Mount Clare is a

Grade I 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 Irel ...

house built in 1772 in Minstead Gardens,

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, in the Putney SW15 postal district, and takes up a far western strip running north to south of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large council house estates and is home to the U ...

, in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

. The architect was

Sir Robert Taylor Sir Robert Taylor (1714–1788) was an English architect and sculptor who worked in London and the south of England. Early life Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonemason and sculptor, ...

, and the house was enlarged with a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

and other enrichments in 1780 by

Placido Columbani Placido Columbani was an Italian architectural designer who worked chiefly in England in the latter part of the 18th century. He belonged to the school of the Adams and Pergolesi, and like them frequently designed the enrichments of furniture. He ...

. It was Grade I listed on 14 July 1955. The house was built for the politician George Clive and the gardens were landscaped by

Lancelot "Capability" Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

Notable residents

Clive died in 1779. Subsequent residents have included: *1780–1804: Sir John Dick, British Consul at Leghorn, who died at the house on 2 December 1804 *1807–1819: the chemist

Charles Hatchett Charles Hatchett FRS FRSE (2 January 1765 – 10 March 1847) was an English mineralogist and analytical chemist who discovered the element niobium, for which he proposed the name "columbium". Hatchett was elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Societ ...

FRS, who discovered the element

niobium Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has sim ...

*1830–1832:

Humphrey St John-Mildmay Humphrey St John-Mildmay (1794–1853) was an English merchant banker and politician, a partner with Baring Brothers. Life St John-Mildmay joined the Coldstream Guards and served as a captain in the Peninsular War. After marrying Anne Baring, ...

, sixth son of the third Baronet, and Member of Parliament for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

*1840–1846: Admiral of the Fleet

Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Ogle, 2nd Baronet (24 May 1775 – 16 June 1858) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he saw action leading storming parties at the capture of Martinique and at the capture of Guadeloupe during the Frenc ...

*1874–1908:

Hugh Colin Smith Hugh Colin Smith (31 October 1836 – 8 March 1910) was an English banker who was Governor of the Bank of England from 1897–99. Early life Smith was born in London, the son of John Abel Smith (1802–1871), Member of Parliament for Chichester ...

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...

. Smith's

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...

descendants lived in the house until 1945.

Requisition in 1945 and subsequent use

The house was requisitioned by

Wandsworth Borough Council Wandsworth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Wandsworth is divided into 20 wards, eac ...

in 1945. In 1963 it became a

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

for

Garnett College Garnett College was a higher education college in London which trained lecturers in further and higher education colleges. Its main focus was on teaching towards post-graduate qualifications awarded by the Council for National Academic Awards (CN ...

, the UK's only dedicated lecturer-training college. Garnett College became part of Woolwich Polytechnic, then

Thames Polytechnic The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, then the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along with it ...

. Today, Mount Clare is owned by the Southlands Methodist TrustMethodist Council (2015)
Southlands College and the Southlands Methodist Trust
Retrieved 28 May 2018 and used as a hall of residence for the

University of Roehampton The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

Gallery

File:Mount Clare, Roehampton 04.JPG, Mount Clare, front view File:Mount Clare, Roehampton 08.JPG, Mount Clare, rear view File:Mount Clare, Roehampton 03.JPG, Statue in memory of

, Mount Clare

References

{{coord, 51.4519, -0.2509, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1772 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1772 Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth Grade I listed houses in London Halls of residence in the United Kingdom History of the London Borough of Wandsworth Robert Taylor buildings Roehampton University of Roehampton