| Gunnersbury Park | |
|---|---|
 The Large Mansion at Gunnersbury | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | W |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
Gunnersbury Park is a park betweenActon,Brentford,Chiswick andEaling,West London, England. Purchased for the nation from theRothschild family, it was opened to the public byNeville Chamberlain, then Minister of Health, on 21 May 1926. The park is currently jointly managed byHounslow andEaling borough councils.[1] A major restoration project funded by theHeritage Lottery Fund was completed in 2018. The park and garden is Grade II listed.[2]
UnderLeopold de Rothschild in the later 19th century, the park and gardens were greatly developed into a leading example of the new type ofwoodland garden, relying heavily on new plants from Asia. Other features included a more formal "Italian Garden", Victorian scattered flower-beds, anorangery largely in glass, arock garden, and an early example of a "Japanese garden" in England. All of these survive, though inevitably not as well-maintained as a century ago.
The nameGunnersbury derives from Gunylda, theniece ofKing Canute who lived there until her banishment from England in 1044. The manor, owned by theBishop of London, was occupied by the Frowyk family in the 15th century; SirThomas Frowyk,Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was born there in 1460.[3]
In the mid-17th century, Gunnersbury was acquired by SirJohn Maynard, a lawyer and politician during the time ofCromwell.[4] In around 1663, he builtGunnersbury House, aPalladian mansion modelled on theVilla Badoer, and designed byJohn Webb, the pupil and son-in-law ofInigo Jones. A map of Ealing dated 1777, shows the house in the north-east corner of the park, facing a horseshoe-shapedlake.[5]
The house was bought in 1739 from Maynard's great-grandsonJohn Hobart, 1st Earl of Buckinghamshire by wealthy merchant and MPHenry Furnese, after whose death in 1756 it was sold toPrincess Amelia, the daughter of George II.[6]
Daniel Defoe visited Gunnersbury in 1742. He wrote: "...(The Mansion) stands on an eminence, the ground falling gradually from it to the Brentford Road; from the Portico…you have an exceeding fine prospect of the County of Surrey, the river Thames…and a good prospect of London in clear weather…"[7]
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In 1760, the house and estate were purchased forPrincess Amelia, favourite daughter ofGeorge II. Plans for her to marry Prince Frederick of Prussia (who later becameFrederick the Great ofPrussia) had come to nothing, and when her father died, Amelia had lost her apartments atSt James's Palace. She took a house inHanover Square and used Gunnersbury House and estate as a country summer retreat. Amelia –George III's aunt, "that odd and hearty lady" – made Gunnersbury famous with her parties and political intrigues. The previous owner, Henry Furnese, had the grounds landscaped byWilliam Kent in the 18th-centurylandscape style. Princess Amelia continued this, building a bathhouse in the grounds.[8]
After Amelia died in 1786, the estate had a number of owners. In 1788 it was acquired by Colonel Ironside, who sold it again in 1792 to a Walter Stirling. John Morley decided in 1801 to pull down the mansion and sell the land off piecemeal in 13 lots (the old house occupying Lot 2). The lots were eventually acquired by only two people, Alexander Copland (10 lots in 1802 and a further two in 1806), and Stephen Cosser (Lot 1 in 1802, sold to Major Alexander Morrison in 1807). Two separate estates were then established, each with its own new house. Copland, who bought 76 acres/30 hectares (most of the original grounds), was a builder and business partner ofHenry Holland, and built the "Large Mansion" which was known, with its grounds, as "Gunnersbury Park".[9]
The "Small Mansion" was built virtually alongside in around 1806–1809, the builders evidently recognising the suitability of the position – an elevated terrace overlooking the horseshoe-lake near where the original mansion had stood. The small mansion and grounds were known as "Gunnersbury House".[10]
In 1835, the merchant and financierNathan Mayer Rothschild purchased the Large Mansion and park shortly before he died. The Small Mansion and its grounds were acquired in 1889 by the Rothschilds from the Thomas Farmer family (who had owned it since 1828), finally reuniting the original estate. The Rothschilds extended Gunnersbury further, acquiring most of the Old Brentford Common Field to the west, as well as land to the north. An old clay-pit in the south-west, "Cole’s Hole", was landscaped to become the Potomac lake, and the tile-kiln beside it modified to become a boat-house disguised as a gothicfolly.[11] Anorangery was built in 1836 to a design bySydney Smirke.[12]
In 1925, following the death of Nathan's grandsonLeopold de Rothschild, Leopold's wife, Maria, and son Lionel, sold the 200-acre (81 ha) Gunnersbury estate, which was entirely contained within theBrentford Urban District,[13] to the adjacentEaling Borough Council andActon Borough Council for £130,000. The land lay entirely outside their boundaries. The "Queen of the Suburbs" did not want more municipal housing, as would likely be built by Brentford under its policies, on its doorstep and the Mayor of Acton concurred, persuading her Borough Council to make it a joint purchase.[2]
Following theFirst World War, there was a demand for house-building land. In addition the construction of the Great West Road, immediately south of the estate, was attracting modern industries along its "Golden Mile". Lionel Nathan de Rothschild had bought for his useExbury House in 1919, by theEnglish Channel and was investing in its fine, tourist attraction today,woodland garden, so selling Gunnersbury facilitated this. Disgruntled Ealing ratepayers wrote to the papers complaining about the burden on their rate bills. The adjacentBrentford and Chiswick Borough Council commented that since Ealing already hadThe Common and several other parks, not to mentionKew Gardens close by, another park would be unnecessary. They insisted that the greater part of the land should be used for housing, and opposed the loan of the purchase money to Ealing and Acton from theMinistry of Health. Depending on political view, "civic pride" or "snobbery" prevailed, and the Rothschilds sold Gunnersbury on condition that it was only to be used for leisure and recreation – save for houses to abut Popes Lane and Lionel Road to help repay the loan.[14]
When he opened the park on 21 March 1926,Neville Chamberlain "...rejoiced that the people had come into the possession of so magnificent and historical park..." He bemoaned the failure of earlier generations to recognise the need for open spaces in the towns and cities, when outdoor recreation was the privilege of the few.[15]
The large mansion was converted into an exhibition space for local history and archaeology, costume and fine art as the Gunnersbury Park Museum in 1929.[16] An adjoining area of Rothschild land just outside the Gunnersbury estate became theGunnersbury Cemetery the same year.[17]
The park passed to theLondon Borough of Hounslow in 1965 and the Gunnersbury Park Joint Committee with Ealing was set up in 1967.[1]
A £50 million-pound, four-year restoration was completed in June 2018 with the reopening of the large mansion. The restoration was supported by theHeritage Lottery Fund, Ealing Council and Hounslow Council andHistoric England.[18] An outdoor sporting facility was due open to the public in 2020.[19] In July 2024, twoKunekune pigs were allowed to graze in the park to maintain shrubs and keep the grass short. It marked the first time in the park’s history that pigs were allowed to graze on the land.[20]
The large mansion is recognisable as the venue for the police exhibition in the climax of theEaling Studios comedyThe Lavender Hill Mob filmed in 1951.[21]
In 1991 the London-based indie bandThe Hit Parade released their single "In Gunnersbury Park"; the song describes the failing relationship between songwriter J.Henry and his girlfriend who lived a short distance from the park inBollo Lane.[22]
In 2020, Gunnersbury Park and its museum served as the location of the music video ofLiam Gallagher's single "Once".[23]
