During his post, the British Ambassador to the Netherlands lives at the Ambassadorial residence at Plein 1813. It used to be part of the ‘Willemspark’, designed by King Willem II, the great-great grandfather of Queen Beatrix, on what used to be fields. The Willemspark was bought by the Municipality of The Hague in 1855 from the King’s estate. 

 

The monument in the middle of the square, commemorating the re-establishment of the realm of The Netherlands, after the French occupation, was unveiled on 17 November 1869 and on the same day the name Willemspark was changed to Plein 1813.

 

The foundation stone of No. 1 was laid on 4 July 1864.  The house was designed and built by the Architect Johannes Jacobus Delia [1816-1898] who managed to obtain seven sites when the Municipality sold the Willemspark. Delia built himself a house at Alexanderstraat 2 and lived there.

 

The house at No. 1 Plein 1813 was built for Dr A. Vrolik, a former Minister of Finance. The address then was Sophialaan No. 5. Mr Vrolik lived in the house until 1882. On 7 August 1883 a Dr R. Baumgarten of Berlin came to live there. In 1886 the house was bought by Mr C.Th.F. Thurkow [1850-1919] and was owned by the Thurkow family for 89 years. In 1924-1925 when Mr Thurkow’s eldest son [1882-1970] moved into the house, it was extensively restored, modernised and converted by the Architect Sam de Clercq. During the last world war the house was requisitioned by the Germans for the use of the leader of the Dutch national-socialist party, Mussert, who used it for representational purposes from February 1943 until the hasty exodus of many of the Dutch and German Nazis at what was thought to be the imminent approach of the Allies on 5 September 1944. A few months later, Mr Thurkow and his wife were allowed to return to the villa as ‘caretakers’. Fortunately, it was found that nothing had been damaged or stolen.

 

After the Thurkow family moved from Plein 1813, the house stood empty for several years. It was acquired by the British Government in 1984 to replace the former property on the Westeinde, which had been the Ambassador’s Residence since 1861.