Apsley House

Apsley House is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing towards the large traffic roundabout in the centre of which stands the Wellington Arch. It is a Grade I listed building. Designed by Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, the house was built for Lord Apsley in the 1770s. It came into the hands of the 1st Duke of Wellington in 1817, and was sometimes referred to as Number One, London. It is perhaps the only preserved example of an English aristocratic townhouse from its period. The house is also called the Wellington Museum, its official designation under the Wellington Museum Act 1947. Run by English Heritage, much of the house is open to the public as a museum and art gallery, exhibiting the Wellington Collection, a large collection of paintings, other artworks and memorabilia of the career of the 1st Duke. The 9th Duke of Wellington retains half the house for the family's private use. The practice has been to maintain the public rooms as far as possible in the original style and decor of the 1st Duke. History Apsley House stands at the site of an old lodge that belonged to the crown. During the Interregnum newer buildings were erected between what is now Old Park Lane and Hyde Park Corner. In the 1600s after the Restoration they were leased by James Hamilton (died 1673) and renewed by Elizabeth his widow in 1692 on a 99-year lease (Hamilton Place takes its name from that family). Immediately before Apsley House was built the site was occupied by a tavern called the Hercules Pillars (immortalised by Henry Fielding in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling as the location where Squire Western resides when he first journeys up to London).