Apsley House

Apsley House
The front of Apsley House in 2005
Location within Central London
General information
Architectural style	Neo-classical
Location	149 Piccadilly London, W1
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°30′13″N 0°09′06″W / 51.5035°N 0.1517°W / 51.5035; -0.1517
Client	Henry Bathurst, Lord Apsley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Robert Adam (original building) Benjamin Dean Wyatt (19th-century renovations)
Website
www.wellingtoncollection.co.uk
Listed Building – Grade I
Reference no.	1226873[1]

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 was purchased by Richard Wellesley, in 1807, and passed to his younger brother Arthur, the 1st duke, in 1817. It was sometimes referred to as Number One, London. It is perhaps the only preserved example of an English aristocratic townhouse from this 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.