Two Temple Place: The Secret Gothic Mansion In London - Living London History (2024)

Just off the Victoria Embankment is a true hidden gem of London. It is a neo-gothic Victorian mansion built in 1895 by arguably the richest man in the world at the time: William Waldorf Astor.

From the outside Two Temple Place looks like a small medieval stronghold, with its crenellations and sturdy but ornate stone exterior. The interior however is where the magic truly lies. Read on for the history behind this amazing spot.

Two Temple Place: The Family

How did William Waldorf Astor become the richest man in the world? For that we need to go back to the 1700’s and meet the Astor family. Buckle in because they have a pretty wild history. Let’s meet them:

John Jacob Astor

Born in 1763, John Jacob Astor grew up in Germany with no money and no education. He pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, saving up enough money to move to America in 1783.

He first entered the fur trade and, partly due to a blossoming fashion for beaver fur hats, John quickly made huge profits.Shrewdly predicting that New York would soon be heavily built up, he invested his money in Manhattan property. Soon owning hundreds of properties in New York, he became America’s first millionaire.

John died the richest man in America, with his fortune being estimated to be worth $100 billion in today’s money.

John Jacob Astor IV

The first John’s great grandson; John Jacob Astor IV was a science fiction writer and inventor. His science fiction novel was set in the year 2000. It saw a world dominated by a corporate technocracy with big business made rich off scientific advances. Not a bad guess. He was also the richest man to die on the Titanic in 1912.

William Waldorf Astor

Now for our man: William Waldorf Astor. Cousin of John Jacob Astor IV; he was born in 1848 and lived for much of his life in New York.

He built the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with his cousin the year he inherited his father’s fortune in 1890. By 1892 the fame was clearly becoming a bit much for him and he tried to fake his own death to disappear from public view. He did this by leaking to reporters that he had died of pneumonia. The attempt failed and he was mocked mercilessly in the press. He also became obsessed with evading kidnap so moved himself and his family to London in 1893.

The magnificent Two Temple Place was built in 1895 as the office for his estate.

Nancy Astor

William’s daughter-in-law was the first female MP to sit and served from 1919 to 1945. She was also a prominent hostess from their home at Cliveden Hall in Buckinghamshire. It was here that John Profumo met Christine Keeler in 1961, leading to the Profumo Affair in the early sixties. You can see Nancy’s London pad on St James’s Square- read more about the square here.

Two Temple Place: The Exterior

Now for the building itself. Two Temple Place was built, essentially, without a spending limit. The whole place is constructed and decorated to the highest standard of the day with the highest quality materials.

The exterior is constructed entirely of Portland stone and has a shining golden ship weather vane atop.

At the entrance to the house you will see ornate lamposts with cherub figures around the bottom, pictured below. If you look closely you will notice that the cherub is on the phone. Yes, you read that correctly. Astor wanted to display that he was a modern man and his was one of the first London homes to have a telephone.

Two Temple Place: The Interior

Look up in the entrance hall to see the opulently decorated ceiling and the gleaming 10 solid ebony pillars around the gallery.

William, being a huge literature and art fan, packed the house with figures from his favourite books. The mahogany carved figures on the staircase are characters from The Three Musketeers.

Make your way up the staircase to the Great Hall. This extraordinary room, in the style of an Elizabethan Great Hall, functioned as Astor’s meeting room.

There are friezes around the walls of 54 characters from history and fiction, such as Marie Antoinette, Ophelia and Pocahontas. Other carvings and panels include those depicting Robin Hood, Maid Marian and figures from Arthurian legend.

On each side of the hall are stunning stained glass windows. They represent ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Sunset’ and purvey William’s love for travel.

Two Temple Place: How To Visit

‘This all sounds fascinating! How does one visit?!’ I hear you shouting at your chosen blog reading device.

It is absolutely well worth a visit should you get the opportunity. They are not open all year round but often run exhibitions. Read more about how to visit here.

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