Radnor House was an English 17th-century house on the banks of 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 ...

in Cross Deep, Strawberry Hill, London, south of

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

town centre. It was destroyed by a bomb in 1940, and the remains of house and grounds form part of present-day Radnor Gardens.

History

Radnor House, built 1673, was, in turn, named after John Robartes 4th Earl of Radnor who bought the lease of the house and lived there from 1722 until his death in 1757. Robartes acquired about of land across the Cross Deep Road opposite the house, extending west to the line of present-day ''Radnor Road'', and which he connected to the riverside property by a tunnel like his celebrated neighbour to the north,

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

. Robartes also purchased adjacent property to the north and extended and embellished the house in

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style in about 1745. He also decorated the gardens with statuary, all of which incurred the slight mockery of his neighbour,

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

, who referred the property as ''Mabland'' in a letter to

Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...

, a reference to the ornate decoration of contemporary

Marylebone Gardens Marylebone Gardens or Marybone Gardens was a London pleasure garden sited in the grounds of the old manor house of Marylebone and frequented from the mid-17th century, when Marylebone was a village separated from London by fields and market garde ...

. Some observers conjecture that Walpole was piqued by his neighbour's anticipation of his own architectural ambitions, as this pre-dated his gothic embellishment of

Strawberry Hill House Strawberry Hill House—often called simply Strawberry Hill—is a Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival villa that was built in Twickenham, London, by Horace Walpole (1717–1797) from 1749 onward. It is a typical example of the "#Strawb ...

Radnor House's riverside gardens to the east included part of Cross Deep Ait, a former larger neighbour of adjacent Swan Island. The two aits are shown as single entity on

John Rocque John Rocque (originally Jean; c. 1704–1762) was a French-born British surveyor and cartographer, best known for his detailed map of London published in 1746. Life and career Rocque was born in France in about 1704, one of four children of a ...

's map of 1746. A footbridge connected the island, metal remnants of which can still be perceived lining the central footpath in the gardens today. The picture ''View of the Earl of Radnor's House'' by

Augustin Heckel Augustin Heckel (1690–1770) was a painter, watch case engraver and draughtsman and also a flower painter in watercolours and gouache. Heckel was born to a family of goldsmiths in Augsburg, Germany. His career was in England, where he came as ...

, engraved by Anthony Walker in 1750 shows the house and garden from the river, with ''Cross Deep Ait'' in the foreground and ''

Cross Deep House Cross Deep House was an 18th-century house, on the banks of the River Thames in Cross Deep, Strawberry Hill, south of Twickenham town centre. It was demolished in 1906 and the remains of its grounds form part of present-day Radnor Gardens. Et ...

'' and riverside garden to the south. A notable flood that occurred on 12 March 1774 is commemorated by a stone plaque in the remaining wall of the house. After Robartes' death, Radnor House was left to Robartes' steward, Frederick Atherton Hindley. Following his bankruptcy in 1779 and death in 1781 there followed a period of uncertainty about its ownership due to disputes over title resulting from Hindley's debts. In 1785 it was purchased by Sir Francis Basset who held it until 1793. Subsequent owners included Lady Marjory and Lady Anne Murray,

John Ivatt Briscoe John Ivatt Briscoe (12 October 1791 – 16 August 1870) was an English Whig and later Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1857 to 1870. Early life and education Briscoe was the only son of John Briscoe of Cross Deep, Twick ...

and, possibly for a short period,

Francis Needham, 2nd Earl of Kilmorey Francis Jack Needham, 2nd Earl of Kilmorey (12 December 1787 – 20 June 1880), known as Viscount Newry from 1822 to 1832, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Member of Parliament. Biography He was the son of General Francis Needham, 1st Earl of Kilmore ...

before he bought and lived at the neighbouring ''Cross Deep House''. Between 1846 and 1847, under the ownership of wine merchant, William Chillingworth, Radnor House was remodelled in an

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

Henry Edward Kendall Jr. Henry Edward Kendall Junior (1805–9 June 1885) was a British architect. Background Kendall was the son of Henry Edward Kendall, also an architect. Both were among the co-founders of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects. ci ...

By the end of the 19th century, Radnor House was becoming dilapidated. Purchased in 1902 by

Twickenham Urban District Twickenham was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1868 to 1965. History Twickenham Local Government District was formed in 1868, when the civil parish of Twickenham adopted the Local Government Act 1858. The district was gove ...

along with the adjacent properties, in 1903 the gardens were opened to the public and remain today as Radnor Gardens. The house stood empty for some time and was briefly used as a school clinic. The council's reluctant deliberations on renovation of the house were resolved by its total destruction by a 250kg delayed action high explosive bomb which fell through the house at 10.30pm on 16 September 1940. Only a few walls remain, indicated by commemorative stones, as do the

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 ...

gazebo and summer house.

References

{{LB Richmond Twickenham Former houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Buildings and structures demolished in 1940 Houses completed in 1673 1673 establishments in England History of Middlesex