Seaford House

In the middle of the 19th century, the area now known as Belgravia, and situated between houses in Grosvenor Place and Sloane Street, included mixed pasture, market gardens, waste land and rubbish dumps.

The area was developed by the 2nd Earl of Grosvenor, also known as the Duke of Westminster, and the current Duke remains the owner of the whole area today. The architects he employed conceived 'a fine square as the centre-piece of the area with streets, crescents and other squares around it'.

The house was built in 1842 by Philip Hardwick (1792-1870), who was at various times architect to the St Katherine's Dock Company. Hardwick also designed the old Euston Railway Station and St. Bartholemew's Hospital. The original cost of the house was just £22,000 and it was described by a writer of the day as 'the largest and most magnificent house in the new square'.

The house conformed to the overall plan for Belgravia and included a stableyard, coachhouse, grooms' quarters and an octagonal clock tower. Originally, it had a 'porte-cochere', (which is a porch large enough to accept a coach and horses), but this was destroyed by a large bomb in 1940. Fortunately, the bomb failed to explode, otherwise the whole building would have been devastated. The Spanish and Portuguese Embassies, at the other corners of the square, still have similar constructions. Originally, the carriageway extended around the south side of the house, down to the stableyard.

The lease was initially held by the Earls of Sefton, and it was called Sefton House. Both the 3rd and 4th Earls used it as a town house until the 4th Earl died in 1897.

Lord Howard de Walden, the 8th Baron, (who was also Baron Seaford) acquired the lease in 1902, and almost the whole of the inside of the building was then renovated, including the introduction of the onyx staircase and friezes. The panelling in the dining room (now the lecture hall) and the ceiling were also put in at that time. The marble for the staircase was imported by Lord Howard de Walden from South America; it is said that he bought the mine from which the onyx was extracted in order to ensure sufficient supply. The house was renamed Seaford House, and became a prime example of an Edwardian town house, tailor-made for entertaining during the London Season. Today, it is one of the few houses with the public rooms remaining in virtually the original state.

Seaford House was requisitioned by the government on 13 June 1940 as headquarters for the Assistance Board. On the night of 14/15 October 1940, the building suffered some damage from bombing, including the destruction of the porte-cochere mentioned earlier, and the Assistance Board was evacuated. The house was later occupied as offices by the Air Ministry from 30 March 1943 until March 1945.

The building was considered for use as the French Embassy, but this did not occur and the Directing Staff of the Imperial Defence College moved into Seaford House on 11 March 1946. The first post-war course started on 2 April 1946.

The lease of Seaford House was purchased by the Ministry of Works on 1 October 1947, and expired in 1963. In 1961 the Ministry of Works acquired an extension of the lease for a further 58 years, i.e. until 2019. In 1992, the building was extensively refurbished, including complete rewiring and installation of a new heating/cooling system.

Seaford House is listed under the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 as a building of special architectural or historical interest, chiefly due to the unique staircase.

Syndicate Room A is an imitation of an Italian Renaissance interior of the 15th Century. It has a coffered painted wooden ceiling, panelled door and carved hooded fireplace. Although known to the de Waldons as the Morning Room, it was seldom used except for music recitals. Lord Howard de Walden was a renowned patron of the arts, and his wife an amateur singer of note. Many famous artists of the day performed at Seaford House, including Alicia Markova, Toscanini and Sir Thomas Beecham, to name but a few.

Syndicate Room B has a 'cinematic medieval' interior, with a beamed ceiling, 'stone' walls and a hooded fireplace. It is said to have been designed personally by Lord Howard de Walden, and it was his bedroom. The painted Battle Scene is by Jacques Courtois le Bourgignon (1621-1676).

The closet off Syndicate Room B (now a store) is a very small room with a mahogany type casing in the window. There was just enough room for an early model water closet and wash basin.

The Hall has a green onyx staircase, dating from 1902/3; and the remainder of this area is of the same period. There is some doubt about the circular lantern light above the Hall, where the 'caryatids' (female figures used as pillars) are believed to date from 1840. The columns are in onyx and were installed in 1900. The large sculptural groups over the door and the bronzes on the stairs are all dated 1900 (bronzes work of A C Lucchesi, 1860-1925, who was born and lived in London, and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1881 until his death). There was a discreetly hidden passageway across the hall, running behind the staircase!

Busts and pictures in the Hall:

• Wellington by Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823)
• Nelson
• Napoleon by Camoill. Presented by members of the United Services Club (USC) on the amalgamation of USC with the Junior USC in 1955.
• A picture of a rural scene by Oliver Hall (1869-1957) known for his moorland and Spanish subjects; his son paints under the name of Claude Muncaster. This hung in the Lecture Hall until 1984, then in Syndicate Room A.
• The Bust of Sir Winston Churchill by the South American sculptress Margaritha Hernandez. The bust was specially commissioned by the College in 2005, which owes its origins to the recommendations of a Cabinet committee in 1922, presided over by Churchill, who was then Secretary of State for the Colonies.

The Waiting Room was Lord de Walden's bathroom in around 1840. There is an earlier type fireplace (or copy) near the door, circa 18th century.

Pictures and photographs include:

• Vice Admiral Richmond (the first Commandant) by Mrs S Schmolle. Presented by the 1970 Course.
• Field Marshal Viscount Slim (the first post-war Commandant) by James Romaine Govett. On loan from the present Viscount Slim.
• Air Chief Marshal J C Slessor (the second post-war Commandant) by Orde. On loan from the Imperial War Museum.
• Photograph of Sir Robert Scott (the first Civilian Commandant in 1960).

The Reading Room (originally known as The Wedgwood Room) has an attractive 'Adam' type ceiling and fireplace. The wall panelling and pilasters are very plain (probably dating from 1900). This was Lady Howard de Walden's bedroom with her bathroom in the room behind (now a ladies' lavatory). The doorway at the back is almost certainly modern, but the blocked-off door, which is opposite the door to Lord Howard de Walden's bedroom across the hall, was probably, around 1902/3, the main access to the room.

The Library was connected with the Wedgwood Room through a small linking closet, and still could be, although that route is currently blocked off. The ceiling is in 1840 style, but was refurbished, modified, (or even put up?), in the 1960s. The Room was the Library in 1902/3, but access through Lady Howard de Walden's bedroom would have been awkward, and it is difficult to accept that this was the only way in. There is, however, some doubt over the time at which the current access, through a small lobby from the Hall (nicely balancing the door to Syndicate Room A) was opened up, but it could have been as recently as the 1960s.

The Lecture Hall was established during the 1900s conversion. This room is a copy of an Italian-French early 17th century-styled imitation of a Renaissance interior. It has a coffered painted timber gilded ceiling and polished walnut panelled walls. The large white marble fireplace is of early 18th century design. This room was originally the Dining Room, and there was a service lift to it, arriving in a pantry now used as the projection room. The present Lord Howard de Walden can remember eating alone there as a small boy, waited on by a butler and two footmen, all in full livery. The painting above the fireplace is a depiction of the Guns of the Naval Brigade in action during the Boer War, and recalls the historical event at which the Naval Brigade, rather than abandon their guns to the advancing Boers, dismantled them and carried them in pieces across a Wadi, before bringing them back into action in support of the retreat. This was the origin of the Naval Field Gun competition at the annual Royal Tournament display, which survived until 2000.

The Gun Room was named by the Imperial Defence College for the presentation gun from India in its case in the corner. The saucer dome over the cornice and the plastered wall panelling is richly carved and gilded. The ceiling and part of the cornice almost certainly date to 1840; the panelling below may date from 1902/3. The doorways and large opening to the Staircase are certainly of 1902/3. The doors are mahogany and are of the same period. Many of them are false, a device required to create the desired symmetry. The Gun Room (known to the de Waldens as the ante-room), was used to house the orchestra for musical evenings, with guests sitting round the remaining sides of the stair gallery under the dome. The balcony and awning over the porte-cochere, which can be seen in several contemporary prints of the house, was also incorporated as part of the space available for musical evenings.

The Writing Room has a richly ornamented ceiling and cornice dating from 1840. The panelled walls below, door-cases and large opening to the Ante Room date from 1902/3. The marble fireplace is perhaps rather small for the room, and might be earlier, perhaps late 18th Century and possibly Italian. The room was always a drawing room, but may have once had a larger fireplace.

Pictures:

• Sir Winston Churchill by J Leigh Pemberton (copy of the original by Sir Oswald Birley in Speakers House). Presented by the 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960 Courses.
• Lord Trenchard by J Leigh Pemberton (copy of the original by Sir Oswald Birley in the RAF Club). Presented by the 1947 Course.
• The Philosopher. Attributed to Jans Massys (1509-1575). Presented by Admiral Sir Lionel Preston, Commandant 1933/4.
• Sir Maurice Hankey by Sir William Orpen RA (on loan from the National Portrait Gallery), painted at the Pans Peace Conference of 1919.
• Lord Douglas of Kirtelside by James Gunn RA (on loan from the Imperial War Museum).

Pictures:

• HM King George VI by Denis Fildes. Presented by 1948, 1949 and 1950 Courses.
• HM Queen Elizabeth II by Denis Fildes. Presented by 1951, 1952 and 1953 Courses.
• HRH Duke of Edinburgh by Denis Fildes. Presented by 1954, 1955 and 1956 Courses.
• First Duke of Wellington. Artist unknown. Presented in 1927 by 'past and present members of the Staff Colleges at Camberley and Quetta'.
• Lord Nelson. Presented by Vice Admiral Webb.
• HM King George V by the Van Dyke studios (on loan from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

All the principal rooms have features from the 1900s conversion. Typical are the swagged cornices in the friezes, (however, the upper mouldings could be from 1840). There are plain walls, and quite attractive French 18th century copy fireplaces in wood. One of the walls has a good moulded cast iron fireplace lining. Most of the rooms are arranged in pairs, giving a bedroom with a dressing room or sitting room. All are laid out off a corridor which runs around a central light well, within which rises the roof lantern.

This floor was used for family bedrooms, the nursery and school room. The present Information Services office, directly above the Ante Room, was the nursery in Lord Howard de Walden's time, with a bathroom in the adjacent Members' Services Staff Office.

At the other side of the Nursery, the West Corner Room, was a sitting room, with a small child's bedroom next door. Beyond that, over the front door, the current Commandant's Office and Executive Assistant lobby was one large bedroom, probably for one or two daughters, (there were four of them). The current Directing Staff Office, and most of the Support and Admin area, was the guest suite, with a bathroom at the rear.

Used as rooms for younger children and servants' quarters, it is likely that the rooms on the top floor were quite small. Over the years, however, the constant pressure on space caused by the expanding course size has led to the partition walls being adjusted to give some bigger rooms. These are now used for seminar work and as the Computer Room, as well as Senior Directing Staff offices.

The basement area is much changed in layout from the de Waldon era, but with the addition of the 65-seat Restaurant, and modern changing and bathrooms, the rooms still cater for the needs of the members and staff as did the Servants' Hall, larders, stores and pantries which preceded them.

Over successive years, the use of the areas behind the building has changed with the requirement. In the new era of the reversible motorcar, the carriage drive was closed off, as were the stables and coach houses. Instead, a large garage and chauffeur's area was provided, partially sunk into a part of the garden. Traces of the stables can still be seen, but successive conversions have seen the hayloft become a fencing practice room (Lord Howard de Waldon represented England at Olympic level), and the loft is currently the illustration and graphics studio. The Stables areas below are used for storage, admin offices and small syndicate rooms. One room is made available as a multi-faith room. The garage area has recently been converted to a gymnasium and fitness centre.

In 1958, and following a suggestion by Lord Mountbatten, the accommodation at the rear of the courtyard, and fronting onto Groom Place, was converted into an apartment for the Commandant.