A Powerhouse History

06.02.23

With ‘Bridgerton perfect’ drawing rooms that have entertained Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, and four Prime Ministers, a grand 8,897 square foot Grade II Listed six bedroom Georgian house on Wimpole Street in the heart of London’s Marylebone has a private garden, interconnecting mews and garaging: for sale via joint sole selling agents Aston Chase and DEXTERS (Marylebone & Fitzrovia).

Built-in 1767 for MP Humphrey Minchin under the auspices of the Cavendish-Holles (now Howard de Walden) Estate by Marylebone builder Thomas Huddle, with interiors originally created by Georgian master plasterer James Little and painter David Williams, the Wimpole Street house has a grand entrance hall with cantilevered Portland stone staircase, a ground floor formal dining room, large family kitchen overlooking the garden and two magnificent first-floor drawing rooms.

Between 1789 and 1814 the house served as the London residence of Richard Howard, 4^th Earl of Effingham (1748-1816), Private Secretary and Comptroller of the Household to Queen Charlotte, both made famous by the Netflix TV series Bridgerton with actress Golda Rosheuvel playing Queen Charlotte, actor Hugh Sachs as the Queen’s gossip-mongering Private Secretary (based on Richard Howard, 4^th Earl of Effingham) and actor James Fleet as King George III.

Under the Earl the house entertained Queen Charlotte, the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and under the current owner (formerly a prominent figure in London local government) the house has hosted three 21^st century Prime Ministers, Rishi Sunak, Theresa May and Liz Truss and other politicians including Michael Gove, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Sir Graham Brady.

The story of the house really begins in 1784 when aristocrat Richard Howard, originally a Brigadier in the Royal Horse Guards and later an MP, was appointed as Private Secretary and Comptroller of the Household to Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III. Richard required a London home for entertaining so in 1789 he purchased the house on Wimpole Street in Marylebone, then the new fashionable area for nobles wishing to live close to both the Court of King George III and Queen Charlotte, and the Prince Regent.

It was in the magnificent first floor drawing rooms of the house that Richard used diplomacy and gossip to entertain and manipulate the rival courts of Queen Charlotte and her son George, the Prince Regent. Actor Hugh Sachs brilliantly portrays his scheming in the Netflix TV series Bridgerton.

After the Regency Bill of 1789 Richard and Queen Charlotte manouvered behind the scenes with Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger (said to have disliked the Prince Regent) to ensure that the Queen continued to fill her role as the first lady in Royal representation, with the Queen functioning as the hostess by the side of her son at official receptions.

In 1791 Richard inherited the Earldom of Effingham and in 1814 Charlotte rewarded him for his loyalty to her by making him Treasurer to the Queen. Richard’s enhanced role granted him grace-and-favour homes at Court and so he sold his Wimpole Street house to Matthew Raper, a Director of the Bank of England.

Fast forward from Bridgerton to the modern era and by the 1990s the house was serving as the offices of the William Pears Group, with false ceilings and office lighting installed, raised floors overlaying the Georgian originals and the property lacking a proper family kitchen and bathrooms.

In October 1996 the current owners purchased the house and began a meticulous restoration programme to return the accommodation to its original Georgian character and use as a spacious London family home, with the adjoining mews purchased in 2000 and added to the property.

Providing accommodation over lower ground, ground and four upper floors, the house offers direct access to the mews via the lower ground level which extends under the garden. The principal rooms took 24 months to return to their original Georgian splendour with false floors and ceilings carefully stripped away and the beautiful interiors lovingly restored to their former glory.

The ground-floor rooms benefit from ceilings up to 10.5 feet high. The entrance hall features a Portland stone cantilevered staircase which rises through all the principal floors, with windows to each landing, surmounted by a stained glass skylight, allowing natural light to cascade through the stairwell below.

Off the entrance hall is the 8-10 seat formal dining room which has a Regency fireplace, Oak flooring, Pine wood wall panelling and a ‘secret door’ which connects to the adjoining family kitchen. Large, bright and airy, the family kitchen and breakfast room has a central island, Sienna marble fireplace and a three-window bay overlooking the garden and mews house beyond, with one window designed as a ‘hidden door’, allowing access onto the garden.

The two beautiful interconnecting drawing rooms on the first floor are like stepping onto the set of Bridgerton with classic Georgian interiors including parquet flooring, 14-foot ceilings with Georgian coving and ceiling mouldings, tall sash windows, Regency fireplaces and classic Georgian pastel-blue walls and ceilings.

The principal bedroom suite occupies its own private floor on the second level of the house, with a spacious bedroom, walk-in dressing room and a main bathroom. There are four further bedrooms (one with ensuite), a further shower room and a bathroom on the two uppermost floors.

The lower ground floor offers a studio, study and family room leading to the lower level of the mews which has a cocktail bar/entertaining room, cinema, sauna with showers and a well room with an original well, providing water for the garden. The ground floor of the mews is currently utilized as a large open plan office with adjoining garaging for two cars and bicycles. However, it could easily be reinstated to provide garaging for six cars which is extremely rare in central London and is likely to appeal to both supercar and classic car enthusiasts alike.

Mark Pollack, Co-Founding Director of Aston Chase, says: “It is so rare to find a grand London residence in the heart of Marylebone with such architectural integrity. The beautiful Portland stone cantilevered staircase along with the exceptional principal entertaining rooms are more commonly associated with some of London’s grandest homes so it is understandable why this house has entertained Royalty, Prime Ministers and prominent politicians over the years.”

Mark Pollack continues: “The property provides versatile family accommodation featuring an exceptional blend of formal entertaining spaces along with extensive more informal leisure space and whilst beautifully preserved, it has extraordinary potential for a discerning purchaser wanting to put their own stamp on the property in order to create a multigenerational home.”

James Staite, Director of DEXTERS (Marylebone & Fitzrovia) says: “Located between Oxford Street and Regents Park, period houses in Marylebone offer better value than those in neighbouring Mayfair and Belgravia. The house provides substantial accommodation with immense history in a prime location.”

This remarkable house is priced at £12,950,000 and is held on a 932-year unexpired enfranchiseable Howard de Walden Estate lease.