Marlborough Mansions

Image Galleries

History

In 1900 Edward Cave himself lived at 38 Marlborough Mansions and his first wife, Elizabeth, actually owned 1 to 37 Marlborough Mansions until the First World War. She also owned and ran the Caves' West Hampstead Estate Office from Marlborough Mansions.

Edward Cave began business in 1865 with about £100 capital and in the following 35 years he was engaged in large-scale building operations in Hampstead and Maida Vale. In 1900 he went bankrupt owing £504,787 - a huge amount in those days - with assets of only £28,253!

Edward Boehmer and Percy Gibbs were speculating architects long associated with Edward Cave's enterprises. They built up a considerable reputation since the early 1890's as designers of fashionable and grandiose shops and mansion blocks on the continental model. Edward Boehmer (1861 - 1940) was born in Germany but trained as an architect in the USA - though he probably had gained some experience in Germany. Between 1889 and 1903 he was in partnership with his brother-in-law, Percy Christian Gibbs (1864 - 1904). Boehmer and Gibbs' trademarks were projecting corner turrets, big-boned bay windows, and artificial stone as decoration on deep-red brick.

Although the then London County Council had initial quibbles about the original design of Marlborough Mansions, especially its porches, Edward Cave's buildings, especially those in West Hampstead, have a reputation for durability and solidity of construction and his blocks of flats are regarded as striking and distinctive landmarks.

The individual blocks of Marlborough Mansions have had different owners. Early on 58 – 75 Marlborough Mansions was owned by Herbrand, the 11th Duke of Bedford. Marlborough Mansions residents are first mentioned in the 1901 Electoral Register for West Hampstead, appearing under the heading of 'Cannon Hill, Finchley Road'. From the start Marlborough Mansions has had a high class of residents. Famous occupants include the conductor, Sir Adrian Boult; the novelist, Nigel Balchin, who died at Marlborough Mansions in 1970; and the painter and teacher of art, Sir William Coldsteam, who lived at 87 Marlborough Mansions in the 1940s.

Other residents at Marlborough Mansions have included titled people such as Lady Thornycroft (at 47 Marlborough Mansions) and Lord and Lady Delacourt-Smith (at 62 Marlborough Mansions); professional people including doctors, surgeons and clergymen such as the Rev. J R Fleming, Doctor of Divinity and Secretary of the Presbyterian Alliance (at 61 Marlborough Mansions); a holder of the Military Cross and an OBE holder (Mr S H Woolrych at 73 Marlborough Mansions); a merchant; a 'Printers' Engineering Inventor'; and a wholesale food distributor, linguist, florist, and 'nursery governess'.

The economic depression of the 1930s did not seem to have much impact on Marlborough Mansions as the Times newspaper showed advertisements from flats there for maids, mother's helps, 'cook-gene als' and 'house parlourmaids', who were to have help from other domestic staff already employed by the advertisers, themselves usually small families of just two or three members! One family at 3 Marlborough Mansions advertised over a period of four years for a maid, a mother's help (for two schoolgirls), a cook-general, and a 'house parlourmaid'!

High explosive bombs and incendiaries fell on Marlborough Mansions during the Second World War (1939 - 1945) but despite this, residents still continued to live there. Receiving such a positive response to our questionnaire from the residents on Marlborough Mansions, it is easy to see that there is a great community spirit throughout the block with an annual garden party and festive events. Positioned between West End Lane and Finchley Road, Marlborough Mansions benefits from an abundance of nearby bars, cafes, parks, transport links and schools.

We know Mansion Blocks

The first Mansion Blocks were built in the early 19th Century, providing luxurious residences for the growing urban upper middle classes. As the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Europe it brought about a population boom in the major cities, and Mansion Blocks were devised to provide luxury us housing for wealthy white collar workers. As the centre of the cities became increasingly crowded, the blocks provided this growing class with housing that boasted impressive entrances, generous elevations and balconies reminiscent of mansions. They were a particularly popular innovation in polite Parisian society.

In spite of their popularity on the continent, Londoners were initially sceptical about this new style of accommodation. In the 1850s a spacious Mansion flat would set back the buyer somewhere in the order of £50-£200 per annum, but the idea of living in such a communal manner was entirely contradictory to the dominant Victorian social ideals of the age.

Firstly, and most importantly, apartment dwellings were simply not considered ‘proper’, but it was not just a case of old English snobbery; there was also widely held fear that this new type of residence would increase the risk of burglary and the spread of infection and disease. By the 1880s London society had gradually warmed to the idea and the decade was marked by a flurry of Mansion Block construction across the city

We know West Hampstead

In Medieval times the hamlet of West End was first established as a small – and rather poor – conurbation set on the vacant strip of land nestled between Hampstead and Kilburn. Some years later in the early 18th Century, as Hampstead became an increasingly popular resort for wealthy Londoners on retreat, many of the residents of West End found employment serving in the grand houses and estates.

It was not until the latter half of the 19th Century that the village really started to grow. The arrival of the railway in the 1850s brought a new source of employment and transport access and by the 1890s the suburbs of London w ere gradually creeping towards Willesden and Cricklewood. During a 20 year period West End experienced a population explosion – up from 8 000 in 1881 to 30 000 in 1901. It was also during this time that West End picked up a new name – West Hampstead.