History

This Grade II* listed terraced townhouse is one of the few surviving buildings designed by Scottish neo-classical architects James Adam (1732-1794) and Robert Adam (1728-1792) located in Portland Place.

It was initially built as part of a speculative venture in Portland Place in the years 1773-1796 for the politician John Elwes (1714-1789), a widely reputed miser, often believed to be the inspiration for Charles Dickens' literary character, Ebenezer Scrooge.

The estate was originally designed to be one of the more exclusive areas of the city, with a characteristic central avenue of trees accessible only through its side streets. By the early twentieth century, Portland Place had lost its appeal but is still memorable for its Continental feel and still best known today for being the widest street (40m) in Central London.

In 1901-1906, the building became home to Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, Ist Earl Roberts (1832-1914), who moved here after returning from the Second Boer War to become Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.

In 1914, the building was purchased by two persons, peer and landowner Thomas Evelyn Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden and 4th Baron Seaford (1880-1946) and coal magnate and philanthropist and Liberal MP Sir Arthur Basil Markham (1866-1916). During the ownership of the Markhams, the interiors of the building were refurbished; the ground floor was decorated in the Louis XVI style to accommodate such embellishments as gilded panelling, gold furnishings and dark walls.

The building was later purchased by the Polish Foreign Ministry in 1921 from the widow of Sir Arthur Basil Markham, Lady Lucy Markham, CBE (1873-1960).

During the inter-war years, the Embassy became a key centre in the city's diplomatic landscape. The British press wrote of the famous musical soirees hosted by the Ambassador and his wife. Following the outbreak of World War II, the building became the official headquarters of the Polish Republic-in-Exile.

Architectural Features

The building is a fine example of a Georgian townhouse located on the corner of Portland Place and Weymouth Street. Its four-story, three-bay wide front façade is relatively modest.

Above the ground floor, the brick facade maintains a symmetrical pattern. The ground floor walls, designed to resemble finely dressed stonework rustication, are in stucco. A significant off-centre arch draws attention to the main entrance. Upon entering the generous front door, one is greeted by a wide and spacious entrance hall, a gateway to the principal rooms of classical proportions located in the north wing.

The entrance hall's walls are adorned with plaster basrelief featuring playful putti set against a classical pastoral backdrop, whilst cornices are decorated with medallions and floral embellishments.

A graceful stone staircase leads to the first floor, where the L-shaped music room is a fine example of early twentieth century Japanese-Western eclectic style.

Doors to the main rooms are set in archways with pediments rested on Corinthian pilasters, decorated with elaborate wooden ornaments. Characteristic elements of the main rooms include fine-painted ceiling tondos and chimney pieces with fluted oak stiles and ornamental garlands, festoons, vines and wooden wreaths.

Art Collection

The Polish Embassy houses a modest collection of artworks and objects representing various European art periods.

This collection includes neo-classicist Louis XVI-style furniture, eighteenth—and nineteenth-century landscape paintings, and portraits, including one of the last Polish kings, Stanislaus August Poniatowski (1732-1798), by the Italian neo-classical painter Marcello Baciarelli (1731-1818).

Other valuable works include paintings by late nineteenth-century Polish artists of the Munich School, eighteenth-century engravings of Shakespeare plays by English engraver Robert Thew (1758-1802), and twentieth-century sculptures by famous Polish artists such as the minimalist Magdalena Gross (1891-1948) and cubist Marek Szwarc (1892-1958).