Langham House is a

Grade II-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 facing Ham Common in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was built in about 1709 and former home of several notable residents.

Location

Langham House is located on Ham Street, on the west side of Ham Common in

Ham, London Ham is a suburban district in Richmond, south-west London. It has meadows adjoining the River Thames where the Thames Path National Trail also runs. Most of Ham is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and, chiefly, within the ward o ...

. It is adjacent and to the north of the Grade II-listed Cassel Hospital.

Description

Langham House is a three-storey house with cellar, built of

stock brick London stock brick is the type of handmade brick which was used for the majority of building work in London and South East England until the growth in the use of Flettons and other machine-made bricks in the early 20th century. Its distinctive y ...

, five sash windows wide. It has stucco corbel cornice below the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

and a Doric porch. It has a single-storey and one window wide wing to the right which has a side door with a rusticated stone surround and pediment. ''Langham Cottage'', adjacent to the north, completely rebuilt in 1974, was originally the coach house.

History

Langham House dates from about 1709. It has had several notable former residents during its three-century history.

George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale George Hay, 7th Marquess of Tweeddale DL (1753 – 9 August 1804) was a Scottish peer. Early life Hay was born at Newhall in East Lothian, Scotland. He was the son of John Hay (d. 1765) and Dorothy ( Hayhurst) Hay (d. 1808). His siblings i ...

lived at the house between 1780 and 1790. Charles Edgeworth, half-brother of Irish author

Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the n ...

, resided at the house in 1851. Active within the parish, along with his neighbour, Gordon Forbes, he was involved in the management of the National Orphan Home on other side of the Common. First Sea Lord, John Fisher leased the house from 1904 on appointment as

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed Fo ...

, though also granted an official residence at

Queen Anne's Gate Queen Anne’s Gate is a street in Westminster, London. Many of the buildings are Grade I listed, known for their Queen Anne architecture. Simon Bradley and Nikolaus Pevsner described the Gate’s early 18th century houses as “the best of thei ...

. He and his wife remained in Ham until after Fisher was appointed

Baron Fisher Baron Fisher, of Kilverstone in the County of Norfolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1909 for the noted naval reformer Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Fisher. His son Cecil Fisher, the second Baron, was the a ...

in 1909 and retirement as First Sea Lord in 1910. Almost at the same time, Fisher's son, Cecil, inherited the Vavasseur fortune and the whole family relocated to Kilverstone Hall, Norfolk. Air Vice-Marshal, Philip Game resided at the house in 1937. Langham House and Close - Ham Common

The property, like many in the area, was part of the Dysart and

Tollemache family The Tollemache family (also historically spelt Talmach or Tallemache) is an English noble family, originally from Suffolk. The family's surname is pronounced . Members of the family have had a significant impact on the economy and politics of E ...

estate. Langham House became home to

Sir Lyonel Tollemache, 4th Baronet Sir Lyonel Felix Carteret Eugene Tollemache, 4th Baronet (15 January 1854 – 4 March 1952) was an English landowner. Early life and family Born in South Witham near Grantham, Lincolnshire, he was the eldest son of the Reverend Ralph Tollemache ...

and his son, Cecil, following their donation of

Ham House Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan cou ...

to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in 1948. The house was listed Grade II in January 1950. After Lyonel's death at the house in 1953, the house and garden were sold separately, Langham House was converted from a single dwelling into flats and the garden plot was sold for development on a 999-year lease in 1955. The land to the south of the house became the access road for the Grade II*-listed

Langham House Close Langham House Close on Ham Common in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a development of three Grade II* listed buildings designed in 1955 by the British architects James Gowan and James Stirling. The Le Corbusier-influence ...

development, designed by

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

and Gowan in 1956; this was built on the garden plot behind the house, between 1957 and 1958, and is considered an exemplar of

Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

References

{{LB Richmond 1709 establishments in England Georgian architecture in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade II listed houses in London Ham, London Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Location

Description

History

See also

References