This print show the north facade of Carlton House which looked onto Pall Mall. A coach alights in front of the porte cochère and servants in livery are in the foreground. A horse and cart and dogs enliven the scene. It is a rare view of the mansion after the work of the architect Henry Holland had been carried out to the building but before the screen of paired ionic columns was added. 
 
 
Carlton House was a grand mansion in London, best known as extravagant London home of the Prince of Wales (later Prince Regent and George IV) from 1783. It was on the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens backed onto St. James's Park. It occupied the site of the present-Carlton House Terrace. Its location was pivotal to the creation of John Nash's ceremonial route from St James's to Regent's Park via Regent Street, Portland Place and Park Square. : Lower Regent Street and Waterloo Place originally formed the approach to its front entrance.
 
An original house was rebuilt in  1709, built for Lod Carlteon and then inherited by his nephew, the Earl of Burlington. In 1732 it was bought by Frederick, Prince of Wales, father to George III at which point the building was re-fronted with stone in order to enhance its grandeur.  William Kent laid out its grand gardens. 
 
When Frederick died prematurately at the age of 44 his wife, the Dowager Princess Augusta of Saxe-Coburg took up residence at Carlton House and substantially enlarged it. When she died in 1772 the house remained empty for some years until George, Prince of Wales (later Prince Regent and George IV) took possession in 1783 when he came of age. The house he inherited was a rambling structure lacking cohesion and he employed the architect Henry Holland to make substantial alterations over the next thirteen years or so.  The majority of craftsmen, decorators, cabinet-makers, metal-workers, and wood-carvers were brought over from France and the style is neo-classical and of the French style of Louis XVI.
 
The print here shows Carlton House after the work by Henry Holland had been carried out but before later alterations to the north-facing front, which overlooked Pall Mall. 
 In 1787 parliament granted £20,000 for the completion of Carlton House, but by 1789 more than double that amount had been spent. By  1793, he was in debt to the tune of £370,000 and decided to shut up  Carlton House to save money. It was an unsuccessful strategy, two years later his debts risen to £639,890. He agreed to marriage with the Princess of Brunswick and in return for this his debts were settled and a further sum of £26,000 was granted for Carlton House. 
 
The whole of Carlton House was pulled down in 1828, in order to make room for the central opening of Waterloo Place. Some of the Corinthian columns, which formed the colonnade in front of the house, were used in the portico of the National Gallery, and others were made use of in the chapel at Buckingham Palace.