West Hall at West Hall Road,

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, 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 ...

, is a

Grade II listed building 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 ...

dating from the end of the 17th century.Blomfield 1994, p.18 It is Kew's only surviving 17th-century building apart from

Kew Palace Kew Palace is a British royal palace within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames. Originally a large complex, few elements of it survive. Dating to 1631 but built atop the undercroft of an earlier building, the main surv ...

History

The house stands on what was described in 1386 as an estate of 160 acres. This was included in

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...

Manor, which was owned by the

Archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. By the end of the 15th century, West Hall estate had become part of the new manor of East Sheen and West Hall. The late 17th-century house was probably built by the

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

, Thomas Juxon, who lived in

East Sheen East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its long high street has shops, offices, restaurants, cafés, pubs and suburban supermarkets and is also the economic hub for Mort ...

, as a house to let. A second substantial house to let, Brick Farm, was built just to the west. This later became the home of Sir William Hooker, the first Director of

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, who rented the house and renamed it West Park. The estates of both houses were let out for grazing and

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to ...

.Blomfield 1994, p.19 In 1813 the painter William Harriott is recorded as living at West Hall. He was the son of the

miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

Diana Hill, who also lived at the Hall. Although the house of West Hall remains, and the property includes gardens and cottages, much of its estate, and that of the neighbouring Brick Farm, has now been redeveloped for housing.Blomfield 1994, p.130 The roof and upper floor of the house were damaged by fire in 2005. In 2007 the house was restored by the Bissell Thomas family.

West Hall in popular culture

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

was filmed at West Hall in the mid-1990s for her television series ''

Class Act ''Class Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'', the film was written by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a sto ...

''.

References

Sources

* Blomfield, David: ''Kew Past'', Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., 1994, 1600s establishments in England {{DEFAULTSORT:West Hall, Richmond Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade II listed houses in London History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Kew, London