# Chiltern Court > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chiltern_Court > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Chiltern_Court.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiltern_Court > Source revision: 1350621090 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Apartment block at Baker Street, London}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}} {{Infobox historic site | name = Chiltern Court | image = Eric Coates house.jpg | caption = "a stately classical pile" | type = [Block of flats](/source/Tower_block) | locmapin = United Kingdom London Westminster | map_relief = yes | coordinates = {{coord|51.5227|-0.1564|display=inline,title|region:GB-WSM}} | location = [Baker Street](/source/Baker_Street), [London](/source/London) | area = | built = 1927-29 | architect = [Charles Walter Clark](/source/Charles_Walter_Clark) | architecture = [Neo-classical](/source/Neoclassical_architecture) | governing_body = | designation1 = | designation1_offname = | designation1_date = | designation1_number = }} '''Chiltern Court''', [Baker Street](/source/Baker_Street), London, is a large block of flats at the street's northern end, facing [Regent's Park](/source/Regent's_Park) and [Marylebone Road](/source/Marylebone_Road). It was built between 1927 and 1929 above [Baker Street tube station](/source/Baker_Street_tube_station) by the [Metropolitan Railway](/source/Metropolitan_Railway). It was begun in 1912 and was originally intended as a hotel and as its company headquarters, but the Metropolitan's plans were interrupted by the [First World War](/source/First_World_War). When construction recommenced in the late 1920s, the building was redesigned as a block of flats and the Chiltern Court Restaurant. The architect was [Charles Walter Clark](/source/Charles_Walter_Clark). During the 1930s the block was home to a number of notable figures, including the writers [H. G. Wells](/source/H._G._Wells), who held a weekly [literary salon](/source/Salon_(gathering)) at his apartment, and [Arnold Bennett](/source/Arnold_Bennett), who died at the Court in 1931. The composer [Eric Coates](/source/Eric_Coates) lived in the block between 1930 and 1936, and the cartoonist [David Low](/source/David_Low_(cartoonist)) was also a resident. During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), the [Special Operations Executive](/source/Special_Operations_Executive) was based at [64 Baker Street](/source/64_Baker_Street), and its Norwegian Section was located in three flats at Chiltern Court, from where it directed the [operations](/source/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage) against the [heavy water plant](/source/Norsk_Hydro) at [Telemark](/source/Telemark). Chiltern Court is not [listed](/source/Listed_building), being specifically excluded from the listing designation for Baker Street tube station. It is recorded in [Pevsner](/source/Pevsner_Architectural_Guides), where it is described as "a stately classical pile, the grandest [of the] mansion flats" in the vicinity.{{sfn|Cherry|Pevsner|2002|p=658}} The Chiltern Court Restaurant, now a bar, was referenced by [John Betjeman](/source/John_Betjeman) in his television programme from 1973, ''[Metro-land](/source/Metro-Land_(1973_film))''. ==History== [Baker Street station](/source/Baker_Street_tube_station) opened in 1863 as part of the development of the [Metropolitan Railway](/source/Metropolitan_Railway) which linked [Paddington Station](/source/Paddington_Station) with [Farringdon station](/source/Farringdon_station),{{sfn|Cherry|Pevsner|2002|pp=614-615}} both in central London. It was the world's first truly underground railway.{{sfn|Green|1987||pp=3-5}} Over the next four decades the Metropolitan Railway extended its network, principally into the suburbs to the north and west of London, an area that became known as [Metro-land](/source/Metro-land),{{sfn|Jackson|1986|p=240}} and many of the train services to/from these locations started from/terminated at Baker Street. In 1912 the company determined to construct a new headquarters building, and a hotel, above its Baker Street terminus. Its plans were interrupted by the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), and construction did not recommence until 1927.{{sfn|Cherry|Pevsner|2002|pp=614-615}} At this point, plans for the hotel were abandoned, and the company's in-house architect [Charles Walter Clark](/source/Charles_Walter_Clark) drew up designs for an apartment block with attached restaurant.{{cite web |url=https://www.ribapix.com/Baker-Street-London-Underground-Station-and-Chiltern-Court-London_RIBA105502 |title=Chiltern Court, London |publisher=[RIBA](/source/RIBA) |access-date=10 January 2023}} Building was complete by 1929.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bam.co.uk/who-we-are/past-present-and-future/timeline/1900s---1940s |title=BAM History Timeline 1900s-1940s |publisher=BAM Group |website=www.bam.co.uk |access-date=24 April 2022}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/drawings/item/1994-1863 |title=Drawing: Baker Street Station - showing Proposed Flats (Chiltern Court) and Restaurant |publisher=London Transport Museum |access-date=24 April 2022}} The finished block contained 180 apartments, the Chiltern Court Restaurant, a hairdressers and staff accommodation.{{Cite web |url=https://www.railwayarchive.org.uk/getobject?rnum=L2656 |title=Chiltern Court and Baker Street Underground Station |access-date=24 April 2022}} The apartments, which were expensive, attracted a range of notable residents. The writer [H. G. Wells](/source/H._G._Wells) lived at the Court from 1930 to 1936, regularly hosting a weekly [literary salon](/source/Salon_(gathering)) attended by friends, fellow authors and members of London [society](/source/High_society_(social_class)).{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/london-property-see-pictures-of-the-ps3-65m-flat-where-h-g-wells-hosted-a-book-club-a6728801.html |first=Zlata |last=Rodionova |title=See the flat where H. G. Wells hosted a book club |work=The Independent |date=10 November 2015}} The cartoonist [David Low](/source/David_Low_(cartoonist)), a friend and attender at Wells' gatherings, also lived in the block.{{cite web |url=https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/lifestyle/property/for-sale-author-h-g-wells-marylebone-book-club-flat-3506032 |first=Robin |last=Nierynck |title=H. G. Wells Marylebone 'book club' flat |work=[Ham & High](/source/Ham_%26_High) |date=11 November 2015}} The author [Arnold Bennett](/source/Arnold_Bennett) bought a flat in the building in 1930, and died there in March 1931 after contracting [typhoid fever](/source/typhoid_fever).{{Cite web |url=http://www.housebeautiful.co.uk/lifestyle/property/news/a3356/baker-street-apartment-h-g-wells-arnold-bennet-for-sale/ |title=Baker Street apartment where H. G. Wells and Arnold Bennet lived is now for sale |first=Katie |last=Avis-Riordan |date=20 February 2018 |work=House Beautiful}}{{cite web |url=https://www.idealhome.co.uk/news/baker-street-apartment-hg-wells-arnold-bennet-for-sale-195742 |first=Jennifer |last=Ebert |title=The Baker Street apartment where H. G. Wells and Arnold Bennett lived |work=Ideal Home |date=21 April 2018}} As Bennett was dying, the local council permitted the laying of straw along the [Marylebone Road](/source/Marylebone_Road) outside Chiltern Court to lessen the noise of traffic, reportedly the last time this courtesy was permitted in London.{{efn|The council's consideration to the dying Bennett was marred by the overturning of a [milk float](/source/milk_float) in the street just hours after Bennett's death, which propelled the [milk churn](/source/milk_churn)s into the road with a "thunderous din".{{sfn|Pound|1953|p=367}}}}{{sfn|Pound|1953|p=367}} Another resident in the 1930s was the composer [Eric Coates](/source/Eric_Coates) who lived in Flat 176 between 1930 and 1939.{{efn|[Eric Coates](/source/Eric_Coates)' best known composition is perhaps [By the Sleepy Lagoon](/source/By_the_Sleepy_Lagoon), which is still regularly played as the opening theme to [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4)'s ''[Desert Island Discs](/source/Desert_Island_Discs)''.{{cite web |url=https://www.classical-music.com/features/works/what-is-the-desert-island-discs-theme-tune/|first=Freya |last=Parr |title=What is the Desert Island Discs theme tune? |publisher=BBC Music |date=31 January 2022}}}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/eric-coates/ |title=Eric Coates, Composer: Blue Plaques |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=24 April 2022}} During [World War II](/source/World_War_II) the [Special Operations Executive](/source/Special_Operations_Executive) (SOE) was based at [64 Baker Street](/source/64_Baker_Street), hence its nickname, the [Baker Street Irregulars](/source/Baker_Street_Irregulars).{{cite web |url=https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/cy/news/app-mark-londons-secret-war |title=App to mark London's secret war |date=26 January 2016 |publisher=Heritage Fund |access-date=24 April 2022}} The SOE had a Norwegian Section which was located in three flats at Chiltern Court. From this base, SOE operatives planned and instigated the [attacks](/source/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage) against the [heavy water](/source/heavy_water) plant at [Telemark](/source/Telemark) where, following the [German occupation of Norway](/source/German_occupation_of_Norway) in 1940, the Nazis sought to exploit the heavy water as a component of their [nuclear weapons programme](/source/German_nuclear_weapons_program).{{efn|While ultimately successful in its efforts to impede the German production and exportation of heavy water, the SOE's incursions led to considerable loss of life. [Operation Freshman](/source/Operation_Freshman), in November 1942, saw particularly heavy casualties.{{cite web |url=https://www.assaultglidertrust.co.uk/freshman/ |title=Operation Freshman - The Rjukan Heavy Water Raid 1942 |publisher=Assault Glider Trust |access-date=24 April 2022}}}}{{cite web |url=https://www.stmarylebone.org/images/stories/History/Heroism-in-baker-Street.pdf |title=Heroism in Baker Street |publisher=St Marylebone Society |access-date=24 April 2022}} In 1973 [John Betjeman](/source/John_Betjeman), the [Poet Laureate](/source/Poet_Laureate_of_the_United_Kingdom), began his TV documentary ''[Metro-land](/source/Metro-Land_(1973_film))'' in the Chiltern Court Restaurant. The programme saw Betjeman travel from Chiltern Court to [Verney Junction railway station](/source/Verney_Junction_railway_station), the (by then long-disused) farthest outpost of the [Metropolitan line](/source/Metropolitan_line) in [Buckinghamshire](/source/Buckinghamshire).{{efn|Betjeman begins his commentary with the lines "Is this [Buckingham Palace](/source/Buckingham_Palace)? Are we at [The Ritz](/source/The_Ritz_Hotel%2C_London)? No, this is the Chiltern Court Restaurant, built above Baker Street Station, the gateway between [Metro-land](/source/Metro-land) and London."}}{{cite journal |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v26/n23/e.s.-turner/the-thought-of-ruislip |first=E. S. |last=Turner |title=The Thought of Ruislip |journal=London Review of Books |date=2 December 2004 |volume=26 |issue=23}} Chiltern Court remains a privately operated block of residential flats. The former Chiltern Court Restaurant, entered from Marylebone Road, is now operated as a [pub](/source/pub), the Metropolitan Bar, by [Wetherspoons](/source/Wetherspoons).{{Cite web |url=https://manage.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/england/london/the-metropolitan-bar-marylebone |title=The Metropolitan Bar, Baker Street |publisher=J D Wetherspoon |access-date=24 April 2022}} It has coats of arms on the walls of places linked to the Metropolitan Railway.{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Bar |url=https://www.london.camra.org.uk/viewnode.php?id=199191 |publisher=CAMRA}} ==Architecture and description== Chiltern Court comprises seven storeys, a two-storey plinth with retail units on the ground floor, then three main storeys with residential accommodation and two attic storeys.{{sfn|Cherry|Pevsner|2002|p=658}} The whole is faced in [Portland stone](/source/Portland_stone), and is designed in a [Neoclassical](/source/Neoclassical_architecture) style.{{cite web |url=https://www.westminster.gov.uk/media/document/dorset-square-conservation-area-audit |title=Dorset Square Conservation Area |publisher=Westminster City Council |access-date=24 April 2022}} [Bridget Cherry](/source/Bridget_Cherry), in her 2002 revision to the ''London 3: North West'' volume of the [Pevsner Buildings of England](/source/Pevsner_Architectural_Guides) series, describes it as "a stately classical pile, the grandest of [the] mansion flats" in the area.{{sfn|Cherry|Pevsner|2002|p=658}} The building holds four [Blue](/source/Blue_plaque) and other commemorative plaques, commemorating its occupants and history. Chiltern Court is not [listed](/source/Listed_building) by [Historic England](/source/Historic_England), the listing for the Grade II* Baker Street Station specifically excluding the Court.{{NHLE|num=1239815|desc=Baker Street Station|grade=II*|access-date=24 April 2022}} ==Gallery== H. G. Wells (5026568202).jpg|Plaque commemorating [H. G. Wells](/source/H._G._Wells) Arnold Bennett (5025953669).jpg|Plaque commemorating [Arnold Bennett](/source/Arnold_Bennett) Eric Coates - Composer.jpg|Plaque commemorating [Eric Coates](/source/Eric_Coates) Telemark plaque.jpg|Plaque commemorating the [Telemark Raids](/source/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage) Sir Vincent Zachary Cope.jpg|The surgeon [Sir Vincent Zachary Cope](/source/Zachary_Cope) who lived at the court from 1944 Chiltern Court, Baker Street, London (4674991747).jpg|Chiltern Court from the [Marylebone Road](/source/Marylebone_Road) The Metropolitan Bar 20180210 134200 (49388397278).jpg|Metropolitan Bar (formerly Chiltern Court Restaurant) in 2020 ==Footnotes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==Sources== * {{cite book |last1=Cherry |first1=Bridget |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |author-link1=Bridget Cherry |author-link2=Nikolaus Pevsner |year=2002 |title=London 3: North West |series=[The Buildings of England](/source/Pevsner_Architectural_Guides) |location=New Haven, US and London |publisher=[Yale University Press](/source/Yale_University_Press) |isbn=978-0-300-09652-1 |oclc=1080901081}} * {{cite book |last=Green |first=Oliver |title=The London Underground: An illustrated history |year=1987 |location=London |publisher=[Ian Allan Publishing](/source/Ian_Allan_Publishing) |oclc=926303204}} * {{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Alan |title=London's Metropolitan Railway |year=1986 |location=Newton Abbot |publisher=David & Charles |isbn=978-0-715-38839-6 |oclc=909977852}} * {{cite book |last=Pound |first=Reginald |title=Arnold Bennett: A Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/arnoldbennettbio0000poun/page/366/mode/2up |year=1953 |location=New York |publisher=Harcourt, Brace |oclc=950552766}} {{Commons category|Chiltern Court, Baker Street, Westminster}} Category:1929 in London Category:Apartment buildings in London Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1929 Category:Buildings and structures in Marylebone Category:Intelligence agency headquarters in the United Kingdom Category:Neoclassical architecture in London Category:Residential buildings completed in 1929 Category:Streets in the City of Westminster Category:Baker Street Category:H. G. Wells --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chiltern Court](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiltern_Court) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiltern_Court?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.