academy of Engineering. Number 4 was the home of William Ewart Gladstone (Prime Minister) in 1856 (see also Number 11 below). Lord Revelstoke (Baring family and Barings bank principal partner) lived at Number 3 from 1904 to 1929. Number 5 is the location of the Turf Club. It was the home of Lord Palmerston (Prime Minister) from 1840 to 1846. Numbers 6–9 are the home of the Royal Society. Numbers 7–9, then known as Prussia House, was the Prussian, then German Embassy until 1939; that is now in Belgrave Square. The house was home to Joachim von Ribbentrop (German Ambassador) from 1936 to 1938, and his predecessor Leopold von Hoesch. Von Hoesch's dog, Giro, is buried in the garden of No 9. The run retains interiors designed in 1937 by Albert Speer. Numbers 10–11 house the British Academy. Number 10 was home to Matthew White Ridley, 1st Viscount Ridley (1842 - 1904) and his descendents in the Ridley family. A "Hospital for Wounded Officers" was temporarily installed in the building during World War I. William Gladstone lived at Number 11 from 1857 to 1875. Previous occupants included William Crockford. In the post-war period the houses were offices for the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret branch of the Foreign Office dedicated to creating pro-colonial and anti-communist propaganda. Both properties were previously used by the Union Club in the early 20th century. Number 12 is the Institute of Contemporary Arts, which also occupies much of the basement of the East Terrace. Numbers 13–16 are owned on a long lease by the Hinduja brothers, Indian industrialists. Number 13 was the home of Earl Grey (Prime Minister) from 1851 to 1857 and again from 1859 to 1880. In the 20th century The Crown Estate had its headquarters in these houses. Number 17 is home to the Federation of British Artists and the Mall Galleries. It was the home of Lord Cardigan (leader of the Charge of the Light Brigade) from 1832 to 1836. Number 18 is a private residence. At the time of its sale in 2013, for a guide price of £250 million for the remaining 78-year lease, it was described variously as London, or the world's, most expensive house. William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (American-born businessman) lived there between 1906 and 1909. Numbers 19-24 - These were of later construction, built on the site of the Carlton House riding stables between 1866 and 1868. Number 20 is the global headquarters of mining company Anglo American plc. Ashraf Marwan, an Egyptian arms dealer and spy, died after falling from his flat in number 24.
Carlton Gardens At the west end of Carlton House Terrace is Carlton Gardens. Stirling House, on the north side, was designed by James Stirling in 1989.
Occupants Number 1 is an official ministerial residence normally used by the foreign secretary. Previous occupants included F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich (1832–59), Prime Minister between 1827 and 1828; his son, George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon (1847–89); Napoleon III (1840); Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (1920–22), the newspaper magnate and Viscount Bearsted (from 1928), son of the founder of Shell plc and later its chairman.