29 St James’s Place is best known as a former Churchill address: Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill lived there from April 1880 to late 1882, when Winston Churchill was a child. The house itself is also listed by Historic England as Grade II, which places it among the street’s notable surviving historic properties.
In April 1880 Lord and Lady Randolph moved their growing family into 29 St James’s Place in London. It now became home to a 5 year old Winston Churchill.
In his book My Early Life, Winston Churchill wrote about his time in this house as he faced the miserable prospect of being sent away to school for the first time. “After all, I was only seven, and I had been so happy in my nursery with all my toys. I had such wonderful toys: a real steam engine, a magic lantern, and a collection of soldiers already nearly a thousand strong.”
Interesting facts..
St James’s Place developed in the late 17th century, around 1694, as part of the elegant expansion of St James’s, and it quickly became a street associated with elite London living. A later observer described it as “one of the oddest built streets in London,” which fits its irregular, closely packed pattern rather than a grand uniform terrace.
