Orleans House
| Orleans House | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Orleans House | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ16917338 |
| Location: | 51°26’50"N, 0°19’8"W |
| Town: | Twickenham |
| History | |
| Built 1702 – 1737 | |
| For: | James Johnston by John James James Gibbs |
| Country house | |
| Palladian | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Partially demolished |
| Owned by: | Local council |
Orleans House was a Palladian villa built by the architect John James in 1710[1] near the River Thames at Twickenham, Middlesex, for the politician and diplomat James Johnston. It was subsequently named after the Louis-Philippe, Duc d'Orléans who stayed there in the early 19th century.
By the early 20th century the house was derelict and in 1926 it was mostly demolished. However, parts of the property, including a baroque octagonal room designed by architect James Gibbs, were preserved. The octagon room and its service wing are Grade I listed[2] and, together, with a converted stable block, are now the Orleans House Gallery, a gallery of art.[3]
History
18th century
James Johnston settled at Twickenham at the end of his political career. Johnston had seen diplomatic service in Germany, first as King's envoy to Berlin and later working to secure the Hanoverian succession, and made frequent journeys to Hanover. It was said George I "often conversed with him very familiarly" and that Johnston was "a great favourite of Queen Caroline, who was much entertained with his humour and pleasantry". It was also said "he keeps out a very great rank, and frequently has Mr Walpool and the greatest courtiers with him at his country house near London; and the King sometimes does him the honour to dine with him".[4] The King (George I) is also recorded to have been a regular casual visitor to the house.
Johnston was one of the first to construct a home on the Thames in Twickenham during the 18th century. He procured a lease (from the then under-lessee Mrs Davies) and commissioned architect John James to plan and erect a mansion – a project which spanned the following 35 years. The grounds were extensive, including the area now known as the Orleans House woodlands. Johnston created a fine garden which "included canals, an icehouse, a kitchen garden, a pleasure garden, a wilderness, a grotto and a fruit garden".
A baroque octagonal room, designed by architect James Gibbs, was added in 1720 for entertaining George II's Queen Consort, Caroline, who regarded Johnston with great favour.
19th century
Louis-Phillippe, Duc d'Orléans, while in exile, lived in Johnston's house at Twickenham between 1813 and 1815 and the house was later named after him.[5]
20th century
Orleans House was demolished in 1926, and the area formerly occupied by the house used to quarry gravel throughout the 1930s.[6] The outbuildings and octagon room were saved by the efforts of a local figure, the Hon. Nellie Levy, later Nellie Ionides, who left it and her collection of 18th- and 19th-century pictures to the borough.[7] It became a listed building in 1952[2] and was converted into an art gallery in 1972.[8]
In 1973, 16 acres at the northern end of the former park were taken as the site of Orleans Park School.[9]
21st century
The buildings and site were refurbished between 2005 and 2008 by architects Patel Taylor to incorporate an education centre and a cafe.[10]
Orleans House Gallery opened in 1972.
Pictures
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Orleans House) |
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Outside links
- Official website: Orleans House Gallery
- Twickenham Museum: Orleans House
- Richmond upon Thames Borough Art Collection on Art UK
References
- ↑ Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner (1983). The Buildings of England – London 2: South. London: Penguin Books. p. 541. ISBN 0-14-0710-47-7.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Heritage List 1250280: Orleans House The Octagon Room and Service Wing Adjoining
- ↑ "Orleans House Gallery". Art UK. http://artuk.org/visit/venues/orleans-house-gallery-4882.
- ↑ John R Young (2004). "Johnston, James (1655–1737)" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ "Orleans House". Twickenham. Twickenham Museum. http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk/detail.php?aid=14&cid=1&ctid=2.
- ↑ Miranda Stearn and Mark De Novellis (November 2008). Orleans House: a history. pp. 48–72. ISBN 978-1-902643-09-0. http://www2.richmond.gov.uk/docs/46079_txt_48-72.pdf.
- ↑ Christopher Hibbert; Ben Weinreb; and others The London Encyclopaedia, third edition, London, Macmillan, 2008 ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5
- ↑ "Orleans House Gallery". Local information: gallery. St Margarets community website. http://www.stmgrts.org.uk/directory/gallery/200506150208.
- ↑ "Orleans House". Twickenham Museum. http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk/kids_detail.asp?ContentID=28.
- ↑ "Orleans House Gallery". Culture 24. http://www.culture24.org.uk/se000146.
- Patricia Astley Cooper, The History of Orleans House, Twickenham, Twickenham 1984
- Orleans House and The Octagon, Local History Notes