Apsley House

A prominent neoclassical townhouse at Hyde Park Corner, serving as both a public museum and the private residence of the Dukes of Wellington.

Apsley House stands at Hyde Park Corner on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing the large traffic roundabout where Wellington Arch rises. Designed by Robert Adam in the neoclassical style and built between 1771 and 1778 for Lord Apsley, this Grade I listed building was purchased by Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, in 1817. Often called Number One, London because it was the first house passed by travelers arriving from the countryside, it is one of the finest preserved examples of an English aristocratic townhouse from this period, alongside others such as Spencer House. Run by English Heritage as the Wellington Museum, it exhibits the vast Wellington Collection while retaining a private apartment for the current Duke.

Quick Facts

Location

149 Piccadilly; London, W1

Country

United Kingdom

Architect

Robert Adam (original building), Benjamin Dean Wyatt (19th-century renovations)

Client

Henry Bathurst
Lord Apsley
Arthur Wellesley
1st Duke of Wellington

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.

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.
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.