Bushy House is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

former

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

of King William IV and

Queen Adelaide , house = Saxe-Meiningen , father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy ...

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, which

Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 19 ...

had constructed for his own enjoyment on the site of a previous house Upper Lodge, Bushy Park, between 1714 and 1715. It is part of the National Physical Laboratory and its upper two storeys overlook adjoining

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...

. The house and of surrounding

land were taken as the site for the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in 1900 after concerns about flooding of the previously proposed site in the Old Deer Park, Richmond; it opened as part of this important laboratory in 1902. The ground floor and basement levels of Bushy House were converted to laboratory space and Richard Glazebrook, the first director of NPL, and later directors, used part of the building as private accommodation. Bushy House contains laboratories, two small

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

s that mainly contain old

scientific equipment A scientific instrument is a device or tool used for scientific purposes, including the study of both natural phenomena and theoretical research. History Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, an ...

, and rooms used for meetings and conferences.

History

Bushy House in its first form was built in 1663 by William Samwell for

Edward Proger Edward Proger (16 June 1621 or 1618 – 31 December 1713) was a Member of Parliament for Brecknockshire/Breconshire, Page of Honour to King Charles I, Groom of the Bedchamber for King Charles II and Lord of the Manor of West Stow. He was Kee ...

, at a cost of £4,000 (£ in ), as the lodge of the Keeper/Ranger of Bushy Park in what was at the time the North Park part. Proger had been made Ranger of Bushy Park to reward him for his loyalty to King Charles II during his exile.'Spelthorne Hundred: Hampton Court Palace, parks', in ''A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2'', ed. William Page (London, 1911), pp. 386-388. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol2/pp386-388 Accessed 1 October 2017. It was rebuilt by the

Earl of Halifax Earl of Halifax is a title that has been created four times in British history—once in the Peerage of England, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the peerage refers to Halifax, We ...

from 1714 to 1715 after he had bought the three parks from the Duchess of Cleveland and was made ranger. The house and office then passed to his cousin George Montague (1715–1737) and then to George's son George Montague-Dunk (1737–1771). From 1771 to 1792, it was occupied by the grandson of the 1st Earl through his eldest daughter, Lord North, prime minister, who had further homes such as in Epsom and the centre of London or Westminster. In 1797, after the death of both Lord North and his wife,

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

appointed his son, the

Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence is a substantive title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the British Royal Family. All three creations were in the Peerage of England. The title was first granted to Lionel of Antwerp, the second son ...

, as ranger of Bushy Park, carrying with it residence at Bushy House. Clarence and his mistress

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan, née Bland (21 November 17615 July 1816), was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time mistress of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and the mother of ten illegitimate children by ...

lived there together with their ten children until the couple's relationship came to an end in 1811.Google Books
''The Story of Dorothy Jordan'' Armstrong, Clare & Jerrold, Bridgman Ayer Publishing, 1969 , Clarence continued living there with the FitzClarence children and later his wife Princess Adelaide after they married in 1818. When at 6am on 26 June 1830 a messenger from London arrived at Bushy House with the news that

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten ye ...

was dead and Clarence was now King William IV, he is said to have replied that he had 'always wished to sleep with a queen' and gone back to bed. As William had appointed her ranger in her own right upon his accession, after William's death in 1837, Bushy House became Adelaide's official residence until her death in 1849. In 1865, Queen Victoria offered Bushy House to the

Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours Prince Louis of Orléans, Duke of Nemours (Louis Charles Philippe Raphaël d'Orléans; 25 October 1814 – 26 June 1896) was the second son of King Louis-Philippe I of France, and his wife Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily. Life Childhoo ...

and other members of the exiled French royal family as they tried to restore the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...

. After his return to France in 1871, he kept control of Bushy House until his death in 1896 in case he was forced to leave France again, and with Nemours not having children as heirs, the house became empty in 1897. In March 1902, the new National Physical Laboratory was opened at Bushy House by the Prince of Wales (later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

Gallery

File:Npl bushy house 2.JPG, North side of Bushy House in 2007 File:Bushy Park.png, Bushy House from an 1827 book illustration File:PSM V60 D137 Bushy house east front.png, East side of Bushy House in 1901/1902

References

Sources

*
The Story of Bushy House
{{Royal palaces in the United Kingdom Royal residences in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Country houses in London Bushy Park Houses completed in 1663 Teddington 1663 establishments in England History of Middlesex Middlesex National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) Grade II* listed houses in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames William IV of the United Kingdom