![Westcott Lodge 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Westcott_Lodge_01.JPG)
Westcott Lodge is a
Grade II listed house in Lower Mall,
Hammersmith, London.
It was originally St Paul's Vicarage, and built in 1746, with some later remodelling, and restoration after damage during World War II.
In 1962, it was the first home of th
Hammersmith Chess Club which met there until 1970, when it had grown too large, and moved to St Paul's Church Hall.
The first president was the eccentric Lady Herbert, wife of
A. P. Herbert
Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (A. P. Herbert, 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and in 1935–1950 an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. Born in Ashtead, Su ...
from 1966. 1968 saw the British champion, Dr.
Jonathan Penrose
Jonathan Penrose, (7 October 1933 – 30 November 2021) was an English chess player, who held the titles Grandmaster (1993) and International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (1983). He won the British Chess Championship ten times between 1958 ...
, play a simultaneous display at the club, winning 17 games and drawing two.
In 1963, a
street lamp
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of landform, land adjoining buildings in an urban area, urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as ...
that had formerly been in
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
was given by
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...
, then Mayor of West Berlin, to mark Hammersmith's twinning with the Berlin (previously West Berlin) district of
Neukölln. The lamp now stands on the house's wall, facing nearby
Furnival Gardens
Furnival Gardens (also spelt Furnivall Gardens) is a park in Hammersmith alongside the river Thames.
It was once the location of the mouth of Hammersmith Creek, which had an active fishing trade until about 200 years ago. The creek was filled i ...
.
Below it is a plaque which reads: "The lamp above this plaque was formerly used to light a street in West Berlin. It was presented by Herr Willi Brandt, Mayor of West Berlin to Councillor Stanley Atkins, L. P., The Worshipful the Mayor of Hammersmith, as a token of friendship between the two communities on the occasion of the Jumelage held in this Borough, 1st June 1963."
References
Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Houses completed in 1746
1746 establishments in England
Grade II listed houses in London
Houses in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
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