Apsley House, London.
Apsley House, also known as Number One London, proudly stands alone on Hype Park Corner, one of central London’s busiest thoroughfares.The house is still in part a residence to the 8th Duke of Wellington with the public face in the hands of English Heritage. Apsley houses a substantial collection of art works ranging from paintings by Rubens to an Egyptian Revival dinner service from Louis XVIII of France.
The name Apsley is taken from Henry Bathurst, 1st Baron Apsley, for whom the house was designed and built for by Robert Adam between 1771 and 1778. In 1817 the house was purchased by the 1st Duke of Wellington to become his London residence allowing him to pursue his political career. Wellington went on to become Prime Minister and subsequent alterations and extensions were made to the house by Benjamin Dean Wyatt. Wyatt converted much of the Neoclassical Adam styling in favour of a Regency influence.
There are two examples of taboret stripe at Apsley House No1 London, the home of the Duke of Wellington. In the restoration of the Yellow Room all traces of the original were thought lost until by chance a small cutting on a chair gave clues to the layout and shade of yellow. Despite being 200 years old the document still bore the water marking of the finishing process. The crimson room features a two tone version in the same layout with the watering in the straw coloured alternating stripes.
The Piccadilly Drawing Room
The Piccadilly Drawing Room at the front of the house looks directly onto the Wellington Arch. The room still has some remaining elements of the original Adam design, however is largely influenced by Wyatt’s alterations.
The 1854 inventory of the house describes the walling decoration as yellow striped ‘tabaret’ which was woven again by Humphries Weaving. The fabric is a silk and linen construction and has a Moiré or ‘watered’ finish. It is used for walling, curtains and upholstery in the room. The colour was established from the only remaining original fragment discovered behind fixtures during the 1993 restoration.
Project reference: 1254
The Striped Drawing Room
The original Adam design for this space was three rooms; a dressing room, a servant’s room and a bedroom. Wyatt amalgamated the rooms to create The Striped Drawing Room seen today. Leading from this room is The State Dining Room and it was intended that guests could relax in The Striped Drawing Room both before and after dining.
Humphries Weaving were commissioned to recreate the taboret stripe wall hangings and furnishings in cream and crimson. Fragments of earlier reproductions are in the Humphries Archive. As in The Piccadilly Drawing Room the fabric has a Moiré finish and is of a silk and linen composition.
Project reference: 1257
Private Apartments
Apsley House is still the London house of the Dukes of Wellington, with the private family apartements concentrated to the second floor of the building.
The house was given to the nation in 1947, under the Wellington Museum Act with the agreement that part of the house would be kept as private family residence and the remainder would be converted to public use as a museum.
Humphries Weaving produced Irish poplin in celadon green for window drapes in the private apartments.
Project reference: 1315
Undisclosed Room
Wool camlet was woven by Humphries Weaving in a peony shade for window drapes.
Project reference: 489
