Apsley House

Despite this bank holiday being a rainy, miserable one, a friend and I decided to go historic house hunting in London. We came across the English Heritage-owned Apsley House:

Now be warned, the pictures I took are shocking, but I have ordered a fancy new "blog camera" that should be on it's way soon! Roll on the photography!

History:

Sometimes known as the Wellington Museum or Number One London, Apsley House was the residence of the first Duke of Wellington and his successors (who was famous for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo). It is one of the last remaining aristocratic houses of its time, and it is right opposite Hyde Park and the appropriately named Wellington Arch.

The House was originally made for the Chancellor in the 1770's, Lord Apsley, and was part of a row of great houses on Piccadilly. It was the first house visitors would pass on their journey into the city, after the toll gates at Knightsbridge (glad to say they no longer exist!)

After a few changing hands, the Duke of Wellington purchased the house and reworked almost all of the interiors, including the large art collection he had accumulated.

The 7th Duke of Wellington donated the House and it's collections to the nation in 1947, but there are still apartments that belong to the family within the second floor of the house. I tried to find these, but with little success!

Review:

We entered into the entrance hall from the rain outside, and it certainly felt welcoming. Rather than most historic houses which feel very imposing, this entrance felt like a grand home. The tickets for an adult cost £6.20, and you get a fancy audio guide with it.

As you amble along (the audio guide means you go quite slowly), you can see some of the rather interesting things they have on display:

Finally, you reach this beauty of a room:

If like me you have a bit of an obsession with vintage teacups and china, then this room is like heaven. It's appropriately titled "the porcelain room" and is full of tea services and other fancy dinner party pieces you would never use in your wildest dreams! 

Punch anyone?

Not dinner knives....

Nearly all of them were gifted to the Duke, but I took a particular fancy to the Egyptian set. Napoleon's (ex) wife the Empress Josephine and was designed to reflect the Egyptian style she was so fond of. However, when it arrived she hated it and so it was given to the Duke of Wellington by Louis XVIII (brother of Louis XVI). In the middle is a centerpiece designed to go with the set: mini Egyptian temples! Considering my dinner party guests are lucky if they get a half-used candle as a centerpiece, I was very jealous:

You are then taken to the staircase area, where you are confronted by a very raunchy statue of Napoleon:

I was confused as to why the Duke of Wellington would buy a massive statue of the person he fought against, and I have to say the audio guide did not make it very clear. His reasoning remains a mystery! 

Smoulder

Upstairs, we have a series of entertainment/parlour rooms:

The staff were a bit against photos, so I had to take far fewer than I would have liked, but hopefully you get the gist! Also worth a look were some of the objects on display, such as hair from the horse that the Duke rode in Battle and diary entries by his wife.

Each room is a little bit different, and throughout are incredible gifts the Duke was given by admirers of his military career. My favourite room had to be the gallery, which had an incredible display of art:

Fine photography!

Again, I couldn't take many photos, but the audio guide explains the paintings as you go. For those of you who have seen the film Goya's Ghosts (a personal favourite), there is a painting of the Duke by the man himself! Very exciting. Also on display are pictures of Mary I, Charles I and other European royalty.

I also loved the dining room.

It was set up around the most amazing centerpiece, featuring silver-plated figures  where the food no doubt would have been served. 

After all of this, it was possible to go downstairs into the basement and see some more memorabilia (spooky death masks) relating to Napoleon and the Duke:

Verdict:

I did love the interiors of this house. It was amazing to think that in Central London there is a little slice of aristocracy that we most commonly associate with the countryside and big stately homes. However, I felt that for the price it cost there weren't as many rooms open as there could have been. The audio guide was somewhat lacking, as I was left with lots of questions. What were the other Dukes of Wellington like? What kind of dinner parties did the Duke of Wellington have? And most importantly, what is the deal with the massive semi-naked statue of Napoleon?! 

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/apsley-house/