51°30′33″N 0°04′22″W / 51.5092894°N 0.0729155°W
| Royal Mint Court | |
|---|---|
 Johnson Smirke Building | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | England |
Royal Mint Court is a building complex with offices and 100 shared-ownership homes in East Smithfield, close to the City of London financial district.
The site was the home of the Royal Mint from 1809 until 1967 and was earlier the site of a Cistercian abbey, built in 1348 and known in its time as Eastminster. Eastminster's foundations are relatively well preserved and visible in the partially open basement of the site.[1]
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the 5.5 acre (2 hectare) property[2] was used as a victualling yard for the Royal Navy, then as a tobacco warehouse, before becoming a mint in 1809. After the mint relocated, the site was redeveloped in 1987 by the Crown Estate Commissioners with a new office and residential block[3] added to the complex alongside the two remaining Grade II listed mint buildings. The 100 residential homes were Leasehold properties and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the Superior Landlord.[4]
In 2017, Royal Mint Court was again set to be redeveloped with plans for a new office, shopping and leisure complex. Planning permission was granted in July 2016.[5] However, in May 2018 the site was sold to the People's Republic of China (PRC) to be used for their new London embassy.[6] As the freeholder, the PRC became the superior landlord over the 100 leasehold homes. David Chipperfield was appointed as the architect for development of the site with some critics questioning if this was his most controversial job.[7][8]
- ^ Planning Application for Decision Ref No: PA/16/00479 Full Planning & PA/16/00480 Listed Building Consent (PDF) (Report). Tower Hamlets planning committee. 28 July 2016.
- ^ "Sheppard Robson appointed to redevelop historic Royal Mint Court". Sheppard Robson. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ "Description of Royal Mint Court". buildington.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ "Land Registry". HM Land Registry.
- ^ "£750m London Royal Mint Court scheme approved". constructionenquirer.com. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ "China acquires London Royal Mint Court site for new embassy". Europe Real Estate. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ Hurst, Will (10 December 2020). "Is the new Chinese embassy Chipperfield's most controversial job?". architects journal. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
- ^ "Inside the Controversy Over China's New Embassy in London". Time. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
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