The Wick is a Grade I listed Georgian house in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, located at the corner of Nightingale Lane and Richmond Hill. The house, designed in 1775 by architect Robert Mylne for Lady St. Aubyn, was for many years the family home of actor Sir

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

, who sold it to

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a nu ...

of the rock band

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

(and later of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

) in 1971. From 1996 it was owned by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

who sold it in 2021 for £15,000,000

Description

The Georgian-style house, built of plum brick and stone on the site of the ''Bull's Head'' tavern, overlooks the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

and is near

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

, the largest urban park in the United Kingdom. It was designed by architect Robert Mylne in 1775 for Lady St. Aubyn, and includes oval dining and drawing rooms, three storeys and a basement with

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

and

balustrading A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

above. The porch is built with

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and Tower of the Winds piers with a

fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...

above, and a line of medallions embellishes the front of the house. It faces Richmond Hill and features a garden wall that borders Nightingale Lane, with a

coach house Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

in the garden. The back of the house features

bow window A bow window or compass window is a curved bay window. Bow windows are designed to create space by projecting beyond the exterior wall of a building, and to provide a wider view of the garden or street outside and typically combine four or more w ...

s that overlook the river. The Wick and the adjoining cottage, Wick Cottage, are listed as

Grade I 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 ...

structures by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

History

Richmond Hill was part of the Royal Manor of Richmond since the time of

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. Richmond Park was enclosed by King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

around 1635. The countryside was mostly agricultural land in the early 18th century, but Terrace Walk was laid out at the top of Richmond Hill in the later 18th century, followed by construction of a number of fine homes, including The Wick, on the hill. The sound of the wind around the house reportedly inspired

Mary Hayley Bell Mary Hayley Bell, Lady Mills (22 January 1911 – 1 December 2005) was an English actress and writer, married for 64 years to actor Sir John Mills. Her novel '' Whistle Down the Wind'' was adapted as a film, starring her teenaged daughter, ...

, actress, writer and wife of Sir John Mills, to write the novel '' Whistle Down The Wind'' which was made into both a film and, later, an

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

musical. Ronnie Wood bought the home in 1971 but did not have enough money to purchase the adjacent cottage as well; he persuaded

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in ...

, at the time one of his bandmates in

, to buy the cottage. When Wood first bought the house, Lane also lived there until his departure from Faces in June 1973. The guitarist of the Rolling Stones,

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, reportedly lived in the coach house for several months during 1973–74 during Wood's ownership. Wood recorded his first two solo albums, ''

I've Got My Own Album to Do ''I've Got My Own Album to Do'' is the first solo album by English rock musician Ronnie Wood, released in September 1974. An all-star project recorded outside of his activities with the Faces, it reached number 27 on the UK's ''NME'' chart. The ...

'' and ''

Now Look ''Now Look'' is the second solo album by English musician Ronnie Wood, released in July 1975. In the United States, it peaked at number 118 on ''Billboard''s top 200 albums listings, during a six-week chart run. Produced by Wood, Bobby Womack an ...

'', released in 1974 and 1975 respectively, in a studio he built in the basement of the house. The Rolling Stones song "

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It) "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" is the lead single from English rock band the Rolling Stones' 1974 album ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll''. Writing is credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and the single reached the top ten in the UK charts ...

", also released in 1974, was written at the house, emerging out of a jam between Wood, Richards,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

. Writer and musician

Nikki Sudden Adrian Nicholas Godfrey (19 July 195626 March 2006), known professionally as Nikki Sudden, was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtracks, while attending So ...

was working on a history of The Wick before he died suddenly in 2006.

purchased the property in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wick, The Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade I listed houses in London History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Houses completed in 1775 Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Richmond, London Pete Townshend