Tenants of the building have included the Ambassador of the United States, Joseph H Choate, from 1900-1905. Choate was to a large extent responsible for the Panama Canal Treaty in 1901. The most eminent resident was George Nathaniel, Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, who lived here on his return from India in 1905 until his death in 1925. He took public office again in 1915, and from his second marriage in 1917 No. 1 became a social centre. Most of the prominent people of the day would have been entertained here. After his death the house remained empty until it became headquarters of the Savage Club in 1936. In 1940 a bomb destroyed the Council Room and the Savage Club Library below. The bomb damage was repaired in 1949, but water and bomb damage was worse than realised and rot and decay took hold over the next twenty years. The Savage Club moved out in 1963 and the house again remained empty. In 1969 the Crown Estate offered the lease to the Iron and Steel Institute (ISI) on the basis that they would renovate the building.

The ISI occupied the building on 5 January 1972 along with the former Institute of Metals, and in 1974 they together formed the Metals Society. In 1985 the Metals Society merged with the Institution of Metallurgists to form the Institute of Metals, which became the Institute of Materials on 1 January 1992 in anticipation of a merger with the Plastics and Rubber Institute and the Institute of Ceramics. The Institute of Materials merged with the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in 2002 and the resulting Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining is the current proud resident of this fine building.

The current Council Room was Curzon's sitting room and the Library was the original dining room. The Bessemer Room on the Ground Floor was originally the Library. In the Bessemer Room there is a fine portrait of Henry Bessemer together with the casket which held the scroll conferring his Honorary Freedom of the City of London. On the landing area are the original Letters Patent for the Bessemer Converter for the improved production of steel.

The Institute is a leading international body for the advancement of materials, minerals and mining to governments, industry, academia, the public and the professions.

To make a booking or to arrange a visit to view our facilities please contact Julie Williams on +44 (0)20 7451 7353, or use our online enquiry form.