Prestbury House Richmond, Surrey

PRESTBURY HOUSE

RICHMOND, SURREY

A magnificent Grade II listed 7,305 sqft Hampton Court manor house, with connections to King George III, Lancelot “Capability” Brown and the Romanov dynasty.

Prestbury House was originally built in 1742 with an elegant brick façade, tall windows, modillian cornice and mansard roof with dormer windows to the main façade. The house was extended with side wings in 1778-1781 and substantially refurbished in 1935 and 2011, the 2011 work carried out by architect ADAM Architecture and interior designer Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler.

The house was built to provide an official residence for the Royal Master Gardener to first King George II and later King George III, with a nearby property, Wilderness House, built in 1700, providing offices for the Master Gardener and his staff.

The first occupant of Prestbury House was landscape architect George Lowe who oversaw the construction of the manor house and who between 1738-1758 served as Master Gardener to King George II, followed by resident John Greening who served as Master Gardener to first George II and then King George III between 1758 to 1764.

In 1764 Greening was replaced by the famous Lancelot “Capability” Brown (1716-1783). Brown chose to make Wilderness House his official residence and used Prestbury House first as his offices and then sub-let the property to one of his estate managers.

In 1881 the Royal Household decided that Wilderness House and Prestbury House should be used as grace and favour residences. The properties were modernised with electricity and bathrooms in 1935-1936 and the same upgrades applied to Wilderness House in 1907-1912.

Between 1910-1935 the properties became the home and staff quarters for Lady White and family, the widow of Field Marshal Sir George White, the Governor of Gibraltar. Then between 1937 to 1960 Wilderness House was provided to HIH Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia, the exiled sister of Tsar Nicolas II, as her official London residence whilst Prestbury House served as offices, administration and accommodation for her staff and family.

It is from here that Grand Duchess Xenia and her staff had to deal with the claims of impostor Anna Anderson who fraudulently said she was the Grand Duchess Anastasia (the fraud only proved in 1991 after DNA analysis). In 1945 Prestbury House was sold and became a privately owned residence, a status that remains up until the present day.

The gardens are bordered by historic walls, some which date back to 1540, built by King Henry VIII, with ornate pedestrian entrance gates and a side gate and sweeping driveway for cars/vehicles.