Dover House
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dover House is a Grade I listed mansion in Whitehall, London. It is on the western side of the street immediately south of Admiralty House. The rear facade faces Horse Guards Parade. It was designed by James Paine for Sir Matthew Featherstonehaugh, Bart., MP, in the 1750s and remodelled by Henry Holland for H.R.H. The Prince Frederick, Duke of York, from 1788 to 1792. It has also been home to a French ambassador and the romantic poet Lord Byron. Its most notable feature is an entrance hall in the form of a rotunda inserted into the former forecourt by Holland, which is a unique approach to a London mansion.
The building belonged to the Melbourne family from 1793 to 1830. The last private owners were the Dover family, whose name it has retained. They owned it from 1830 to 1885, when it became the Scottish Office. When Scotland acquired a devolved parliament in 1999, Dover House continued as the home of the reformed Scotland Office.
