Devonshire House - Demolition

Demolition

Following the First World War many aristocratic families abandoned their London house and Devonshire House was to be no exception; it was deserted in 1919. The demolition was mentioned several times nostalgically in literature. It caused Virginia Woolf's Clarissa Dalloway to think "Devonshire House, without its gilt leopards", (a reference to the house's gilded gates) as she passed down Piccadilly. and more notable, inspired Siegfried Sassoon's ‘Monody on the Demolition of Devonshire House.'

The reason for the abandonment was because the 9th Duke was the first of his family to have to pay death duties, these amounted to over £500,000. Additionally, he inherited the debts of the 7th Duke; the double burden resulted in the sale of books by Caxton, many Shakespeare 1st editions and Devonshire House with its even more valuable three acres of gardens. The sale was finalised, for a price of £750,000, in 1920 and the house demolished. The two purchasers were Shurmer Sibthorpe and Lawrence Harrison, wealthy industrialists who developed the site, subsequently building a hotel and block of flats. When challenged that the proposed demolition was an act of vandalism Sibthorpe, echoing the buildings 18th century critics replied: "Archaeologists have gathered round me and say I am a vandal, but personally I think the place is an eyesore."