The first floor has the main reception rooms for entertaining, as in all major houses of the period.
One of central London’s most distinctive landmarks, the Naval and Military Club’s former home on Piccadilly, is in the process of tracing an historical arc that may yet become a full circle. It began as an extremely wealthy aristocrat’s London home in 1761, and later became the residence of a serving Prime Minister. For more than a hundred years it was used by the Naval and Military Club, better known as the In and Out, after the signs on the entrance and exit gateposts. It has recently gone through a decade of disuse, and now looks set to become the most expensive private residence in modern London. In 2014 No. 94 Piccadilly stood empty, but was poised for a fresh life, after its property company owners had gained permission to turn it back into a single dwelling: ideal for someone comfortable with forty-eight rooms and a price tag of a quarter of a billion pounds.
The first floor has the main reception rooms for entertaining, as in all major houses of the period.
Of all the former occupants of 94 Piccadilly, the 1st Duke of Cambridge had the highest status, and for this reason the property is known as Cambridge House. Lord Palmerston later bought the house and lived there during his term as Prime Minister. After his death, the lease of Cambridge House was acquired by a fast-growing service club recently formed by young officers, who were looking for larger premises. The Naval and Military members soon commissioned extensive changes, including a portico and a large dining room. Re-opening on St George’s Day 1878, Cambridge House remained in the hands of the In and Out Club for more than 130 years. Former members have included T.E. Lawrence and Ian Fleming. In recent years membership was expanded to include those who had not served in the armed forces.
The Long Corridor dates from the time of the house’s conversion to a clubhouse.
Even by the standards of Victorian clubland, the In and Out on Piccadilly was a lavish establishment. It was less cramped in scale and outlook than many of the older clubs just off the pavements of St James’s, with a view over Green Park and an expansive driveway entrance. Its location is classic, sitting right on the border of Mayfair and St James’s.
After the lease on 94 Piccadilly expired, the Naval and Military Club moved to a new home in St James’s Square in 1999, and the building came into the possession of an entrepreneur, who planned to turn it into a hotel and a members’ club along modern lines, with a swimming pool beneath the forecourt and extensive sports facilities underground. Those plans did not develop and the ownership changed again, going to the real estate company of David and Simon Reuben.
The tableless billiard room, awaiting renovation.
In 2014 the interior remained largely intact but unfurnished, showing the features of the renovation-conversion of 1876–8, which had made the house into a club. It is a glimpse of old clubland, with a now-tableless billiard room and an old-fashioned porter’s lodge, unattended but ready to be brought to life by a loyal club servant. The smoking room, the enlarged dining room and an elegant long corridor on the first floor all date from this time, along with the extensive wine cellar. Restoration of Cambridge House to a residence would aim to retain many of these features, and would take three to four years.
The porter’s lodge, typical of nineteenth-century clubland.
Cambridge House has had no other purpose than a clubhouse in anyone’s memory, and it is hard to imagine it reverting to residential use. When Charles 2nd Earl of Egremont commissioned the house in 1761 he used it as his London home. Piccadilly was a smart residential area then, and only became a mainly commercial area after 1945, with car dealership showrooms, offices, hotels, an embassy and several corporate headquarters lining the street. More than one property specialist based in Mayfair has reported that the balance may be shifting back in favour of old buildings becoming houses again, including Cambridge House. Houses are worth more than offices.