The Wolseley

The Wolseley
The renovated Wolseley building in 2014
Restaurant information
Established	2003 (2003)
Current owner(s)	Chris Corbin and Jeremy King[1]
Food type	European/café
City	London, W1
Country	United Kingdom
Other information	Nearest station: Green Park
Website	thewolseley.com

The Wolseley is a restaurant located at 160 Piccadilly, London, next to the Ritz Hotel. Designed by the architect William Curtis Green, it was constructed in 1921 as a car showroom for Wolseley Motors; the Grade II* listed building then served as a branch of Barclays Bank between 1927 and 1999. Following renovation, the building opened as a Chinese restaurant for a couple of years. In 2003 it reopened as an upscale European-style restaurant after further renovation work by the British restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King.

Restaurant

After the closure of the Barclays branch in 1999, the premises was refurbished and initially turned into a Chinese restaurant "The Orient at China House" ^[2] until the building was purchased in July 2003 by the restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, who began a major restoration and renovation project.^[1] The Wolseley opened in November 2003, operating as an all-day café in the "Grand European" style. It has since received numerous accolades, including Harper & Moet's Restaurant of the Year 2004,^[3] The Observer's Best Breakfast 2005 and 2009,^[4] Tatler's Restaurant of the Year 2007^[5] and Zagat's Favourite Restaurant 2012 and 2013.^[6] The Wolseley has consistently been among London's most profitable restaurants, recording sales of over £10 million in 2007 alone.^[7]

History

Interior view of the restaurant in 2014, showing the bar and chandelier

Wolseley Motors showroom

The six-storey building was commissioned by Wolseley Motors, a part of the Vickers engineering combine, which bought the site in 1919 for a car showroom and London sales offices. It was designed by the English architect William Curtis Green, drawing inspiration from a recently constructed bank building that he had seen in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, which opened in November 1921,^[8] features Venetian and Florentine-inspired detailing, with an interior decorated with lavish marble pillars and archways. Wolseley Motors lost its long-term leadership of the British car industry in the early 1920s and fell into receivership in 1926; the Wolseley showroom was sold in June 1926.^[9]

Barclays Bank branch

After the departure of Wolseley Motors, the building was acquired by Barclays Bank, and re-opened in April 1927 as 160 Piccadilly Branch. Barclays re-employed William Curtis Green to create offices and a banking counter, and design furniture in Japanese lacquer. The branch continued to operate until 1999, whereupon Barclays sold it and opened a new branch in nearby St James's Street.^[10]

Architecture and decoration

When the building opened in 1921, elevations to both Arlington Street and Piccadilly were faced with Portland stone. Wolseley's car showroom occupied the entire ground floor. The interior walls were of polished Portland stone with blue York stone dressings, and the floor laid with white and black marble in intricate geometric designs, which remain today. The ceiling consisted of nine domes supported by Doric columns finished in red Japanese lacquer. Red, black and gold lacquer were also used on the doors, screens and wall panels. Lighting was provided by elaborate bronze pendants and concealed lamps which threw their rays into the domes to be reflected to the floor. Apart from covering the red lacquer columns with a black wrapping, the present interior remains very close to the original designs of William Curtis Green.^[8]

References

Coordinates: 51°30′27″N 0°08′28″W / 51.5074°N 0.141°W / 51.5074; -0.141