MANSIONS IN NATIONAL USE
It will be recalled that a large number of London mansions, many of them famous for their architectural splendour and historical associations, have been lent by their owners for use in various purposes. Grosvenor House was so lent by the Duke of Westminster. Devonshire House, Piccadilly, has been given over by the Duke of Devonshire. It was only the other day that in another ducal mansion, Norfolk House, St. James’s – just behind which stood the old Howard House in which George III was born – was opened, the Duchess of Norfolk having lent it. Spencer House is serving national ends, as is Montagu House, Whitehall, the town residence of the Duke of Buccleuch. Lord Astor has given his mansion in Carlton House Terrace. The Marquis of Crewe recently offered Crewe House, and Lord Howard de Walden has made a similar offer of Seaford House. In addition to the above, many West-end houses famous for their entertainments in the past have been transformed by their owners into hospitals for officers, and others into clubs or rest-places for Overseas troops. In every county of England are country houses flying the flag of the Red Cross, denoting their utilisation as military hospitals.