The Stafford Hotel: A War Legend And 17th Century Wine Cellars

Picture the scene. It is 2001 and you wander off the streets of St James’s into the American Bar of the Stafford Hotel. You grab a drink and sit at the bar. At the other end of the bar is an elderly lady, with an enraptured crowd around her, gathered to listen as she regales them with tales of espionage from her past. You are looking at a woman who was once at the top of the Gestapo’s most-wanted list and one of the most formidable and dedicated secret agents of World War Two. 

We will return to her later, but first let’s look at the history of The Stafford Hotel, a staple of the London hotel scene since 1912. 

The building dates predominantly from the early 20th century, however it also hides a couple of historic treasures, including an old 18th century stable yard and 17th century wine cellars, indicative, as always, of the incredible layers of history in London. 

History 

The Stafford Hotel can be found on a quiet street, St James’s Place, set just back from Green Park.

St James’s started being developed significantly from the late 17th century as an upper class enclave. Townhouses and mansions were constructed by those wishing to be close to the monarch at St James’s Palace.

The street was laid out in the late 17th century on land that had once partially been part of the gardens of Cleveland House. Cleveland House later became Bridgewater House. 

Where the hotel stands today was the site of two 17th century aristocratic townhouses, 16-17 St James’s Place. Number 16 St James’s Place was the home of Elizabeth Godolphin and her husband (and cousin) Charles Godolphin. It was possibly rebuilt for Sir John Evelyn (grandson of the 17th century diarist) in the mid 18th century. Occupants at number 17 included the fantastically named John Wallop, Viscount Lymington and 1st Earl of Portsmouth. 

16-17 were demolished from 1899-1900 for the building we see today, by builder Henry Lovatt and supervised by architect H.H. Collins. It was used as a block of flats or chambers until 1910 and then converted into a hotel in 1912. 

The Old Stable Yard

Behind the hotel today, you can find what was once the old stable yard for the aristocratic townhouses.

It is called Blue Ball Yard, named after a pub that was once located here in the 18th century. 

Amazingly you can still see the old surviving stable buildings, constructed in the 1740s.

They were later converted into garages and in 1990 were converted into luxury accommodation by The Stafford. 

Each door has the name of a famous horse on it, such as Phar Lap, an Australian racehorse (born in New Zealand) and Copenhagen, the Duke of Wellington’s horse. 

The Wine Cellars 

Below the building, a remnant of the original 17th century buildings also survives: the original wine cellars. 

They are wonderfully cavernous and winding, the temperature dropping as you descend into the depths of the building. They contain around 8000 bottles of wine. 

World War Two Memorabilia

Right at the back of the old wine cellars is something very surprising, a World War Two time-capsule. 

During World War Two the wine cellars were used as a bomb shelter by the customers of the hotel. Customers of the hotel towards the end of the war consisted of lots of Canadian and American soldiers stationed in London. They used The Stafford as a sort of club and also used the cellars as a shelter. They left various items, which have been preserved here and added to over the decades. 

The American Bar 

The bar of the hotel is called The American Bar and you will find the ceiling adorned with caps, scarfs and other tokens left by North American visitors over the years.

The name changed to The American Bar in the 1930s to attract the growing numbers of American tourists in London. Many hotels did this, however only a couple have kept the name.

The walls are also covered in photos, letters and other documents. 

The Inspiring Story Of Nancy Wake 

On the bar you will find a defiant looking bust of the woman I mentioned at the top of the post, Nancy Wake.

Nancy Wake was born in New Zealand in 1912 and then raised in Sydney. She ran away from home aged 16 and started working as a nurse. With an inheritance she then received from an Aunt she travelled to New York and London where she trained as a journalist. 

In 1937 she met a French industrialist called Henri Fiocca and they married. Nancy was living in Marseilles when war arrived, working as an ambulance driver. After the Germans occupied France, she started working for the French Resistance helping refugees and military personnel escape to England. 

The Germans were aware of her but were never able to nab her. She evaded so effectively, the Gestapo nicknamed her the ‘White Mouse’ and put a reward of five million Francs on her head. After her network was compromised she had to eventually flee herself to England. Her husband was captured, tortured and killed by the Gestapo for not giving up information about her. She only became aware of this after the war. 

Nancy Joins The SOE

She ended up joining the SOE, the Special Operations Executive. The SOE was a secret organisation set up in 1940 to carry out sabotage missions, reconnaissance and work with resistance movements across Europe. Winston Churchill famously is said to have instructed them to ‘set Europe ablaze’. The SOE was also the first time that women were given front-line roles. 

Her code name was Hélène and in April 1944, less than a year afterr she had left, Nancy was parachuted back into occupied France. She participated in and coordinated battles between resistance groups and the Germans. Nancy was apparently level-headed and a good shot. One of her proudest wartime achievements was cycling 310 miles (500km) in under 72, over mountainous terrain, to acquire new codebooks from another Resistance cell after a German raid had destroyed theirs.

She rose up to the rank of Captain and is widely considered the most highly decorated woman of World War Two, receiving the George Cross in the UK and various other international accolades. 

After The War

In 1957 she married an RAF officer called John Forward and in 1985 she published her autobiography called The White Mouse. John died in 1997 and Nancy sold her medals to return to London from Australia. 

From 2001-2003 she took up residence in The Stafford and would regularly enthral the other customers of the American Bar with tales from her past. She also was known to return regularly to the bar after she had moved to the Royal Star and Garter Home for ex-service personnel in Richmond. 

Nancy Wake died aged 98 in 2011 at Kingston Hospital. Her ashes were then scattered in France, near the village of Verneix, as per her wishes. She wanted to return to the region where she carried out her vital war work. You can read an article about that and see a photograph of her in her later years here.

Visiting the Stafford 

So there we have it, The Stafford Hotel, a place with amazing historic survivors and stories to tell.

If you would like to visit, the opening hours for the American Bar are as follows:

Monday – Sunday: 10am – 12pm for teas and coffees only.

Monday – Wednesday: 12pm – midnight
Thursday – Saturday: 12pm – 1am
Sunday: 12pm – midnight

Find out more on their website here. The wine cellars can be hired out for meetings, events and wine tastings. You can find out more here. 

Thank you for reading, more of London’s historic treasures below…