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Portman Square

1784 establishments in Great BritainCommunal gardensPortman estateSquares in the City of Westminster
Portman square 1813
Portman square 1813

Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It marks the western end of Wigmore Street, which connects it to Cavendish Square to the east.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Portman Square (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Portman Square
Portman Square, London Marylebone

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Wikipedia: Portman SquareContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.5157 ° E -0.1557 °
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Address

Portman Square Garden

Portman Square
W1H 6NA London, Marylebone
England, United Kingdom
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Portman square 1813
Portman square 1813
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Home House
Home House

Home House is a Georgian town house at 20 Portman Square, London. James Wyatt was appointed to design it by Elizabeth, Countess of Home in 1776, but by 1777 he had been dismissed and replaced by Robert Adam. Elizabeth left the completed house on her death in 1784 to her nephew William Gale, who in turn left it to one of his aunts, Mrs Walsh, in 1785. Its later occupants included the Marquis de la Luzerne during his time as French ambassador to the Court of St. James's (1788 to 1791), the 4th Duke of Atholl (1798 to 1808), the 4th Duke of Newcastle (1820 to 1861), Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid (1862 to 1919), and Lord and Lady Islington (1919 to 1926). In 1926, it was leased by Samuel Courtauld to house his growing art collection. On his wife's death in 1931, he gave the house and the collection to the fledgling Courtauld Institute of Art (which he had played a major part in founding) as temporary accommodation. A permanent accommodation was not forthcoming, and the Institute remained in the building until 1989, when it moved to its present home of Somerset House. Home House then remained vacant for seven years, until it was acquired by Berkeley Adam Ltd. The building has been a private members' club since 1998. It was extended to include No. 21, as well as the original Nos. 19 and 20, in 2010. It was home to artwork by Zaha Hadid in the form of a Cocktail Bar prior to its refurbishment in 2020. Home House was appointed a Grade I listed building in 1954.

Montagu House, Portman Square
Montagu House, Portman Square

Montagu House at 22 Portman Square was a historic London house. Occupying a site at the northwest corner of the square, in the angle between Gloucester Place and Upper Berkeley Street, it was built for Mrs Elizabeth Montagu, a wealthy widow and patroness of the arts, to the design of the neoclassicist architect James Stuart. Construction began in 1777 and the house was completed in 1781, whereupon it became Mrs Montagu's London residence until her death on 25 August 1800. The house was destroyed by an incendiary bomb in the Blitz of London and the site is now occupied by the Radisson SAS Portman Hotel. As described in a newspaper of the time, there were some improvements to the house that were completed in 1791. These were a drawing room and a feather room. The drawing room was designed by Bonomi. The centrepiece of the ceiling was painted by Riguad. The columns of verde antico were executed by Bartoli. The chimney piece was by Westmascott. The carvings and gildings were by Nelson and Borgnis. The drawing room was hung with white figured damask. The curtains were white satin fringed with gold. In addition the room was furnished with chandeliers and large mirrors. The feather room was designed by Bonomi. The background on the walls was of white feathers. These were then decorated with brilliantly coloured feathers sewn together to form festoons of flowers and other fanciful decorations. The decoration of this room was executed by Mrs Montagu together with a number of other women attendants.