Built to elaborate specifications by William Waldorf Astor, later first Viscount Astor, in 1895 as his residence and estate office on reclaimed land following completion of the Victoria Embankment in 1870, Two Temple Place has been acquired and preserved by the Bulldog Trust and offers a unique location in the heart of central London, overlooking the River Thames.

An imposing casket of Portland stone on the exterior, inside is a testament to the skills and expertise of some of the finest sculptors of the nineteenth century, and the building provides an unrivalled venue for functions of a personal or corporate nature, combining the grandeur of a state occasion with the intimacy of a party in a private house. John Loughborough Pearson, a pre-eminent figure in his profession, was the architect chosen by Lord Astor to build Two Temple Place. Unfettered by consideration of finance and emboldened by the full liberty of expression granted to him and materials and craftsmen of the highest quality at his disposal, he was able to create a building worthy of its distinguished owner.

From the gilded weather vane in beaten copper of Columbus's caravel, the Santa Maria, perched high above the house to the meticulously carved stonework, the grilles and screens of ornamental ironwork, Two Temple Place embodies much of the outstanding workmanship and architecture of the late-Victorian period. Even a flying bomb in July 1944 was granted only a transitory triumph before careful restoration returned the building to its original state.

The enchanting bronze lamp standards flanking the base of the balustraded entrance steps, playfully representative of the marvels of electricity and telephone in the shape of two small boys, are a foretaste of the riches within.

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