Le Gothique Restaurant and Bar

 

  1. -Built in 1857 with its foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria

  2. -Originally an orphanage for dependents of servicemen.

  3. -During the 1914 -18 war the building was requisitioned as London’s third general hospital. After the war the orphanage was reinstated and finally closed in 1938.

  4. -During the Second World War the building became home to MI5 and Mi6. Used as a detention and interrogation centre the building spawned prison cells(located beneath Le Gothique.

  5. -Rudolph Hess was amongst the reluctant guests who enjoyed its hospitality.





A brief history of le Gothique

  1. -In the fifties the building was bought by the London County Council for use as a school. But despite its Grade 2 listing, was allowed to fall to disrepair.

  2. -The present re-birth with mixed use and residential occupancy is the result of an entrepreneur who persuaded the GLC to part with the building for the princely sum of one pound, provided that he undertook the total renovation at his own expense.

  3. -Today 29 luxurious apartments, 25 studios and workshops, a drama school and Le Gothique French restaurant occupy the former orphanage building.