Built in the 1770's, Albany is the perfect pied a terre - as proved by the distinguished list of tenants in its 240yr history. Originally the home of the 1st Viscount Mebourne, the name was left by Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, some years later and the 'slightly disreputable' air not until the nineteenth century when Henry Holland converted the mansion into 'sets'.
These sets, or flats will set you back an astonishing £5k per month should you be so inclined, but you may find the restrictions on 'ungentlemanly behaviour' put a dampner on your saunter along the rope walk from Mayfair to Piccadilly.
Oddly enough, considering the calibre of the tenants, many of whom are recognised elsewhere (some more than once) there's not a blue plaque in sight. But you won't have to travel far to find them.
Residents include:
The architects:
Holland, Basevi (Saville Row), Smirke (Charlotte Street).
The writers:
Huxley (Bracknell Gardens), Priestley, Byron, Rattigan (Cornwall Gardens)
The politicians:
Canning (Berkeley Square), Palmerston (Queen Anne's Gate, Carlton Gardens, Piccadilly), Gladstone Carlton House Terrace, Eglinton Road, St James' Square, Harley Street), Heath, Macaulay, Clark, Nicholson (Ebury Street), Brougham (Grafton Street).
The actors:
Dame Edith Evans (Ebury Street), Terence Stamp
and Simon Jenkins.
This is a tiny percentage of the long list documented in the survey of London (English Heritage) but hey, you've got to start somewhere, no?
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