25 Kensington Gore

This magnificent historic house stands adjacent to a small plaza dominated by a statue of Lord Napier astride his horse. The property was built by Sir Samuel of Samuel Montague Bank from 1873-75, and employed one of the most famous architects of the time, Samuel Whitfield Daukes.

At the turn of the century, it housed the head of the Sassoon family. When the Sassoons moved their Bombay headquarters to London, company chairman Albert Sassoon followed his brothers Reuben and Arthur and acquired Kensington Gore, which boasted two white-and-gold Louis XVI drawing rooms. Sassoon furnished the dining room with Jacobean furniture and a tapestry portrait of Queen Victoria. Woodwork in the house was carved and inlaid with ebony and ivory, which had been salvaged from the Prince of Wales’ pavilion at the Paris Exhibition.

Albert’s son, Sir Edward, married Aline de Rothschild from Paris, and after Sir Albert retired to Brighton, they moved into the Kensington Gore mansion. Aline became influenced by Margot Tennant Asquith and joined the Souls, a coterie of wits and statesmen formed to offset the raffish Marlborough House circle. When Sir Albert died, Edward succeeded to the baronetcy and became chairman of the firm. He had tired of Kensington Gore by then, however, and bought an imposing mansion at 25 Park Lane near Rothschild Row.

In 1985 Albert’s property company managed to persuade the Royal Commission for the Exhibition 1851 to sell them the freehold of the building and spent more than five years of restoring and renovating the estate to its original glory.

The building has six stunning reception rooms, a billiard room, a dining room that can accommodate 32 people for dinner, 8 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, 4 kitchens, an indoor swimming pool with three showers, 4 guest powder rooms, a magnificent gym, wine cellar, and a gated private drive. The roof garden overlooks Kensington garden and Hyde Park.

Come and enjoy seeing the splendour and magnificence of this historic mansion. A unique historic house show-around.

Tours that are scheduled will be listed below. If none are scheduled yet, please check back later, or find other tours you might enjoy on our tours listing page here.