Apsley House

20/08/2026

Conservation in action!

This week at Apsley House, our wonderful conservators have been carrying out essential work to care for and protect our painting collection.

Tasks have included removing surface dirt with small cotton wool swabs, much of it caused by pollution from the busy traffic around Apsley House; improving the way paintings fit within their frames; and carefully recording the condition of both paintings and frames.

🖼 The Emperor Rudolf II, Hans von Aachen.
🖼 Major General John Fremantle, Jan Willem Pieneman.

10/08/2026

In 1806, Arthur Wellesley asked his shoemaker, George Hoby, to make a leather boot which was easier to wear with a new, tighter-fitting style of trousers made fashionable by the military. Hoby removed the troublesome tassel from the traditional ‘Hessian’ boot and cut them lower, making them more comfortable for riding.

By 1813, following victory at the Battle of Vitoria, Wellington’s fame had led others to start wearing this new style of boot, which became known as ‘Wellingtons’.

Wellington’s boots are on display in Wellington: His Life and Legacy at Apsley House.

📷: Christopher Ison.

29/07/2026

A monumental job! 🐎

Perched high above the traffic at Hyde Park Corner, these workmen carefully climbed onto the Quadriga on top of Wellington Arch to clean it. Certainly not a job for the faint-hearted!

These photographs, taken over several decades, offer a fascinating glimpse into the ongoing care and maintenance of Europe’s largest bronze sculpture. Today, conservation is carried out using scaffolding, making the task much less precarious.

📷: Workmen cleaning Wellington Arch c.1929, 1930 and 1939. Credit: Fox Photos.

22/07/2026

A state of undress...

Celebrated for her beauty, Pauline Bonaparte was Napoleon’s favourite sister.

Painted by Robert Lefèvre in 1806, this portrait shows Pauline wearing a delicate muslin gown inspired by the fashions of classical antiquity. This style became synonymous with the Empire period, favouring simple, high-waisted silhouettes over the more structured dress of previous decades.

The sheer fabric and revealing silhouette pushed the boundaries of what was considered appropriate dress, attracting criticism at the time.

🖼️ Pauline Bonaparte, Princess Borghese, Robert Lefèvre. Portico Drawing Room.

11/07/2026

A Regency heatwave essential… 🍨

This ice cream pail forms part of the magnificent Prussian Dinner Service, presented to the Duke of Wellington by the King of Prussia after Waterloo. Made in Berlin, each piece is decorated with scenes from Wellington’s campaigns in India and the Peninsular War.

This particular pail depicts the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812. Hidden inside is a removable liner, with space below for crushed ice to keep the ice cream chilled before it was served.

07/07/2026

Have you noticed the ★ on some of the painting labels in the Wellington Collection?

After the Battle of Vitoria, Wellington’s soldiers discovered Joseph Bonaparte’s coach among the captured baggage. Joseph himself had just escaped, but the coach was found to contain not only his state papers, love letters and a silver chamber pot, but also over 200 paintings, the canvases detached from their stretchers and rolled up for transport.

When the collection reached Wellington, he learnt that the paintings had been taken from the Spanish Royal Collection. He immediately insisted they should be returned to King Ferdinand VII of Spain.

The King, however, politely refused. Instead, he gifted the paintings to Wellington in recognition of his victories during the Peninsular War.

With works by Titian, Velázquez and Rubens, look out for the ★’s on your next visit!

02/07/2026

In 1827, the Duke of Wellington was appointed Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, one of the oldest infantry regiments and the first in the British Army’s order of precedence.

The Grenadier Guards played a distinguished role in the Napoleonic Wars, serving under Wellington throughout the Peninsular War and at Waterloo, where they helped defeat the French Imperial Guard during the final hours of the battle.

Wellington chose to wear this uniform at the annual Waterloo Banquet held at Apsley House to commemorate the victory. In 1843, the Illustrated London News published this portrait of Wellington while reporting on the evening’s celebrations.

Image: Christopher Ison, Illustrated London News.

30/06/2026

21/06/2026

We hope you enjoyed our series of talks yesterday for Waterloo Day!

A huge thank you to historians Matt Taylor, Michael Rayner, Dr Graeme Callister, Dr Zack White, Dr Luke Reynolds and the 44th East Ess*x Regiment of Foot for organising this and bringing Waterloo to life!

21/06/2026