The final pink property on the Monopoly board Northumberland Avenue is also in the London Borough of Westminster.
Northumberland Avenue runs from Trafalgar Square to the Thames Embankment.
In 1608-1609 the present Earl of Northampton purchased property and land which formed the site on which Northampton House was built. The Earl’s nephew, Thomas Howard the Earl of Suffolk gained ownership of the house and it became known as Suffolk House. In 1642 Lady Elizabeth Howard married Algernon Percy the 10th Earl of Northumberland and Northampton House became known as Northumberland House. The Percy Lion was erected on the front of the house in 1749.
In 1768 Northumberland House suffered damage from a mob of people during the Wilkes’ election riots. To save his property the Duke lit up his windows and opened the Ship ale-house.
Northumberland Avenue was created in 1875 when the Metropolitan Board of Works were civically improving the West End. It involved the demolition of Northumberland House (for which the Duke accepted £500,000 for) in order to provide a link between Trafalgar Square and the new Embankment. The surrounding mansions had already been demolished and the area was predominately commercial. The street was designed as an avenue by Sir Joseph Bazalgette and George Vulliamy and works were finished in March 1876.
1882 The Royal Avenue Theatre was built by Sefton Henry Parry showing comic operas and burlesques. The theatre was rebuilt in 1905, during the work part of the roof collapsed and fell across the train lines, it also caused the western side of the stations wall to fall into the theatre killing three people at the station and three workman at the theatre. After repairs it was reopened on 28th January 1907 as The Playhouse.
In 1883 construction started on The Metropole Hotel and it was opened in 1885. During World War I it was used to provide accommodation for Government staff, reopening as a hotel after the war ended. In 1936 the Government leased the entire hotel at a cost of £300,000pa to provide office accommodation for the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Transport, Air Ministry and Ministry of defence. In World War II room 474 was the first home for MI9. Until 1992 the hotel housed the majority of the Defence Intelligence Staff. In the Daily Express comic strip the Metropole was often depicted as MI6 HQ. The building was unoccupied from 2004 until 2007 when it was bought and reopened as The Corinthia.
Between 1882 and 1887 The Northumberland was built as a 500 room hotel. It endured problems along the way as the Northumberland Avenue Hotel Company went bankrupt in 1884. Jabez Balfour took over and the hotel was completed and launched as the Hotel Victoria in the 1887. In 1893 Frederick Gordon the owner of the Metropole and Grand Hotel bought it. In 1940 the hotel ceased trading and the Government took ownership, renaming it Northumberland House. It eventually became empty until it was purchased by the London School of Economics converting it into student halls of residences.
Listed Buildings
Trafalgar Buildings
Northumberland House
9 Northumberland Avenue
Future
There are plans to restore the Grade I listed Palace of Westminster at a possible cost of over £3 billion to taxpayers. Presently the building is home to the House of Lords since 1847 and the Commons since 1852. Repairs and restoration work could take 50 years, with work expected to start after 2020.
To be completed in 2015 Vauxhall Bridge Road office building to be converted into 25 new homes of which 18 affordable rent homes with views over Whitehall in the top apartments.
Also to be completed in 2015 is 199 Westminster Bridge Road which will comprise of 1093 student bedrooms, a 65,000 sq ft school and 4000 sq ft of work space, gym, pool, café and gardens.
Planned for 2018 is the £60 million Garden Bridge across the Thames received planning permission from Lambeth council recently. It will solely be a footbridge which will run from Temple Station on the north side of the Thames to the Southbank Centre.
The Thames Tideway Tunnel will run through Westminster under the River Thames. Near Westminster will be the new Victoria Embankment Foreshore which will commence construction in 2016; and the Albert Embankment Foreshore which will commence in 2017.
Information
The average sold price of a Flat in June 2014 was £665,000
The average sold price of a Terraced House in February 2014 was £4,200,000
If purchasing a property in Northumberland Avenue Conveyancing Data Services recommended searches are Groundsure Energy, Groundsure Underground Report, Groundsure HS2 and a Flood Report.
The average rent of a two bedroom flat in Westminster is £4174.
The nearest Underground are Charing Cross or Embankment.
The nearest Overground is Charing Cross.
Northumberland Avenue is in the Congestion Charge Zone. You have to pay an £11.50 daily charge if you drive between 07.00 and 18.00, Monday to Friday.
