Devonshire House in Piccadilly was the London residence of the Dukes of Devonshire in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was built for William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire in the Palladian style, to designs by William Kent. Completed circa 1740, empty after World War I, it was demolished in 1924.
Many of Britain's great peers maintained large London houses that bore their names. As a ducal house (only in mainland Europe were such houses referred to as palaces), Devonshire House was one of the largest and grandest, ranking alongside Burlington House, Montague House, Lansdowne House, Londonderry House, Northumberland House and Norfolk House. All of these have been long demolished, except Burlington and Lansdowne, both of which have been substantially altered.
Today the site is occupied by an office building known as Devonshire House.
Read more about Devonshire House: The Site, Ethos, Architecture, Usage, Demolition, Legacy
Famous quotes containing the words devonshire and/or house:
“They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here, and sea fog, and eerie stories. That’s not because there are more ghosts here than in other places, mind you. It’s just that people who live hereabouts are strangely aware of them.”
—Dodie Smith, and Lewis Allen. Roderick Fitzgerald (Ray Milland)
“This is the end, the redemption from Wilderness, way for the
Wonderer, House sought for All, black handkerchief washed clean by
weeping—page beyond Psalm—Last change of mine and Naomi—to Gods perfect Darkness—Death, stay thy phantoms!”
—Allen Ginsberg (b. 1926)