| Thurloe Lodge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | 17 Thurloe Place, London, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°29′44″N0°10′14″W / 51.49569°N 0.17068°W |
| Completed | 1843 |
Thurloe Lodge is a house at 17 Thurloe Place in the South Kensington district of London. It was the home of the actor manager Nigel Playfair and was subsequently the home of Mark Birley who founded Annabel's nightclub in Berkeley Square. Birley's daughter, India Jane Birley, sold Thurloe Lodge in 2011 for £17 million.
The house began as a pair of semi-detached cottages built in 1843. [1] The area in which the house stands was then considered to be Brompton. They were converted into a single residence in 1867. [1] In 1922 the actor-manager Nigel Playfair bought the house on a long lease from Lady George Campbell who had inherited the Thurloe Estate. [1] Playfair and his family had previously lived at 26 Pelham Crescent. [2] He bought the cottages with the proceeds from his successful revival of The Beggar's Opera at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. [1] Playfair engaged Darcy Braddell to remodel the house. Humphry Deane was jointly credited with the remodelling work. Deane was Braddell's partner. Work began on the house in May 1922. In the spring of 1923, Playfair and his family moved into Thurloe Lodge. Giles Playfair, Nigel Playfair's son, wrote that his father "took as much interest in the building of his house as he had ever taken in one of his productions at the Lyric. Hardly a day passed without his meeting D'Arcy Braddell to discuss a new idea or to look over a new plan". [1] The remodelling had cost twice as much as anticipated, and proved a drain on his finances in the wake of the failure of his light opera Midsummer Madness. Playfair would hold rehearsals for Midsummer Madness in the garden of Thurloe Lodge. [3] [1] The Playfair family moved from the house in late 1924 or early 1925, and Playfair found that the house sold for a far higher sum than he had anticipated. [1] The actor John Gielgud attended Playfair's parties at the house and met the actors James Whale and his partner Doris Zinkeisen there. He recalled that they were the most "striking pair" in the room. [4]
Playfair's interior decoration of Thurloe Lodge under highly individualistic for the early 1920s, though less daring than his previous residence in Pelham Crescent. The dining room had "emerald green curtains and a green carpet with a magenta border" to contrast the "waxed silver spruce" woodwork. In Playfair's study the floor had a chequer-board pattern. [1]
Thurloe Lodge was the residence of Mark Birley for 30 years. [5] Birley founded Annabel's nightclub in Berkeley Square. He died in 2007. [6] Birley's daughter, India Jane Birley, sold Thurloe Lodge in 2011 for £17 million. [6] An auction of 500 of Mark Birley's possessions from the house was held at Sotheby's in March 2013. [6] The auction realised £3.85 million. [6] A design by Nicky Haslam for a room at Thurloe Lodge for Mark Birley sold at Bonhams auction house in 2019. [7] India Jane married the antiquarian horologist Sebastian Whitestone at the house in July 2008. [8]
Birley's extensive art collection was displayed throughout the house. [5] A planning application to demolish the house and replace it with a neoclassical residence with a two-storey basement was subsequently approved by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. [5] Birley's son, Robin, said that he would consider it "vandalism" if the house was to be demolished, feeling that "It is a handsome 1840s house and I am amazed they think they can get away with it". [5]
Birley's close friend, David Wynne-Morgan, lived in a cottage attached to Thurloe Lodge for over 10 years. [5] Wynne-Morgan described the house under Birley as " ... sensational and beautiful — the biggest bachelor pad in London — and it was beautifully done". [5]
Thurloe Lodge was not listed on the National Heritage List for England. [5]
Sir Nigel Ross Playfair was an English actor and director, known particularly as actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in the 1920s.
Lady Annabel Goldsmith is an English socialite and the eponym for a London nightclub of the late 20th century, Annabel's. She was first married for two decades to entrepreneur Mark Birley, the creator of Annabel's. Annabel's was her husband's inaugural members-only Mayfair club.
Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle or Tetbury Castle, was constructed as a medieval stone fortress in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. The property is a mix of manor house, various small buildings, extensive gardens and the medieval ruins of the fortified building. The castle was founded in 1229 by Maurice de Gaunt.
Robin Marcus Birley is an English businessman, entrepreneur and political donor. He is the son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and the nightclub owner Mark Birley. He had a brother, Rupert, who disappeared and is presumed deceased, and a sister, India Jane Birley. His half-brother is the former MP, now peer, Zac Goldsmith.
Annabel's is a private members club at 46 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London.
Marcus Oswald Hornby Lecky Birley, known as Mark Birley, was a British entrepreneur known for his investments in the hospitality industry.
India Jane Birley is a British artist and businesswoman. Her father, Mark Birley, opened the private member's club Annabel's, named for her mother, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, in the early 1960s and Birley ran the club with her brother, Robin Birley, during her father's ill health in the 2000s. She later became estranged from her brother, and her father's estate was left to her to be placed in trust for her son.
Nicholas Ponsonby Haslam is an English interior designer and socialite, and founder of the London-based interior design firm, Nicky Haslam Studio.
Ormeley Lodge is a Grade II* listed early 18th-century Georgian house, set in 6 acres (2 ha) on the edge of Ham Common, near to Richmond Park in Ham, London. It is owned by Lady Annabel Goldsmith.
William Leiper FRIBA RSA (1839–1916) was a Scottish architect known particularly for his domestic architecture in and around the town of Helensburgh. In addition, he produced a small amount of fine ecclesiastical and commercial architecture in Glasgow and the Scottish Lowlands. He was also an accomplished watercolour artist, and from the late 1870s spent much spare time painting in oils and watercolours.
Pelham Crescent is a circa 1825 Georgian crescent of houses in South Kensington, London SW7, England, designed by architect George Basevi. Numbers 1–14 and 15–27 are separately Grade II* listed.
Wynstay Estate is a heritage-listed farm located at 68-78 The Avenue, Mount Wilson in the City of Blue Mountains local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Richard Wynne and built from 1875 to 1893 by Joseland and Gilling; Turkish Bath house by Earnest A. Bonney. It is also known as The Turkish Bath. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 12 April 2002.
Park House, at 7–11 Onslow Square, is a detached house in the South Kensington district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London SW7. It is set in one acre (4,000 m2) of land and is shielded by trees from public view.
Rhoda Vava Mary Lecky, Lady Birley was an Anglo-Irish gardener, model, and artist. She developed the gardens at Charleston Manor in East Sussex where she founded the festival that has continued after her death.
The Bath & Racquets Club is a private members gym and squash club at 49 Brook's Mews in London's Mayfair district. The club has 300 members and is the most expensive private gym club in London. It was established by Mark Birley in 1989. Birley sold the club with his four other Mayfair clubs, Annabel's, Harry's Bar, Mark's Club, and George, to Richard Caring in 2007.
George is a private members club at 87-88 Mount Street in London's Mayfair district. It was established by Mark Birley in 2001. Birley sold the club with his four other Mayfair clubs, Annabel's, Mark's Club, Harry's Bar, and the Bath & Racquets Club, to Richard Caring in 2007. The club is dog friendly.
The Crescent consists of rows of terraced houses and religious buildings laid out as a circus in the town of Wisbech, England. Initiated by the developer Joseph Medworth and built between 1794 and c1815, it is a rare examples of a Georgian circus to be found in the United Kingdom. Most properties have Grade I or Grade II listed building status. Although some changes have been made to the various sites over the years, much of the Georgian facade remains as it was when first built. This development now lies within the Wisbech Conservation Area.
Harry's Bar is a private members dining club at 26 South Audley Street in London's Mayfair district. It was established by Mark Birley in 1979. Birley sold the club with his four other Mayfair clubs, Annabel's, Mark's Club, George, and the Bath & Racquets Club, to Richard Caring in 2007. Harry's Bar is renowned for its Italian cuisine.
Girl with a Red Beret and Pompom is a 1937 painting by Pablo Picasso. It hangs in the main reception area of the private member's club Annabel's in Berkeley Square in London's Mayfair district.
46 Berkeley Square is a house on Berkeley Square in the Mayfair district of London, England. The house was used as offices, including the London headquarters of the Chase Manhattan Bank, for several decades. It has been the site of the private member's club Annabel's since 2018.