Speaking About London Mansions, Part Two

Here I am, July 23, 2019, presenting a talk on London Mansions to The Beau Monde Conference in New York City.  Sorry to admit that I did not quite finish the power point, but attendees will get their own copy. And I will post the highlights here.

 Since we focus on the Regency period, a sub-set of the Georgian era in Britain, we should start with the primary residence of the young George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent 1811-1820, and King George IV 1820-1830. Below, a few images of George, presenting a variety of viewpoints!

The Prince Regent, often known as Prinny, was well known for his free-spending ways, many of them devoted to architecture and decor. He viewed himself as the First Gentleman of Europe, a connoisseur of the arts. But history remembers him also as a reckless spendthrift with minimal interest in the welfare of the average resident of his realm but careful attention to his own creature comforts. His father, George III, despaired of his heir's excess.
       Below, a selection of paintings of rooms in his residence, Carlton House, between Pall Mall and St. James Park.

Blue Velvet Room, Golden Drawing Room, Gothic Dining Room, Conservatory, 1-r, top to bottom. More examples are easily available on the web. Below, two versions of the Entrance Hall, left, by Henry Holland, right, the later a version of  Prinny's obsession with Chinoiserie.

Prince/King George IV acquired many objects and suites of furniture, and often redid the rooms in his houses, inside and out. He was responsible not only for Carlton House and his Brighton Pavilion, but also for much of the existing decoration of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Lots of similarities abound.  Below, the Crimson Drawing Room in Carlton House on the left, and on the right, the State Dining Room in Buckingham Palace.

Carlton House was built in 1714 for Baron Carleton. Later it was sold to Frederick (1707-1751), Prince of Wales, son of George II and father of George III. Augusta (1719-1772), Princess of Wales, lived there after her husband died. In 1783, the future Prince Regent was given Carlton House along with £60,000 to fix it up. To simply say he exceeded his budget would be a vast understatement. Below, Carlton House behind its screen of columns in 1811.

 Prinny was renowned for his lavish entertainments at Carlton House, the estrangement from his wife, Caroline of Brunswick, and his unpopularity with the public. His only legal child, Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796- 1817) died in childbirth, leaving the House of Hanover without an heir in the next generation.  George and his brothers had many by-blows from their series of long and complicated affairs, but only his brother Edward, Duke of Kent, managed to marry and sire Princess Victoria, who became Queen in 1837.  Below, Carlton House pictured in Ackermann's Repository in 1809.

Once Prinny became King George IV on the death of his long-suffering mad father, George III, in 1820, he moved into Buckingham Palace and set about remodeling that. He and the favorite architect of his later life, John Nash (1752-1835), had a vast plan to create a new London thoroughfare, Regent Street, leading from St. James Park to the newly developed Regent's Park.The plan called for demolishing Carlton House, which was done by 1826. 

Above, A Squeeze at Carlton House, c. 1825, by Robert Cruikshank.  Below, Items from The Royal Collection, formerly belonging to Carlton House. Remember to click on each for larger images. Top row, left, from the Chinese Drawing Room. Adam Weissweiler made this pier table, 1789, one of the first expressing Prince George’s delight in Chinoserie.
​     Right, a selection of the Prince Regent's extensive collection of Sevres Porcelain, showing his taste for the exotic and extravagant.

Above, left, Throne or Council Chair, 1812, by Tatum,  Bailey & Sanders; right, Throne Room Candelabra, 1807, made by Peter Bogaerts, carver, and Paul Storr, goldsmith, from a set of four placed beside the throne at Carlton House until moved to Windsor in 1827. Many of the works of art, the furniture and decorative art objects were moved to Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, or the Brighton Pavilion. I attended an exhibition of some of Prinny’s collections at the Queen’s Gallery in 2011. They are going to do a similar exhibition again starting in Nov. 2019.

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GEORGE IV: ART & SPECTACLE
The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
​Friday, 15 Nov 2019 - Sunday, 3 May 202

From the website:
George IV is arguably the most magnificent of British monarchs and formed an unrivalled collection of art, much of which remains in the Royal Collection. As Prince of Wales and, from 1820, magnificent king, he purchased paintings, metalwork, textiles, furniture, watercolours, books and ceramics in vast numbers, many of these works by the finest artists of the day. Bringing together Dutch and Flemish masterpieces, magnificent portraits by Sir Thomas Lawrence and Sir Joshua Reynolds, delicate French porcelain, intricate goldsmiths' work and elegant books and drawings, this exhibition will present George IV's life through the art that enriched his world.

After Carlton House was demolished, part of the space was used to create Waterloo Place, which today is not much more than a parking lot. Sadly. In the center is the Duke of York Column, commemorating the Prince Regent's brother, Prince Frederick, Duke of York, set 1834. 

Also built here were the two rows of houses known as Carlton House Terrace. The handsome white stucco structures were built between 1827 and 1832, designed by John Nash and enhanced by Decimus Burton. The people who lived in the mansions were leading political and social leaders of the era, including P.M.s Lord Palmerston, Earl Grey, and William Gladstone.
      More London Mansions next week.