Lombard House (originally Sunderland House) is a Grade II listed detached town mansion at the corner of Curzon Street and Trebeck Street in the Mayfair district of London, England. It occupies an entire island block bordered by Curzon Street to the north, Trebeck Street to the east, Shepherds Market to the south, and Hertford Street to the west. The house was built between 1901 and 1904 as a London residence for Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough and his American heiress wife, Consuelo Vanderbilt, whose father, railroad millionaire William Kissam Vanderbilt, funded the purchase of the building site and the construction of the house. In the months following the conclusion of the First World War, Sunderland House was used as the temporary London headquarters of the League of Nations.
Used primarily for commercial purposes from the 1930s onwards, the house sustained significant damage during The Blitz, with only the external masonry surviving the war. The building acquired the name 'Lombard House' during its period of use by the Lombard Bank from the mid-1950s until the late 1990s. The building was reconverted into a private residence during the early 2000s.
History Origins Built on the cleared site of the Curzon Street Chapel (demolished in 1899), Sunderland House was financed by William Kissam Vanderbilt as a gift for his daughter Consuelo, who had married the ninth Duke of Marlborough in 1895.
Consuelo records in her 1953 memoir The Glitter and the Gold that the Dukes of Marlborough had not maintained a permanent London residence during the later decades of the nineteenth century. During the early years of their marriage, the couple took various short‑term leases on townhouses in London. During Consuelo's first London season (May to July 1896), a small house in South Audley Street was leased. In the 1890s, London's social and political life was centered on a series of palatial aristocratic and royal townhouses. Consuelo's memoir records the lasting impression made on her by the grand settings these homes provided for near‑nightly receptions, dinners, and events during her first London season, including at: Marlborough House, the London home of the Prince of Wales Lansdowne House, the London base of the then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne Devonshire House, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire Montagu House, belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch Apsley House, belonging to the Duke of Wellington Grosvenor House, belonging to the Duke of Westminster Hampden House, London home of the Duke of Abercorn Holland House, the London home of Henry Fox-Strangways, 5th Earl of Ilchester, and site of the traditional end‑of‑season ball Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Sovereign and the location of Consuelo's formal presentation at court following her marriage
In 1897, the Marlboroughs took a lease of Spencer House, where their first child, John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, was born on 18 September. Consuelo felt the house was a fitting place for the birth, as the Dukes of Marlborough were descendants of the Spencer family.
A permanent London base Having entered London society during the zenith of the splendor and influence associated with London's palatial aristocratic mansions, Consuelo attributed the construction of Sunderland House to her husband's decision to embark on a political career (his appointment as Paymaster General in 1899 was succeeded by his elevation to Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1903). She records that "with my husband embarked on a political career it seemed advisable to have a permanent establishment in London rather than lease a different house every year. I only had to mention our wish for my father to promise its fulfillment."
Contemporary newspapers record that Consuelo Vanderbilt's father, William K. Vanderbilt, and her husband, the ninth Duke of Marlborough, initially made inquiries as to whether the family's former London seat, Marlborough House, could be recovered from the Crown Estate. When it became clear this was not possible, Vanderbilt purchased a rare freehold parcel of land on Curzon Street for US$380,000. According to Consuelo, freehold properties in the capital were difficult to obtain, as the most desirable districts were dominated by great landlords—such as the Duke of Westminster, Viscount Portman, and the Earl Cadogan, who each reportedly preferred to lease rather than sell their estates; in her memoirs Consuelo observed that "to find a freehold, however small, was therefore an achievement." Other sources suggest the site of the demolished Curzon Street Chapel was purchased for £26,000 (US$130,000).
The site acquired—formerly occupied by the Curzon Street Chapel—became the location for a large mansion approximately 60 feet wide and 100 feet deep. Construction commenced in 1901 and was completed in 1904. William Vanderbilt reportedly spent US$500,000 on construction and over US$1,000,000 on interiors and furnishings, bringing the total cost of Sunderland House to more than US$2,500,000.
The question of a name for the house was raised by the Prince of Wales at a dinner held at his London residence, Marlborough House. The Prince also expressed his view that the site was ill‑chosen owing to the proximity of the new house to a slum near Curzon Street. Consuelo ventured both "Blandford House" and "Sunderland House", with the latter ultimately chosen (the titles Marquess of Blandford and Earl of Sunderland were among the many subsidiary titles held by the Duke of Marlborough).
Residence of Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough Following completion of the house, the Duke and Duchess were honored with a visit from King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at a dinner at their new London home in March 1905. The building had only recently been completed and occupied when the royal dinner took place. According to Mary S. Lovell, Consuelo and the Duke had not yet finished furnishing the house when they moved in.
Lovell also notes that Sunderland House was the first residence Consuelo was able to furnish according to her own tastes. She selected French antiques and modern domestic amenities, including bathrooms and heating, in contrast to the limited modern comforts she had found on her arrival at the Duke's ancestral seat, Blenheim Palace. In contrast to Blenheim, Sunderland House is described by Lovell as "her [Consuelo's] house", and came to symbolize a transition in Consuelo's domestic autonomy, even as the marriage itself was deteriorating.
As the breakdown of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough's marriage became increasingly public, it became known that the couple had signed a deed of separation on 23 October 1906. Under the terms of the agreement, Consuelo retained ownership of Sunderland House, which became her main residence in the United Kingdom. Despite the standing rule that separated or divorced couples could not be received at court, Consuelo noted that "London society would not be so governed." In the year following their separation, she stood with her father at the head of the staircase to welcome a steady flow of guests at a concert she hosted at Sunderland House.
Following her separation from the Duke, Sunderland House also emerged as a center of Consuelo's budding social activism. In November 1913, she hosted a conference at Sunderland House to advocate for improved conditions for female industrial workers.
First World War After the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Consuelo allowed Sunderland House to be used for charitable events and fundraising activities supporting the war effort. In 1916, the composition of the household staff attracted attention due to wartime shortages of male servants. Reports described the Duchess being driven by a female chauffeuse along Curzon Street, while a "smart-looking young woman" in overalls and trousers took on duties traditionally performed by male footmen, such as sweeping marble steps and polishing front door handles.
Consuelo records that during 1915 it became "fashionable to offer one's London house to the War Office as a nursing home." As Sunderland House was not adapted for this purpose, it was the only large house left free for public meetings. During 1916 and 1917, the mansion's cellars and strong rooms were among several in London opened to the public for shelter during Zeppelin air raids. The Duchess was credited as one of the early advocates for this practice among aristocratic homeowners. Consuelo received several letters from neighbors living in small, old, rather frail houses, thanking her for saving their lives by allowing them to seek refuge in the basement of Sunderland House; however, Consuelo ordered her maid not to wake her during raids, stating that if she were to be "blown up", she thought it better not to anticipate it.
The house was reportedly uncomfortable to live in during the war; owing to wartime restrictions there was no central heating, and Consuelo lived in a flat on the third floor, working in a small sitting room where she took meals on a tray and depended on sunlight and a small coal fire for heat. Consuelo received some criticism for occupying so large a house during the war, and stated that she only continued to occupy Sunderland House to lend the long gallery to the charities and meetings she regularly supported and sometimes chaired. Servants were increasingly hard to find, and upon receiving the resignation of a tenth housemaid, Consuelo was informed by the maid that "I thought I had come to a private house, but I find it's the town hall, and I'm sick of washing that marble floor after those meetings and refreshments."
In early 1918, the Office of Works took possession of Sunderland House for use by the Interallied War Council, with occupation lasting until mid‑1919.Sale of Sunderland House Recalls Striking Bits of History. The Sun. 1 June 1919. p. 6. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
League of Nations In April 1919, the newly formed League of Nations leased the property for use as its first London headquarters, including establishment of its initial library. The secretariat of the League was based at Sunderland House until November 1920; following their departure the property was returned to Consuelo.
Departure Consuelo did not resume residence at Sunderland House after the building was vacated by the League of Nations; in June 1919 she had leased a smaller London residence at No. 1 Portman Square, which she subsequently gifted to her eldest son John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford when he married The Hon. Mary Cadogan in February 1920. None of Consuelo's descendants resided at Sunderland House after the War; her son continued to maintain a London residence at No. 1 Portman Square until 1927, when he leased No. 27 Hill Street, Mayfair from the Grosvenor Estate. Following Lord Blandford's succession as the 10th Duke of Marlborough in 1934, he sold the lease of 27 Hill Street in 1936 and purchased the Crown Lease of No. 11 Kensington Palace Gardens. This remained as the 10th Duke's London residence until it was requisitioned by the British Army during the Second World War; following the conclusion of the war, the 10th Duke sold his lease of 11 Kensington Palace Gardens to the French Government, who have subsequently maintained the property as the Official Residence of the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom since the late 1940s until the present day.
Attempts at sale Surviving newspaper reports from the Daily Mail suggest that Consuelo was seeking to sell Sunderland House for £250,000 in November 1921.