Holland House

Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was an early Jacobean country house in Kensington, London, built in 1605 by the diplomat Sir Walter Cope, in what is now Holland Park. The house passed by marriage to Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, and descended through the Rich family and then the Fox family, becoming a noted gathering place for Whigs during the 19th century. It was largely destroyed by German firebombing during the Blitz in 1940, leaving only the east wing and ruins of the ground floor and south facade standing; the ruin was designated a Grade I listed building in 1949 and is now owned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.