Winfield House is a mansion set in 12 acres (49,000 m²) of grounds in Regent's Park, London, the largest private garden in central London after that of Buckingham Palace. Regents Park (officially The Regents Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. ... Greater London and the Regions of England. ... Buckingham Palace and the Victoria memorial. This principal facade of 1850 by Edward Blore was redesigned in 1913 by Sir Aston Webb. ...

The first house on the site was Hertford Villa, later known as St Dunstan's. This was the largest of the eight villas originally built in Regent's Park as part of John Nash's development scheme. Occupants of the villa included the Marquesses of Hertford, and newspaper proprietor Lord Rothermere. The villa was damaged by fire in the 1930s and was subsequently purchased by the celebrated American heiress Barbara Hutton, who demolished it and replaced it with the existing neo Georgian mansion. The house's name derives from Barbara Hutton's grandfather Frank Winfield Woolworth. Hutton's son Lance Reventlow was born in Winfield House. John Nash (1752 - 13 May 1835) was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London. ... The titles of Earl of Hertford and Marquess of Hertford have been created several times in the peerages of England and Great Britain. ... Harold Sydney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (1868-1940) was a British newspaper proprietor of Irish extraction. ... Barbara Hutton, born November 14, 1912 in New York City, United States – died May 11, 1979 in Los Angeles, California, was a wealthy American socialite dubbed by the media as the Poor Little Rich Girl because of her troubled life. ... Frank Winfield Woolworth (April 13, 1852-April 8, 1919) was an American merchant. ... Lance Reventlow, born February 24, 1936 in London – died July 24, 1972 near Aspen, Colorado, United States, was a wealthy playboy, entrepreneur, and Formula One race car driver. ...

In World War II Winfield House was used by a Royal Air Force barrage balloon unit. It was visited during the war by Cary Grant, who was Barbara Hutton's husband at the time. After the war Hutton sold the house to the American government for one dollar, and it has been the official residence of the American Ambassadors to the United Kingdom since 1955. Among the ambassadors in residence has been Walter Annenberg, and the house has been visited by Queen Elizabeth II, U.S. presidents and many distinguished guests. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force of the United Kingdom. ... US Marine Corps barrage balloon, Parris Island, May 1942 A barrage balloon is a large balloon used as a defence against aircraft. ... Cary Grant Cary Grant ( January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was an English-born American film actor. ... Walter H. Annenberg Walter H. Annenberg (March 13, 1908 - October 1, 2002) was a billionaire publisher and philanthropist. ... Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) (born 21 April 1926), styled HM The Queen, is the Queen regnant and Head of State of the United Kingdom, as well as the Queen of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea...

External link

Page on U.S. Embassy website (http://www.usembassy.org.uk/rcwinfld.html)