From Wikipedia
Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James’s district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces, the Western and Eastern terraces, of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street, which overlook The Mall and St. James’s Park. These terraces were built on Crown land between 1827 and 1832 to overall designs by John Nash, but with detailed input by other architects including Decimus Burton. Construction was overseen by James Pennethorne. Both terrace blocks are Grade I listed buildings. A separate but linked cul-de-sac at the terrace’s western end is named Carlton Gardens and has a few additional townhomes.
In the early 18th century, an aristocratic townhouse built on the site was rented by Baron Carleton, from whom the present name of the terrace derives. A century later, Carlton House, also known as Carlton Palace, gained a prominent social profile when it was enlarged and occupied by the Prince Regent. After falling out of favour with George IV, who moved into Buckingham Palace on his accession in 1820, the house was pulled down and the Crown replaced the demolished palace with the current terraces. They are divided by the Duke of York’s Steps which lead down from Pall Mall to The Mall, as part of Nash’s triumphal redesign of central London. A smaller flight of steps at the terrace’s western end divides it from Carlton Gardens. These steps are the site of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Memorial.
The site’s proximity to the centres of royal and political life in London have seen a large number of notable people take up residence in the terrace and the adjacent gardens. These include Prime Ministers, Lords Palmerston and Grey, William Gladstone, who lived in a number of houses in both the terrace and the gardens, and Arthur Balfour; other senior politicians such as Lord Curzon; and soldiers including Lords Cardigan and Kitchener. In the mid-20th century, Number 9 served as the German Embassy while Number 4 Carlton Gardens housed the offices of Charles de Gaulle’s Free French forces. The terrace is a centre for the arts and sciences, housing the headquarters of the British Academy, the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Contemporary Arts and the Federation of British Artists. In the 21st century the majority of the houses are occupied as corporate or institutional headquarters, while a smaller, but increasing, number serve as private homes. For many years Numbers 13–16 housed the headquarters of the Crown Estate which continues to own the freehold of the terrace.
Image details
Date: 10 April 2025
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6G ED
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/1,600s
ISO: 200
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International