Many of the early residents of this house built in 1884 were distinguished army officers. General Sir Percy Radcliffe lived here in the 1920s and in the 1940s Major-General Gordon Grimsdale, who was head of the British Military Mission to China during World War II. Later residents included George Sinclair-Stevenson, the doyen of the lawyers of Hong Kong, and the mezzo-soprano star Regina Sarfaty.
The Victorian historical painter Mrs. Henrietta Ward lived next door and gave art lessons to many of the royal children in a studio she converted from stables. From 1930 to 1956 Noel Coward lived at this studio which he extensively remodelled. His parties there often entailed a throng including Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier.