Stratford Place

Stratford Place seen from Oxford Street

Stratford Place is a small road in London, off Oxford Street, next to Bond Street underground station. The road is a cul-de-sac.

Notable Buildings & Occupants

• Stratford House (home to the Oriental Club)
• The High Commission of Botswana^[1]
• The High Commission of Tanzania^[1]
• Number 7 Stratford Place was the London home of Martin van Buren.
• A Kabbalah Centre

Stratford House

Stratford House was built as the London seat of the Stratford family between 1770 and 1776 for Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, who paid £4,000 for the site.^[2] The central range was designed by Robert Adam. It had previously been the location of the Lord Mayor of London's Banqueting House, built in 1565.^[2] There have been several people of note who stayed there including the sons of the Tzar of Russia, and the wife of Sir Winston Churchill was born there, and the house until 1832 was owned by the Wingfield Stratford branch of the family who inherited it from Edward's Will.^[3] It belonged briefly to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, a son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.^[4] The house was little altered until 1894, when its then owner, Mr Murray Guthrie, added a second storey to the east and west wings and a colonnade in front.^[2] In 1903, a new owner, the Liberal politician Sir Edward Colebrook, later Lord Colebrooke, reconstructed the Library to an Adam design. In 1908, Lord Derby bought a lease and began more alterations, removing the colonnade and adding a third storey to both wings. He took out the original bifurcated staircase (replacing it with a less elegant single one), demolished the stables and built a Banqueting Hall with a grand ballroom above.^[2]

In 1960 the house was purchased by the Oriental Club and converted to its present state. The ballroom was turned into two floors of new bedrooms, further lifts were added, and the banqueting hall was divided into a dining room and other rooms.^[2] The house now has a main drawing room, as well as others, a members' bar, a library and an ante-room, a billiards room, an internet suite and business room, and two (non)smoking rooms, as well as a dining room and 32 bedrooms.^[4][5][6]

Stratford House is a Grade I listed building.^[7]

References

1. "The London Diplomatic List" (PDF). 13 December 2013.
2. About and History at Oriental Club web site (accessed 28 January 2008)
3. Stratford, Gerald H. The Stratfords, (Chapter 13, Belan, Aldborough, and Stratford House) online at Chapter 13, Belan, Aldborough, and Stratford House (accessed 27 January 2008)
4. AN OASIS IN LONDON'S WEST END at asia-major.com (accessed 27 January 2008)
5. Drawing Rooms at Oriental Club web site (accessed 26 February 2011)
6. Facilities at Oriental Club web site (accessed 27 January 2008)
7. • Listed Buildings in Stratford Place, Westminster – map at westminster.gov.uk (accessed 29 January 2008)

Bibliography

• Stourton, James (2012). Great Houses of London (Hardback). London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-7112-3366-9.

Coordinates: 51°30′54″N 0°08′57″W / 51.5149°N 0.1493°W