B E LGRAVE RD
BEAUCHAMP PL
P I C C A D I L L Y
’
the Duke of Wellington’s barracks on the edge of the marshes. Here’s The Grenadier, a pub built in 1720. With its tiny bar and candlelit dining room, a drink here takes you back in time. After his victories in the Napoleonic Wars,
Wellington bought nearby Apsley House – nicknamed Number One London – in 1817. Built by Robert Adam between 1771-1778, Apsley House was enlarged by Wellington and remodelled by Benjamin Wyatt into the glorious house we see today. Wellington’s descendents still live there and much of the fi rst Duke’s collection of nearly 3,000 paintings, sculptures, silver, porcelain, swords, batons and medals is on view. For anyone interested in Regency taste,
Apsley House, now run by English Heritage, is a delight. High-ceilinged rooms with yellow and gold-striped wallpaper show paintings to perfection, and the plasterwork and sparkling crystal chandeliers are stunning. And I do like the huge marble statue of a naked Napoleon, which stands at the foot of the staircase, sculpted by Antonio Canova and commissioned by the Emperor himself. Napoleon was embarrassed, and described it as “trop athletique”. It languished in the Louvre until the Prince Regent (later George IV) rescued it for 66,000 francs and presented it to Wellington. Architect Wyatt was quite a Francophile,
so there’s French infl uence in the house from the gilded furniture to mirrors in the Waterloo Gallery, which slide across the windows like those in Versailles’ Hall of
50 BRITAIN
Apsley House (top left) was bought by the Duke of Wellington in 1817 and still contains many of his treasures in the Waterloo Gallery (right), and the marble statue of Napoleon (top). The Duke of Wellington pub (above) on the corner of Eaton Terrace and Chester Row. Left: Life Guards of the Queen's Household Cavalry parade past Wellington Arch
KEY SIGHTS TO VISIT IN BELGRAVIA AND KENSINGTON
1 2 3 4 5 6
8 7
9
10 11
Apsley House Wellington Arch Belgrave Square Eaton Square The Grenadier Nag’s Head Thomas Cubitt Harvey Nichols St Columba’s Harrods Royal Court Theatre
K
HYDE PARK
S B R I D G E
8
Knightsbridge
6 10 9
CADOGAN SQUARE
7
Sloane Square
11
Victoria Coach
Station
BELGRAVE SQUARE
3
EATON SQ
4
T
GROSVENOR PLACE
LOWER
Victoria
R
5
Hyde Park Corner
1 2
BUCKINGHAM PALACE
GARDENS
C ONS TITUTION HILL
GREEN PARK
G R
BELGRAVE PL ECCLESTON
R
O
O S
V
N E
UPPER BELGRAVE
ELIZABETH
STREET
EAT
S T N CADO
HOB K I N G S R O A D
L P
E B U R Y S T
A
E C
T
I G N K H T S
P O N T
S T
C A DOGA N P L AC E S L O A N E S T R E E T
T
LWR BELGRAVE
ON TERRACE
B R O M P T O N R O A D
O WA L T N
G H
N I
BASIL S
O
B U C K I N G H AM PA L AC E R D
GROSV.
T
SLOANE AVED R
A Y
A
AVE C O TT
G AN ST
GARD
ST
S
STREET
L
B R I D G E C
P R
W
I
L
E
PHOTOS: ENGLISH HERITAGE PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY, ANDREW HOLT
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