Construction of the house commenced in 1825 for the
Duke of York and Albany, the second son of
King George III, and it was initially known as York House.
Sir Robert Smirke was originally hired to design the house, until under the influence of the Duke's mistress the Duchess of Rutland, he was replaced by
Benjamin Dean Wyatt, who mainly designed the exterior. The completed building was three floors in height, the
state rooms being on the first floor or
piano nobile, family living rooms on the ground floor and family bedrooms on the second floor. There was also a basement containing service rooms and wine cellar. The interior, featured an imperial staircase which was designed by
Sir Charles Barry, as well
Louis XIV Style rooms which were lavishly decorated. Queen Victoria is said to have remarked to the
2nd Duchess of Sutherland on arriving at Stafford House, "I have come from my House to your Palace." With its ornate decoration and the dramatic sweep of the great staircase, the Grand Hall is a magnificent introduction to one of the finest
town houses in London. In 1877 the House became the eponymous home of the Stafford House Committee for the Relief of Sick and Wounded Turkish Soldiers, formed by the
3rd Duke to aid Ottoman refugees and wounded during the
Russo-Turkish War. The house went out of royal favour after the 3rd Duchess died, in 1888 and her husband married
his mistress within months. In 1912 the lease was purchased by the Lancastrian industrialist and philanthropist
Sir William Lever, 1st Baronet (later 1st Viscount Leverhulme), who renamed it in honour of his native county of
Lancashire and presented it to the nation in the following year. and, from 1924 until shortly after
World War II, the house was the home of the
London Museum. The Allied Governments'
European Advisory Commission on the political and social future of Europe after the Second World War met here throughout 1944 and into 1945. In January 1947 a special envoy meeting on affairs concerning occupied
Austria was hosted here. In 1956 the signing of the agreement of independence for
Malaya occurred in the house. In 1961 South Africa affirmed its intention to become a republic, inside the
Commonwealth. In 1979 it was the scene of the
Lancaster House Agreement, which led to the independence of
Rhodesia, now
Zimbabwe, from the United Kingdom. A new 35-foot-long table was built for the Long Gallery, where the main negotiating sessions were planned in 1991. Prime Minister
Theresa May gave a speech at Lancaster House in January 2017 outlining Britain's intended future relationship with the
European Union following the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum which resulted in a vote to leave. The speech is commonly referred to in the media, and in political discourse, as the "Lancaster House speech". In June 2025 delegations from China and the United States convened at Lancaster House to address issues related to the ongoing trade war between the two nations. The Chinese delegation was led by Vice Premier
He Lifeng, accompanied by Minister of Commerce
Wang Wentao and Trade Representative
Li Chenggang. Meanwhile, the American delegation was headed by Secretary of Commerce
Howard Lutnick, who was joined by Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent and Trade Representative
Jamieson Greer. ==In popular culture==