Kim Philby's Apartment

The notorious Russian spy (British double agent) that made it to the highest levels of British Intelligence - and then betrayed the West, lived his last days in the building beyond the gate, where his widow still resides. His activities were limited only by Joseph Stalin's fears that he was a triple agent providing Soviet intelligence to British authorities. In 1963, Philby was revealed to be a member of the spy ring now known as the Cambridge Five, and soon defected to Russia to live out his last days as a fairly bitter alcoholic. The building is an architectural masterpiece built in the 1820's. Many say that John le Carré's spy novel character Bill Haydon is based on Mr. Philby. The story of Bill Haydon's / Kim Philby's treachery is told in le Carré's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.