THE HISTORY OF SOUTH HAMPSTEAD: ALEXANDRA ROAD'S LEIGHTON HOUSE

"There is often no stronger proof than rumour concerning historical anecdotes and speculation - and often no stronger proof is needed"

Max Arthur, OBE, in "Lost Voices of the Edwardians"

Leighton House: by Geoffrey S. Fletcher

Prior to its demolition in 1971, Leighton House, 103 Alexandra Road, had long been associated with Lillie Langtry - a celebrated Victorian beauty, socialite, actress and between 1877 and 1880, the paramour of the Prince of Wales - the later King Edward VII.

Prof. Jane Ridley in "Bertie - A Life of Edward VII", p. 208

A lifelong friend of the Prince, Lillie was invited to his coronation in 1902 - and to his funeral in 1910.

Lillie Langtry Edward : Prince of Wales

How did Leighton House become associated with Lillie?

It is a long story and a controversial one at that; not least because legends, gossip and rumours cannot always be proved beyond a doubt; and inferences made from leases, electoral registers, census and such records, do not always prove conclusive.

Example:

In May 2021, unable to find Lillie Langtry's name on any record they came across, local historians assumed the house's association with Lillie was a ruse - a myth concocted in 1965 by a resident "Greek actress" to try and prevent its demolition - if you believed that!

The Press nescient of the flaws in their research, bought into it and headlines followed but, as Oscar Wilde could have told them: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple". Dr. Jane Ridley's - a Professor of Modern History at the University of Buckingham - explains:

Prof. Jane Ridley in "Bertie - A Life of Edward VII", p.21

Maybe Lillie did not buy or lease Leighton House herself. Perhaps arrangements were made; maybe Lillie lived there for a relatively short period or only used the house or part of it, occasionally (...)

A passage from James Brough's classic:"The Prince and the Lily", adds credit to such hypotheses:

James Brough in "The Prince and the Lily" p. 187

It is also important to bear in mind, that as a married woman living in the Victorian era, Lillie would not have been in a position to buy or rent Leighton House, or any other house for that matter, not until The Married Women’s Property Act was passed in 1882 - before then, arrangements had to be made ...

By the same token, one would not be able to find her name (Emilie Charlotte Le Breton-Langtry) or, that of any other woman, on the Electoral Registers - and much less on Poll Books (discontinued in 1872) - as women were not allowed to vote until The Representation of the People Act in 1918.

One thing seems certain; the moment Lillie was seen entering or leaving the house - with or without the Prince - rumours would have started and, as the saying goes, "a tale never loses in the telling".

The question remains:

Was the legend invented, as some 'storians have suggested?

Or did they overlook evidence to the contrary?

Please read on ...

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