A listed landmark in the United Kingdom—frequented by Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family—is undergoing a milestone transformation as part of a major luxury development, which officially launched its sale this month, and Newsweek got a first look at a showroom apartment. Completed in 1825, the Grade II-listed Riding School in the St. John's Wood barracks was the historic home of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, a mounted ceremonial unit of the British Army.
The King's Troop carried the late queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on a gun carriage. Today, the building is entering a new chapter as part of St. Johns Wood Square, a sprawling new residential development centered around the Riding School in the north London neighborhood of St.
Johns Wood, close to London's iconic Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, as well as the upscale areas of Marylebone and Fitzrovia. The new development is also located near the prestigious American School in London (ASL), a school for students from kindergarten to high school established by an American journalist from Princeton University in the early 1950s. Its location could potentially attract American residents to the development.
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery was created by King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. The Riding School was regularly visited by Elizabeth, as well as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the Princess Royal, King Charles, and Princess Diana, says Major General Matthew Sykes, who was an officer in The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and its former Honorary Regimental Colonel. Sykes told Newsweek: "Queen Elizabeth II visited The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery on several occasions, both formally and informally.
The Troop was, after all, founded by her father, King George VI, and therefore it was, I believe, special to her—that and her love of horses." Sykes was present for the late queen’s last formal visit in 2011 as The King’s Troop prepared to leave their home of over 60 years the following year. "I remember it as a poignant occasion because it marked the end of our time in St. John's Wood, but it was also very happy," Sykes told Newsweek.
"We were very proud to host her that day, and everyone turned out to see her, the officers and soldiers, our families, as well as the horses, of course. It was a private visit to one of her regiments, and she cheered everyone up enormously." The restoration of the Riding School comes amid growing calls to repurpose existing buildings. In the United States, half the country’s 125 million buildings are at least 50 years old, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
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