Forbes House is a Grade II listed house at 10 Halkin Street, Belgravia, London SW1.
Forbes House is a Grade II listed house at 10 Halkin Street, Belgravia, London SW1.
It was built in the early-mid 19th century, [1] and was originally called Mortimer House after Edward Harley, 3rd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, for whom the house was built.
It is named after Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard and his wife Beatrice Forbes, Countess of Granard, who had it as their principal residence. [2]
Forbes House was used to depict an Eastern European embassy, and Doris Day sang "Que Sera Sera" in the ballroom, in Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Man Who Knew Too Much . [3] [4]
For over 50 years until 2010, it was the headquarters of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. [5] In 2010, the remaining 47-year lease was sold for about £40 million. [5] Grant Wellbelove of Belgravia based Estate Agents Wellbelove Quested represented the Buyer. In 2012, The Guardian reported that it had been bought by David and Frederick Barclay through "offshore entities in Jersey and the British Virgin Islands (BVI)", and that they had spent £48 million, and the house would provide a London base for Sir David Barclay's son, Aidan Barclay. [6] Forbes House was bought by Forbes House Ltd, registered in the BVI with a £48m loan, and a subsidiary company, the Jersey-registered Halkin St Development Ltd has made the appropriate planning applications to convert it back into a single home. [6]
In 2016 the Barclays sold it to former Qatar prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. [7] In 2020 Westminster Council approved the wholesale remodelling of the original staircase, despite objections from the Council Officers. [8] [9]
Notable residents of Forbes House have included the Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer in the early to mid-19th century, and Edward Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn from 1860. [5]
Belgravia is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Earl of Granard is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1684 for Arthur Forbes, 1st Viscount Granard. He was a lieutenant-general in the army and served as Marshal of the Army in Ireland after the Restoration and was later Lord Justice of Ireland. He had already succeeded his father as second Baronet of Castle Forbes and been created Baron Clanehugh and Viscount Granard in 1675, also in the Peerage of Ireland. The baronetcy, of Castle Forbes in county Longford, was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia on 29 September 1628 for his father, Arthur Forbes.
Sloane Street is a major London street in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about halfway along.
Cities of London and Westminster is a constituency returning a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons in the United Kingdom Parliament. As with all constituencies, the election is decided using the first past the post system of election. From its creation at the 1950 general election to the 2024 general election, the constituency had always elected the candidate nominated by the Conservative Party.
Bernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard,, styled Viscount Forbes from 1874 to 1889, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Liberal politician.
The Naval and Military Club, known informally as The In & Out, is a private members' club located in St James's Square, London. It was founded in 1862 for officers of the Navy and Army. It now also accepts female members, and members who have not served in the armed forces, but continues to observe service traditions.
The Caledonian Club is a prestigious Scottish-focused London members' club located at 9 Halkin Street SW1, near Belgrave Square in Belgravia, London, SW1.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is the trade association for the United Kingdom motor industry. Its role is to "promote the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad."
Cadogan Place is a street in Belgravia, London. It is named after Earl Cadogan and runs parallel to the lower half of Sloane Street. It gives its name to the extensive Cadogan Place Gardens, private communal gardens maintained for Cadogan residents. It is owned by Cadogan Estates.
Jane Beatrice Forbes, Countess of Granard was an American-born heiress, social leader, and thoroughbred horse racer.
Lowndes Square is a residential garden square at the north-west end of Belgravia, London, SW1. It is formed of archetypal grand terraces of light stucco houses, cream or white. The length of the central rectangular garden is parallel with Sloane Street to the west; visible from the north-west corner is a corner of the Harvey Nichols store, beyond which is Knightsbridge tube station. Ecclesiastically, it remains in a northern projection of one of the parishes of Chelsea, except its east side, which is in the very small parish of St Paul, Knightsbridge, a division which is mirrored secularly by the boundaries of two London Boroughs.
COMO The Halkin is a 5-star hotel in London, England. It is located at 5–6 Halkin Street in Belgravia, one of London's most affluent districts, just to the east of Belgrave Square. The hotel is operated by COMO Hotels and Resorts. It is considered to be one of the first boutique hotels in London.
The Plumbers Arms is a Grade II listed public house at 14 Lower Belgrave Street, Belgravia, London SW1.
Peel House is a former Metropolitan Police training school in Regency Street, Pimlico, London SW1. It was built in the year 1907, and is in a conservation area, but not a listed building, and Westminster City Council has identified it as being "a building of unlisted merit". It was the Metropolitan Police Training School until its closure in May 1968, with its candidates moved to Hendon ahead of the reopening of Hendon Police College in 1974.
50 St James's Street is a Grade II listed house in St James's Street, St James's, London SW1, opposite White's Club.
Grosvenor Gardens is the name given to two triangular parks in Belgravia, London, faced on their western and eastern sides by streets of the same name. Both roads run roughly north to south from Hobart Place and Grosvenor Place to Buckingham Palace Road, and is entirely the A3215.
Halkin Street is a street in Belgravia, London, running south-west to north-east from the north-east corner of Belgrave Square to Grosvenor Place.
Motcomb Street is a street in the City of Westminster's Belgravia district in London. It is known for its luxury fashion shops, such as Christian Louboutin shoes, Stewart Parvin gowns, and the jeweller Carolina Bucci, and was the location of the original Pantechnicon department store.
Peter Arthur Edward Hastings Forbes, 10th Earl of Granard, is an Irish peer.