Argyll House was a historic residence in London just south of Oxford Street on the present-day Argyll Street. It was originally the London townhouse of the Dukes of Argyll, a prominent Scottish family, before later passing into the hands of the nineteenth century politician Lord Aberdeen after considerable redevelopment.
The Second Duke, known for his role in the Act of Union and the 1715 Jacobite Rising, acquired a property in 1706 and used it as his London residence along with Sudbrook Park to the west of the capital in Surrey. He expanded his landholding before later turning it over for development into a series of houses on the new Argyll Street and the adjoining Little Argyll Street. His younger brother Archibald built his own residence nearby, that subsequently became known as Argyll House. The designer of the house is unknown but James Gibbs, who helped on the development of the nearby Argyll Street for the family, may have assisted with the exterior of the building. [1] Archibald succeeded his brother and inherited the properties as Third Duke in 1743. [2] It passed on to through subsequent Dukes. The writer Lady Charlotte Bury, daughter of the Fifth Duke, was born there in 1775. [3] Harriette Wilson, the mistress of the Sixth Duke, described it as a "dismal chateau". [4]
It was acquired in 1808 by Lord Aberdeen who made it his London residence for the rest of his life. Aberdeen commissioned the architect William Wilkins to rebuild the house at considerable expense in the fashionable Greek Revival style. The reconstruction took some time and it was not until 1811 it was fully finished. [5] In 1814, during the Allied sovereigns' visit to England, the Austrian foreign minister Klemens von Metternich based himself there at the invitation of Aberdeen who had recently served as British Ambassador to Austria. [6] [7] The Duke of Wellington was interested in buying the house, but ultimately acquired Apsley House instead. [8] While much of the nearby area was dramatically altered by the construction of Regent Street in the 1820s, Argyll House was not redeveloped.
It was an important political location and during Aberdeen's service as Foreign Secretary in Wellington's government the cabinet met there. [9] When he himself became Prime Minister in 1852, Aberdeen's own cabinet had their first meeting over dinner at the property. [10] Aberdeen died at Argyll House in 1860, and the house was demolished a few years after. Some of the site was taken over by the West End theatre the London Palladium. Further north up Argyll Street, adjacent to the present-day Oxford Circus tube station, is a pub called the Argyll Arms which commemorates the historic link with the Dukes of Argyll.
William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, was a British Whig and then a Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He served as chancellor of the University of Oxford (1792–1809) and as Prime Minister of Great Britain (1783) and then of the United Kingdom (1807–1809). The gap of 26 years between his two terms as prime minister is the longest of any British prime minister. He was also the fourth great-grandfather of King Charles III through his great-granddaughter Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne.
Duke of Argyll is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotland. As such, they played a major role in Scottish history throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The Duke of Argyll also holds the hereditary titles of chief of Clan Campbell and Master of the Household of Scotland.
John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman who was Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883. He was the husband of Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. He was the first president of "Rangers Football Club", thanks to his Argyll ties to the original founders of the football club.
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage, and as such its holder is the premier peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas. The title, the town of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, and many places around the world are named after members of the Hamilton family. The ducal family's surname, originally "Hamilton", is now "Douglas-Hamilton". Since 1711, the dukedom has been held together with the Dukedom of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the dukes since that time have been styled Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, along with several other subsidiary titles.
The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable. The Lord Great Chamberlain has charge over the Palace of Westminster.
Duke of Buccleuch, formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch. Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II, was attainted after rebelling against his uncle King James II and VII, but his wife's title was unaffected and passed on to their descendants, who have successively borne the surnames Scott, Montagu-Scott, Montagu Douglas Scott and Scott again. In 1810, the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch inherited the Dukedom of Queensberry, also in the Peerage of Scotland, thus separating that title from the Marquessate of Queensberry.
Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich,, styled Lord Lorne from 1680 to 1703, was a Scottish nobleman and senior commander in the British Army. He served on the continent in the Nine Years' War and fought at the Siege of Kaiserswerth during the War of the Spanish Succession. He then went on to serve as a brigade commander during the later battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, and was subsequently given command of all British forces in Spain at the instigation of the Harley Ministry. After conducting a successful evacuation of the troops from Spain, he became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland. During the Jacobite Rebellion, he led the government army against the Jacobite forces led by the Earl of Mar at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. Afterwards he served as Lord Steward and then Master-General of the Ordnance under the Walpole–Townshend Ministry.
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, and 1st Duke of Gordon,, styled the Earl of March until 1860, was a British Conservative politician.
Earl Cawdor, of Castlemartin in the County of Pembroke, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1827 for John Campbell, 2nd Baron Cawdor.
Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, 10th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer.
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1st Earl of Ilay, was a Scottish nobleman, politician, lawyer, businessman, and soldier. He was known as Lord Archibald Campbell from 1703 to 1706, and as the Earl of Ilay from 1706 until 1743, when he succeeded to the dukedom. He was the dominant political leader in Scotland in his day, and was involved in many civic projects.
George John Douglas Campbell, 8th and 1st Duke of Argyll, was a British polymath and Liberal statesman. He made a significant geological discovery in the 1850s when his tenant found fossilized leaves embedded among basalt lava on the Island of Mull. He also helped to popularize ornithology and was one of the first to give a detailed account of the principles of bird flight in the hopes of advancing artificial aerial navigation. His literary output was extensive writing on topics varying from science and theology to economy and politics. In addition to this, he served prominently in the administrations of Lord Aberdeen, Lord Palmerston, John Russell and William Gladstone.
Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll was a medieval Scottish nobleman, peer, and politician. He was the son of Archibald Campbell, Master of Campbell and Elizabeth Somerville, daughter of John Somerville, 3rd Lord Somerville. He had the sobriquet Colin Mulle, Bold Earl Colin.
Norfolk House was the London residence of the Dukes of Norfolk, and as such more than one building has been given this name. The first was opposite Lambeth Palace, set in acres of garden and orchards on a site occupying what is now the Novotel London Waterloo on Lambeth Road.
York House was one of a series of grand mansions that formerly stood on the Strand, the principal route from the City of London to the Palace of Westminster.
Castle Campbell is a medieval castle situated above the town of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, in central Scotland. It was the lowland seat of the earls and dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell, from the 15th to the 19th century, and was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century. Mary was impressed by this and said "this reminds me of home".
Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum in Kilmun, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, consists of St Munn's Church, as well as the adjacent mausoleum of the Dukes of Argyll and a historically significant churchyard. The complex is located on the summit of a slight knoll about ten metres from the shoreline of the Holy Loch on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. The existing church dates from 1841 and occupies the site of an older, medieval church. A partly ruined tower from the medieval period still stands to the west of the present building.
The Argyll Arms is a Grade II* listed public house at 18 Argyll Street, Soho, London, W1. It is located close to the site of the former Argyll House, the London residence of the Dukes of Argyll.
South Audley Street is a major shopping street in Mayfair, London. It runs north to south from the southwest corner of Grosvenor Square to Curzon Street.
Argyll Street is a street in the Soho district of Central London. It links Great Marlborough Street to the south to Oxford Street in the north and is connected to Regent Street to the west by Little Argyll Street. Historically it was sometimes written as Argyle Street.