5, St James's Square is a Grade II* listed historic townhouse in London, England, built 1748–51 by William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford (1722–1791) to the design of Matthew Brettingham the Elder. It remained the London residence of the descendants of his sister until after 1968, and in 1984 was the site of the "Libyan Peoples' Bureau" from which shots were fired which caused the murder of Yvonne Fletcher.
Left: Wentworth House, 5, St James's Square, London
Townhouse (Great Britain)
In British usage, the term townhouse originally referred to the opulent town or city residence of a member of the nobility or gentry, as opposed to their country seat, generally known as a country house or, colloquially, for the larger ones, stately home. The grandest of the London townhouses were stand-alone buildings, but many were terraced buildings.
Spencer House in St James's, London, one of the last surviving true townhouses still owned by the noble family that built it, the Spencers, although it is now generally leased out commercially. The corresponding country house is Althorp in Northamptonshire.
The Strand front of Northumberland House in 1752 by Canaletto, the townhouse of the Dukes of Northumberland. Note the "Percy Lion" atop the central facade.
Devonshire House, Piccadilly, in 1896
Leicester House on Leicester Fields, 1748
