Pembroke Lodge is an initial, mainstream category listed (Grade II) Georgian two-storey large house in

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer pa ...

in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

. It sits on high ground with views across the

Thames 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 ...

valley to Windsor, the Chilterns and hills in the Borough of Runnymede. It has of landscaped grounds, including part of

King Henry's Mound Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...

from which there is a protected view of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The grounds also include memorials to the 18th-century poet James Thomson and the 20th-century rock-and-roll singer and lyricist

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads ...

. The building is of historical interest, having housed British prime minister Lord John (later, Earl) Russell and the childhood home of his grandson, philosopher and logician

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ar ...

. GHQ Liaison Regiment ("Phantom") used the premises during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The lodge is part of the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priv ...

and is currently privately run as a catering facility and a conference and wedding venue on a long lease from The Royal Parks. It also houses a heritage charity,

The Hearsum Collection Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer par ...

History

The lodge is first mentioned in 1754, when it was a one-roomed cottage occupied by a

molecatcher A molecatcher (also called a mowdy-catcher) is a person who traps or kills moles in places where they are considered a nuisance to crops, lawns, sportsfields or gardens. History of molecatching Roman times Excavations of Ancient Roman sites h ...

. He was employed to eradicate molehills that were impeding the sport of deer

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...

. The cottage was enlarged to become a house with four principal rooms and was renamed Hill Lodge. It was granted to

Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, a "close friend" of

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 ...

, at her request in 1787. Between 1788 and 1796 she extended the building, to a design by Sir John Soane, to form the entire Georgian wing and part of the north wing. She died, aged 93, at Pembroke Lodge in 1831. Malden, H E (ed.) (1911).
Parishes: Richmond (anciently Sheen)"
in ''A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3'',

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Uni ...

, pp. 533–546. Accessed 14 August 2015. After the Countess of Pembroke's death the Lodge was occupied by William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll. In 1847,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

granted the Lodge to

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

, then Prime Minister, who conducted much government business there and entertained Queen Victoria, foreign royalty, aristocrats, writers (

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

, Thackeray, Longfellow, Tennyson) and other notable people of the time, including

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

. Lord John was much taken with the Lodge – "an asset that could hardly be equalled, certainly not surpassed in England". Earl Russell (as he had become) died there on 28 May 1878; Fanny, his second wife, in 1898. Their daughter

Lady Agatha Russell Lady Mary Agatha Russell (1853 – 23 April 1933) was the daughter of the 1st Earl Russell and Frances, Countess Russell, and the aunt of Bertrand Russell. She was the co-editor of her mother's posthumously published memoirs, ''Lady John Ru ...

left the inscribed memorial stone that stands in the rose garden: Lord John Russell's grandson,

, the philosopher, widely quoted source of popular witticisms and mathematician, grew up there between 1876 and 1894. At Pembroke Lodge, he wrote, "I grew accustomed to wide horizons and to an unimpeded view of the sunset". From 1903, until her death there in February 1929, Pembroke Lodge was tenanted by Georgina, Dowager Countess of Dudley, a close friend of

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of Kin ...

. There is a headstone in Pembroke Lodge's gardens to the grave of her dog, Boy, who died in 1907. From 1929 to 1938, John Scott Oliver, a wealthy

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

, lived at Pembroke Lodge. During

, the GHQ Liaison Regiment (also known as Phantom) established its regimental headquarters nearby at The Richmond Hill Hotel, with its base (including the officers' mess and

billet A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alt ...

) at Pembroke Lodge. Some of the members of the squad went on to become

privy councillors A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

law lords Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House o ...

, judges, MPs, a commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (

Sir Robert Mark Sir Robert Mark (13 March 1917 – 30 September 2010) was a senior British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Leicester City Police, and later as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1972 to 1977. Mark was the first Metro ...

) and actors – including

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other role ...

, who remarked in a letter, "these were wonderful days which I would not have missed for anything". After World War II, Pembroke Lodge became a government-run tea room.

Current use

Now in private hands and restored to its former architectural glory, Pembroke Lodge is open to the public for refreshments, weddings and conferences. Pembroke Lodge is also the home of

, a registered charity Charity registration number 1153010 that collects and preserves the heritage of Richmond Park and is seeking to build a new purpose-built heritage centre to provide full public access to its holdings.

Notes and references

External links

Official website: Pembroke Lodge

Pembroke Lodge historyThe Royal Parks: Pembroke Lodge, Richmond ParkOfficial website: The Hearsum Collection

''The Heritage Pavilion'' (video, 2014), The Hearsum CollectionFriends of Richmond Park
{{LB Richmond Bertrand Russell Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade II listed houses History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames John Soane buildings Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom Richmond, London Richmond Park

History

Current use

Notes and references

Further reading

External links