York House is a historic stately home in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and currently serves as the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

of the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

. It is situated in Richmond Road, near the centre of Twickenham, close to St Mary's Church. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

which is situated in a large park, which is also listed.

History

Early history

Unlike several other UK buildings also called York House, the Twickenham building did not take its name from being a residence of a

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

. The central portion of York House dates to the 1630s and derives its name from the Yorke family, owners of farming land in the area. It was built for Andrew Pitcarne, a courtier of King Charles I. When Pitcarne died in 1640, the house was sold to Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, in 1656, and then re-sold in 1661 for £3,500 to Henry Hyde, the son of

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674) was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II fro ...

, the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

. It then passed through several owners, including (in the late 18th century) Count Ludwig von Starhemberg (1762–1833), the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n ambassador to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He accumulated debt and in 1817 the house was sold to Mrs

Anne Seymour Damer Anne Seymour Damer (née Conway; 26 October 1748 – 28 May 1828) was an English sculptor. Described as a 'female genius' by Horace Walpole, she was trained in sculpture by Giuseppe Ceracchi and John Bacon. Influenced by the Enlightenment, D ...

(1748–1828), a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and close friend of

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

, after whom the house passed to

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

Sir Alexander Johnston (1775–1849), a former Chief Justice of

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, founder of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society, was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encourag ...

and a Privy Councillor. Members of the Johnston family continued to live in the house until 1863, intermixed with tenants such as the

Dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the n ...

Duchess of Roxburghe (widow of the 5th Duke) until 1837, and William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (1757–1844). Loggia York House - Fleur de lis

In 1864 the property was acquired by two directors of Coutts Bank on behalf of the Orleans Pretender,

Philippe, comte de Paris Prince Philippe of Orléans, Count of Paris (Louis Philippe Albert; 24 August 1838 – 8 September 1894), was disputedly List of French monarchs, King of the French from 24 to 26 February 1848 as Louis Philippe II, although he was never offici ...

. Three of his four children were born in York House. He and his family returned to France following the defeat and fall of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

as a result of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1869–71. The house then remained empty until 1876 when it was bought by Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff (1829–1906), a Scottish MP, junior minister in

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's first government, and from 1881 to 1887 Governor of Madras. A notable guest, Laurence Oliphant, died at York House on 23 December 1888. The link with the Orleanists was renewed for a decade from 1896 to 1906 when the then Orleanist pretender Philippe, duc d'Orléans, reacquired the house he'd been born in.

Sir Ratan Tata

The last private owner was Sir

Ratan Tata Ratan Naval Tata (28 December 1937 9 October 2024) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012 and he held the position of interim chairman from October 2016 to Feb ...

(1871–1918), a

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

and a major industrialist in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. After acquiring the house in 1906 he had the riverside section of the gardens largely laid to lawn as an Italian style garden; which was a setting for garden parties and to show off a set of statues that he'd bought. A generous donor to charities, he entertained widely until 1914, when he returned to India. In 1917, on his way back to England, his ship was sunk in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. Now a sick man, he survived, only to die in 1918.

Twickenham Council

York House was acquired in 1923 by Twickenham Urban District Council and after major alterations became the council's offices. The new council chamber was formally opened by the then Duke of York (later

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

) in 1926, the same year that the urban district became a municipal borough.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Since 1965 York House has been the municipal offices of the

. In 1990 the council moved most of its offices to a new purpose-built Civic Centre at 44 York Street, immediately west of York House. The Civic Centre was partly built behind the retained Victorian façade of a

parade of shops A shopping parade, also known as a parade of shops, suburban parade, neighbourhood parade, or just a simply a parade is a group of between five and 40 shops in one or more continuous rows, mostly being retail and serving a local customer base; in ...

at the corner of York Street and Church Street. Council meetings continue to be held in York House. York House provided the setting for the sanitarium scenes in the film '' Alfie'' starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

filmed in 1966. It was also the location for the video for

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

's The Hanging Garden (song) single.

Gardens

The front gardens are largely a public car park and tennis courts. The rear gardens are bisected by a public road but run to 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, s ...

and are open to the public, with the sunken lawn sometimes used for open-air theatre in the summer. A stone footbridge connects the two halves of the gardens.

References

External links

Twickenham Museum websiteLB Richmond local history notesYork House Venue Hire
{{LB Richmond 1630 establishments in England Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Twickenham Local government buildings in London City and town halls in London Grade II* listed government buildings Grade II* listed houses in London History of Middlesex Houses completed in 1630 Buildings and structures completed in 1630 Government buildings completed in the 17th century Prince Philippe, Count of Paris