Wick House is a Grade II listed 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 near the corner of Nightingale Lane and Richmond Hill in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. The painter

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

commissioned the house from Sir William Chambers and it was completed in 1772.

History

The upper section of Richmond Hill on which Wick House is built historically within the parish boundaries of Petersham. The road on which it stands was known as the ''Causey'' or ''Causeway'', ''King's Highway'' or ''Upper Highway''. This was part of a main route between Richmond and Petersham until the construction of the present route of the Petersham Road in 1773, as the previous alternative route on the lower part of Richmond Hill was frequently impassable. Richmond Park was enclosed by King Charles I in 1637, taking of Petersham within it, most of which was

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

. Richmond Gate, situated on the ''Causeway'', was one of the original six entry gates into the Park. Wick House lies about a hundred metres from Richmond Gate on the northern boundary of the remaining section of Petersham Common. 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 Wick House. The site 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 shares the notable view from Richmond Hill.

Construction

Wick House was originally commissioned by Sir Joshua Reynolds from Sir William Chambers in 1771. Reynold's indecision about his requirements was a great annoyance to Chambers. Reynolds lived in the house from 1772 to his death in 1792. He participated in local affairs and is recorded to have attended meetings of Petersham

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

. Not noted as a landscape painter, he nonetheless painted the famous view from his home in about 1778. The oil on canvas, 46 x 62 cm painting is now at the

Orleans House Orleans House was a Palladian villa built by the architect John James in 1710 near the Thames at Twickenham, England, for the politician and diplomat James Johnston. It was subsequently named after the Duc d'Orléans who stayed there in the ...

gallery. Turner is said to have selected the location of his home in Twickenham as he would be able to see Reynolds' house from his window.

Subsequent inhabitants and alterations

In 1804 the Vestry Overseer and Constable ordered that the inhabitants of the poor houses "remove hog

sty A sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs as livestock. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote, although pig pen may refer to pens confining pigs that are kep ...

es & other nuisances that are against the premises of Mrs Lyall". The offending poor houses were subsequently demolished and the land, along with part of the common, were sold to the owner of Wick House for an extension to the garden. The £250 raised from the sale was used in 1809 towards construction of new poor houses at the foot of the common. Mr and Mrs William Burn, who died in 1821 and 1836 respectively, lived at Wick House and their benevolent fostering of orphans in the house is commemorated on a plaque on the organ gallery wall of

Petersham Parish Church St Peter's Church is the parish church of the village of Petersham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is part of the Diocese of Southwark in the Church of England. The main body of the church building dates from the 16th century, ...

Algernon Gray Tollemache Algernon Gray Tollemache (24 September 1805 – 16 January 1892, London) was a British gentleman and politician. He was the sixth and youngest son of William Tollemache, Lord Huntingtower and Catherine Gray. Career He was Member of Parliament ...

lived at Wick House prior to his death in 1892.Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England. 12 February 1892 The house was extended and altered during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. In the late 1940s, funds were raised by the Joint Committee of the Order of St John and the British Red Cross Society to purchase the building as a home for the nurses of the neighbouring

Royal Star and Garter Home The Royal Star and Garter Home on Richmond Hill, in Richmond, London, was built between 1921 and 1924 to a design by Sir Edwin Cooper, based on a plan produced by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1915, to provide accommodation and nursing facilitie ...

for disabled sailors, soldiers and airmen. Lord Wakehurst, Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee, opened the home in a ceremony in 1950. Much of the remaining original interior was altered during the subsequent multi-occupancy conversion for 20 nurses. In this form its total floorspace is . Wick House was designated as a Grade II listed building on 25 May 1983.

Future

The plan to relocate the Star and Garter Home in 2013 created uncertainty about the future of Wick House. In 2007 the local authority recommended that "Wick House should be marketed with retention of the existing non-self contained residential accommodation, in the form of a hostel or staff/student accommodation." A consultation draft planning document was also issued by 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 ...

in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wick House Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames William Chambers buildings Richmond, London