FAMOUS MANSION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22400, 22 April 1936, Page 10

FAMOUS MANSION

MARLBOROUGH HOUSE HOME FOR QUEEN MARY THE FIVE REPUTED "GHOSTS" It has bam said that. Queen Mary intends to take up residence at Marlborough House, London, later this vear. A correspondent of the London Sunday Despatch describes below the famous mansion, and traces its history • w jth special reference to its five reputed "ghosts." Marlborough House, mansion of 200 rooms, with its five ghosts, was for a century the mansion of the Churchills and for another century the home of royalty. It stands in its four-acre grounds between Pall Mall and the Mall, not far from Buckingham Palace, and originated in 1708, when Marlborough was planning the overthrow of the Allies at Malplaquet. Sarah Duchess of Marlborough, who could not be accused of having too low an opinion of Herself or her husband, wanted a mansion worthy of" their greatness. She commissioned Sir Christopher Wren, then in his 76th year, and she got the site from Queen Anne on this curious arrangement: She contracted for a 50years lease at 5s a year. There was a consideration —a cash payment of £2OOO. Sarah herself laid the foundationstone on May 24, 1(09. and the total cost was £50,000. Descendants occupied the mansion till early in the 19th century, when it was bought by the Crown for £200,000. Prince Leopold (afterward King of the Belgians), who married Princess Charlotte, heiress-presumptive to the British Throne, occupied the house from 1817 to 1831. Pets' Tombstones The Queen-Dowager Adelaide, widow of William IV, lived there till her deajh in 1849. Parliament was agitated in the following year by the proposal that the mansion be set aside as a residence of the HeirApparent, and the measure was passed by the slender majority of eight votes. For its further equipment a sum of £26,000 was voted, and King Edward Vil spent another £50,000 on bringing it up to date. Here, as Prince of Wales, he brought his bride, the beautiful Alexandra, in 1863. Marlborough House is a long building, of three and four storeys, with basement. It is built of red brick, with' . stone pilasters and dressings. The ground floor is given almost entirely to State apartments, and the first and second floors to private rooms. In the grounds are four touching mementoes —four little tombstones to Tiny, Muff and Joss, three favourite dogV of Queen Alexandra, and to Bonny, her pet rabbit. King Charles and Fell Gvyn Five ghosts are reputed to haunt Marlborough House. First is the apparition of -a Mr. Thomas Thvnne, murdered near by. and consequently restless. Much more charming are the figures of Charles I and Nell Gwyn, who had a house in part of the present grounds. These two, claim some, perambulate the terrace arm-in-arm. Another ghost is that of a Mr. v Chaworth, slain by an ancestor of Lord Byron, and number five is tta Lord Mohun who slew the Duke of Hamilton. . ; i Ghosts or no ghosts, the late King Edward and his bride did not let gloom descend on the mansion. From 1885 till his accession. Prince Edward held his famous Derby Dinners in Marlborough House. On display would be the Prince's yachting and sporting trophies, gold and silver worth more than £IOO.OOO. Indicative of the value of the furnishings of the mansion was the refusal of King Edward VII. to take £IOO.OOO for four rose tapestries in the saloon Modern Equipment Sometimes gold and silver plate valued at a million pounds was stored in the "Treasure Room." King George moved in when his father came to the. Throne. Queen Alexandra returned to Marlborough House on the death of her husband. On her death it was frequently anticipated that the present King would move in, but though he had a suite of rooms there, he decided to stay at St. James' Palace. Extensive alterations made incjn<le central heating, modernised electric equipment, and modern fireplaces, but for years the building remained a house of memories, without a tenant. Frequently the crounds have been loaned for charitable functions. Queen Mary supervised the decorate ing scheme carried out in 1927.