Forbes House

10 Halkin Street, Belgravia, London

Built from 1810 for Edward Harvey (1773-1848), 5th Earl of Oxford & Mortimer, who named it "Mortimer House". Set in its own grounds and only a few minutes walk from Buckingham Palace, the original architect was Sir Robert Smirke R.A. who designed a five bay mansion. The two extensions since then are easily discernible from the different hues of brick used. Three bays were added onto it in 1824 for the 5th Earl Fitzwilliam (who built the walls and gate too) and the last bay was added in 1912 for the 8th Earl of Granard who renamed it "Forbes House". More recently, the 50,000-square foot house has become the first private home in London to surpass £300-million....

4 images

This house is best associated with...

Bernard Hastings Forbes

The Rt Hon. Bernard Forbes M.P., P.C., 8th Earl of Granard; Master of the Horse

1874-1948

Beatrice (Mills) Forbes

Lady Jane "Beatrice" (Mills) Forbes, O.B.E., Countess of Granard

1883-1972

After Harvey died, it was acquired by the 5th Earl Fitzwilliam. He died in 1857 when it was sold to the Hon. Captain Arthur James Douglas R.N. who died here in 1864 when his brother, Edward Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn, took possession. He maintained the house until his death in 1886 when it passed to his eldest son, George, who died in 1907.

The house was sold in 1910 to Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard, and his American wife, Beatrice, who had houses in Ireland and France but this was their principal residence. They carried out an extensive renovation in an opulent Louis Quinze style, the centrepiece of which was the new entrance hall leading to a full imperial staircase. When they held their house-warming party to which Royalty and the likes of Winston Churchill were invited, the 'new stone' in the interior came off on the guest's clothes. Nonetheless, The Times hailed the party to be the most brilliant for two seasons, and "the scene was certainly one of quite astonishing splendor". Towards the end of World War I, the Granards gave their house to be used as a club for American nurses.

Beatrice maintained the house until 1959, having allowed it to be used in Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Man Who Knew Too Much in which it is depicted as an Eastern European embassy and Doris Day sang "Que Sera Sera" in the ballroom. From about 1960, it was the headquarters of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders. In 2012, it was purchased by the Barclay brothers for £48-million as a London base for Sir David's son, Aidan Barclay. Just four years later, they sold it for an estimated £150-million to the former Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.

In 2017, Al Thani won planning approval to convert the house into a family home, making alterations and an extension which is rumored will set him back another £150 million.