London walk · Stop 5 of 15
138 Piccadilly – the most likely location of Dracula’s London house
Dracula · Possible location · The Count’s 347 Piccadilly · Dracula, 1897
Start here for the shorter West End walk (about 3.5 km; allow 1½ hours plus visits).
After Chelsea’s homes, Piccadilly brings us into Dracula’s London – or at least the bit of London that inspired part of Bram’s writing. The novel places the address as No. 347, but Piccadilly’s numbering does not go that high. No. 138 is the strongest candidate for the Count’s house, although the identification remains a research question.
Look at No. 138 on the north side of Piccadilly, near Old Park Lane. Researchers have compared this row with the Count’s fictional house at 347 Piccadilly, which Jonathan tracks down in Chapter 20. He finds it dusty and shuttered, with a torn-down notice-board in front of the balcony. Currently No. 139 fits that picture better!
Historic England dates the present refacing of No. 138 to 1891, the years when Bram was developing the novel. Its stone front, canted bay, raised entrance and balcony invite comparison with Jonathan’s description.
Chapters 22 and 23 add a harder architectural test: a rear dining room, a lower stone-paved yard, a stable and an escape into a mews. As you walk east, compare No. 128 and the site of No. 107, two alternative proposals for the same house.
Look for
The stone front of No. 138, its canted bay, raised entrance and first-floor balcony. Then, walking east, No. 128 and the site of No. 107.
Read
“We beg, with regard to the desire of your Lordship, expressed by Mr. Harker on your behalf, to supply the following information concerning the sale and purchase of No. 347, Piccadilly. The purchaser is a foreign nobleman, Count de Ville, who effected the purchase himself paying the purchase money in notes ‘over the counter,’ if your Lordship will pardon us using so vulgar an expression.”
“The windows were encrusted with dust, and the shutters were up. All the framework was black with time, and from the iron the paint had mostly scaled away.”
Evidence
No. 347 is fictional. No. 138 is a later proposal, not a proved identification, and a similar frontage is only part of the evidence. Nos. 128 and 107 are alternative suggestions.
Practical information
Exterior street stop. Use public pavements and crossings, keep entrances clear and stay out of private yards.
Search Dracula for Piccadilly ↗
Where was Dracula’s London house? Read the different arguments ↗
No. 138: Historic England listing ↗
Later account of the No. 138 proposal ↗
Alternative No. 128 suggestion ↗
Walk to the next stop Keep walking east along the north side of Piccadilly to No. 115, the former Giuliano premises. You will pass the RAF Club at No. 128 on the way; it is a comparison frontage rather than a separate stop.
Source references
138 Piccadilly — Historic England, list entry 1226815 · Dracula’s proposed London address — Exploring London, 2017 · “Chicksanguine”: the 128 Piccadilly interpretation — Friends of the Intelligence Corps Museum · The Berkeley’s hotel history — The Berkeley