| York House | |
|---|---|
 York House (rear view from sunken lawn) | |
| Location | Richmond, London |
| Coordinates | 51°26′52″N0°19′28″W / 51.44778°N 0.32444°W /51.44778; -0.32444 |
| Built | c.1630 |
| Website | www |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 2 September 1952 |
| Reference no. | 1263365 |
  Shown in Richmond upon Thames | |
York House is a historic stately home inTwickenham,England, and currently serves as theTown Hall of theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is situated in Richmond Road, near the centre of Twickenham, close toSt Mary's Church. It is a Grade II*listed building[1] which is situated in a large park, which is also listed.[2]
Unlike several other UK buildings also calledYork House, the Twickenham building did not take its name from being a residence of aDuke of York. 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 ofKing Charles I. When Pitcarne died in 1640, the house was sold toEdward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, in 1656, and then re-sold in 1661 for £3,500 toHenry Hyde,[3] the son ofEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, theLord Chancellor.[4]
It then passed through several owners, including (in the late 18th century) Count Ludwig von Starhemberg (1762–1833), theAustrian ambassador toLondon.[3] He accumulated debt and in 1817 the house was sold to MrsAnne Seymour Damer (1748–1828),[3] asculptor and close friend ofHorace Walpole, after whom the house passed tolinguist SirAlexander Johnston (1775–1849), a former Chief Justice ofCeylon, founder of theRoyal Asiatic Society and aPrivy Councillor. Members of the Johnston family continued to live in the house until 1863, intermixed with tenants such as theDowager Duchess of Roxburghe (widow of the5th Duke) until 1837, andWilliam Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (1757–1844).[5]
In 1864 the property was acquired by two directors ofCoutts Bank on behalf of theOrleans Pretender,Philippe, comte de Paris. Three of his four children were born in York House. He and his family returned to France following the defeat and fall ofNapoleon III as a result of theFranco-Prussian War of 1869–71.[6]
The house then remained empty until 1876 when it was bought by SirMountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff (1829–1906), a Scottish MP, junior minister inGladstone's first government, and from 1881 to 1887Governor of Madras. A notable guest,Laurence Oliphant, died at York House on 23 December 1888.[7]
The link with the Orleanists was renewed for a decade from 1896 to 1906 when the then Orleanist pretenderPhilippe, duc d'Orléans, reacquired the house he'd been born in.[6]
The last private owner was SirRatan Tata (1871–1918),[3] aParsi and a major industrialist inIndia. 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 aset 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 theMediterranean. Now a sick man, he survived, only to die in 1918.[8]
York House was acquired in 1923 byTwickenham Urban District Council and after major alterations became the council's offices.[3] The new council chamber was formally opened by the then Duke of York (laterKing George VI) in 1926, the same year that the urban district became a municipal borough.[9]
Since 1965 York House has been the municipal offices of theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames.[10] 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.[11] The Civic Centre was partly built behind the retained Victorian façade of aparade of shops at the corner of York Street and Church Street.[12][13] Council meetings continue to be held in York House.[14]
York House provided the setting for the sanitarium scenes in the filmAlfie starringMichael Caine filmed in 1966.[15]
It was also the location for the video forThe Cure'sThe Hanging Garden (song) single.[16]
The front gardens are largely a public car park and tennis courts. The rear gardens are bisected by a public road but run to theRiver Thames 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.[2]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Oliphant, Laurence (1829-1888)".Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.In 1906, Sir Ratan Tata purchased York House in Twickenham. During his stay he made several alterations to the house, its grounds, including the installation of the large Italianate fountain and statuary which dominates the riverside portion of the garden.
