Royalty in 1900 London: York House

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Arthur H. Beavan continued his survey of Royalty in Imperial London, 1901 with a look at York House:

In 1900 there was hardly a spot in London more central and convenient for all purposes than the Duke of Cornwall and York's abode.

It was within easy distance of the Houses of Parliament; it was close to Buckingham Palace; within hail of Marlborough House; and but two miles distant from St Pancras station, the railway approach to Sandringham; and it was, moreover, the centre of club-land.

Meagre are the historic associations of this wing of St. James' Palace.

York House was built for Frederick, Prince of Wales, on the occasion of his marriage in 1736, on the site of a suttling-house belonging to the Guards, and faces Ambassadors' Court and Cleveland Row.

Prince Frederick occupied it for about a year, until his quarrel with the King drove him from Court.

In 1795, Princess Caroline resided here preparatory to her marriage with the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV.

The Duke of Cumberland, subsequently King of Hanover, lived here for a great many years; and H.R.H. the Duchess of Cambridge was identitfied with it from 1851 until her death in 1889.

The plan of the building was, broadly speaking, as follows: a suite of somewhat low-pitched rooms on the ground-floor, several drawing-rooms on the first floor, a corridor in the rear, and the servants' rooms on the top story; all facing Cleveland Row.

On the ground-floor was the dining-room, than which nothing could be more comfortable in its way - neither too long nor too lofty, plenty of light from its four old-fashioned windows.

Its air of cosiness was partly attributable to its high wooded dado of antique design, while its primrose-coloured wall-paper satisfied the artistic eye.

A sort of bowed alcove, in the middle of which was a fire-place, gave character to the room, emphasized by the quaint little recesses on either side, recesses of a kind only met with in old houses, whose shelves, though charmingly adapted for flowers, were, no doubt, in the good old days of after-dinner sittings and sound port, intended to hold a reserve of wine glasses.

Leading out of the Duke's morning-room, was the library, a very cheery retreat, with its salmon-pink walls, white wood book-cases, and general tone of lightness.

On the first floor, facing Cleveland Row, was the large, or Red drawing-room, a noble apartment with five windows. The walls were panelled in crimson silk brocade, varied on the southern wall by gold and crimson, the design that of the three historical feathers.

These textures were made at Spitalfields - an illustration of the Prince of Wales's thoughtful consideration for the encouragement of industries in the East-end.

Out of the large drawing-room through folding-doors, was the Green drawing-room, and beyond it, a smaller one of the same name.

These salons led to the boudoir, the sanctum of the Duchess of Cornwall and York, a pretty room, (there was in 1900 an electrophone communication between York House, St. James' Palace, and the leading London theatres and concert-halls, in order that the Duke and Duchess may listen to the various entertainments, including the opera performances at Covent Garden), silk-panelled in pale blue.

Beyond the boudoir, and occupying the extreme western end of the building, was the chief bedroom suite.

The Duke's dressing-room was, in the Duchess of Cambridge's time, a conservatory, always supplied with beautiful flowers, amidst which a sparkling fountain constantly played.

In 1900 it still retained the old bow-window with miniature panes, the one large square of clear glass having been inserted by the Duke of Clarence to enable him to see up and down the court below.

This room, like that of the Duchess, was, with the exception of the mahogany fittings, entirely white.

On the top floor was a narrow corridor - the length of the building - out of which were the servants' rooms.

The ceilings were low; height having been sacrificed to that of the drawing-room floor, during the last century a common practice in great houses, and noticeable today in Norfolk House, Spencer House, and Devonshire House.

The basement is contracted and dark, but it must be remembered that the house is an old one, and that its peculiar position does not admit of much space "below stairs."

Next: Royalty in 1900 London: Clarence House