The History of Hotel 41

Hotel 41 has deep roots indeed, roots that stretch back as far as the early 18th century. The land on which 41 now stands was originally owned in 1703 by John Sheffield, the Earl of Mulgrave.

By 1752, what was then known as Chelsea Road (now Buckingham Palace Road) began to see the arrival of accommodations for Buckingham Palace staff and independent boutiques. This tradition of elegant shops and refined establishments continued throughout the 19th century, with several distinguished businesses setting up on this prestigious street.

In 1841, the site was acquired by Thomas Murley, an apothecary and purveyor of ham and tongue. His business, Thomas Murley & Son, flourished at this location until the mid-1880s, when it became a law stationer’s shop and, later, a dressmaker’s atelier, run by a woman called Madame Excalier, and a florist’s that sold artificial flowers made by its owner, Elizabeth Dowe.

Around 1885, the property is believed to have been redeveloped, just before the Aereated Bread Company set up its original location here. The company eventually expanded to open 250 tea shops across London.

As the 20th century began, Mr. James Rossdale acquired several properties along Buckingham Palace Road, including numbers 37 and 39, which would later become The Rubens at the Palace. Gaining a reputation for opulence and luxury, the hotel soon became a favoured venue for debutantes attending royal events. However, during the Second World War, as tensions mounted across Europe, the property was taken over by the exiled Polish Free State Army and served as the headquarters for General Sikorski. His official plaque still adorns the building to this day.

The Rubens changed hands several times throughout the latter half of the 20th century, purchased by Grand Metropolitan Hotels in 1953 and then sold to Sarova Hotels towards the end of the 1970s. Finally, in 1997, it found its current home within The Red Carnation Hotel Collection.

Just a few years later, in 2000, the fifth-floor ballroom of The Rubens was converted into Hotel 41, offering guests a more intimate experience than its sister property. After several years of hard work building Hotel 41 into one of the most respected properties within the hospitality world, in 2017 it was recognised as a Forbes Five-Star property for the first time, an honour we are immensely proud to have retained every year since then.

We can't wait to help create many more stories that involve this iconic address and we look forward to welcoming you to our historic property very soon.