Early history The site at the junction of
South Audley Street and
Curzon Street was occupied in the second half of the 18th century, all of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century by
Chesterfield House, which was built in 1749 for
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. In 1869 Chesterfield House was purchased by the
City of London merchant
Charles Magniac, who considerably curtailed the grounds in the rear, and erected a row of buildings overlooking
Chesterfield Street, named Chesterfield Gardens; the first occupier at No. 9 Chesterfield Gardens was
Henry Wyndham, 2nd Baron Leconfield. After Chesterfield House was demolished in 1937, part of the site was used for the construction of Leconfield House, named after Lord Leconfield, who had died in 1901. The new building, completed in 1939, served as the operational headquarters of
London District throughout the
Second World War.
Occupancy by MI5 The structure went on to be occupied by the Security Service (MI5) in 1945; by 1969, when
Stella Rimington arrived, it was "dreadfully run down....the inside had not been painted in an age..." The headquarters of MI5 remained at Leconfield House until 1976, when it moved to
140 Gower Street. In May 2020, Robert Tchenguiz submitted plans to
Westminster City Council to convert the building into a 65-bedroom private members' hotel. He had bought the building for his Rotch property business in 2004 for about £140 million. The submitted plans were refused permission by the Council, and Tchenguiz's subsequent appeal against that decision also failed. In October 2022 Tchenguiz lodged a further appeal. Meanwhile, in December 2025, former
prime minister,
Liz Truss, launched a campaign to recruit founder members for a new private members' club, to be called "The Leconfield", which would be accommodated within the proposed private members' hotel. ==References==