Aspley House London, was the residential  home to the Duke of Wellington known as Arthur Wellesley ( Which I didn’t Know) I also didn’t know he was Irish, yes born in Dublin. He is famous for saying ” if a man is born in a stable does this make him a horse ?” this was because he thought of himself as English.

The Aspley House London oozes grandeur and as you enter there is a magnificent portrait painting of The Duke hanging on the wall in the foyer. The other very striking art is the statue of Napoleon the 1st of France, as mars the peacemaker, which is a marble statue that stands dominant in an almost pride of place setting towering above you in the stairwell in the Duke of Wellingtons residence. It is said that although The Duke never met napoleon, he held him in high regard as an adversary and great leader.

Aspley house also contains a variety of different items of very fine china and lots of art work which the Duke loved to collect. The fine china where many gifts given to him by the Kings of Prussia, Austria and Saxony.

As you meander around the house you are struck by the ingenious architecture. In the formal dinning room there are false walls that come down to cover the window areas and inlaid in these are large mirror, this was to reflect the chandeliers and also the silver and glassware so that it gives a very opulent feeling as the light bounces of the mirrors a sort of today’s bling !!!

The other striking feature is in one of the other dinning rooms there are false doors shaped in a bay so that they can retract when servants enter and exit and can be less seen. The old adage seen but not heard comes to mind !!. Above is the picture of the dining room and you can see the arched bay shapes in the corner. Not a great picture but you can see the overall general premise. If you look to the right at the end of the room the door covering bay is closed, but to the left it is open and you can see through to the hallway.

It was the Bicentenary of the Duke of Wellington from june 18-21st 2015 to mark the wining of the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington marked as a great soldier and leader is said to have hatted bloodshed and the aftermath of war. This is a great place to visit, would highly recommend it. Aspley House London is situated at Hyde park corner and you can see the Wellington Arch from the window of Aspley house.