17. Albany, Piccadilly

Once a grand mansion, ‘The Albany’ or simply ‘Albany’ (depending on who you’re talking to) was converted into 69 bachelor apartments or ‘sets’ in the 1880s. Since then it has been home to many distinguished individuals including poet Lord Byron, architect Norman Foster, interior designer David Hicks and former Prime Ministers Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher.

The prestigious address has also been the residence of a number of fictional characters, with sets featuring in works by Oscar Wilde, Ian Fleming, Graham Greene and P.G Woodhouse.

Throughout the 1890s it was the home of poet and campaigner George Cecil Ives, who took set E4 and brought with him his live-in servant James Goddard, who tended to his domestic and sexual needs. Dubbed ‘a dedicated homosexual’ by Oscar Wilde, Ives was an early pioneer for homosexual reform and in 1893 founded a secret homosexual society called ‘The Order of Chaeronea.’ Depicted here is the rear entrance to Albany and ‘The Ropewalk’, as seen from Vigo Street.

Print is 20 x 25cm, unframed, signed, numbered and comes with the above accompanying text.