uk treasurehouses

57. Lancaster House:


This is a magnificent mansion in the St. James area of West London, close to St. James Palace; it was initially considered part of the Palace estate. It was started in 1825 and finished in 1840 for the Duke of York and Albany, 2nd son of George III.

It was originally known as York House, built of Bath stone in the neo-classical style – the last London mansion to be in this Georgian style. It has 3 floors.

In 1840 it was purchased by the 2nd Marquis of Stafford (later 1st Duke of Sutherland) and then known as Stafford House. It was truly opulent. Queen Victoria said she came there from here ‘house to this palace’. In the 1840-60’s it was valued as the most costly private home in London. Its vast art and objet d’arts are still there to see, along with is breathtaking sweeping staircase and Great Hall.

In 1912 it was purchased by Sir William Lever, 1st Baronet and renamed after his home area Lancashire. He gave it to the nation in 1913. From 1924 to shortly after WWII it was the home of the London Museum. Today it retains is opulent nature and serves government receptions. Like the Mausoleum at Frogmore, it is closed to the public except on rare days. In 2007 its interior was used to simulate Buckingham Palace in the movie: ‘National Treasure: The Book of Jewels’.

See http://www.eu2005.gov.uk/ for more

56. Knowsley Hall:


This simply marvelous manor and estate is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls (and Lords) Derby. They have occupied this property since 1385 until today! It is still family owned and operated after 100s of years. It is near Prescot in Merseyside, 8 miles from Liverpool. Thankfully it is protected by government law from radical change from the original or destruction of its historical integrity as a ‘Grade 1 Listed Building’, and sits on 2,500 acres of marvelous gardens, lakes, parkland and landscape sculpted by Capability Brown.

It adjusted to the new pressures on treasure houses in the 20th Century and the 18th Earl opened the Knowsley Safari Park to the public in 1971. The idea of the animals wandering free and people caged in their cars was new, but very popular. In 1994 Edward Stanley inherited as the 19th Earl of Derby and lives at the Hall with his family. Under his direction, and that of this father, the House has been totally restored to its former glory. The Hall is open for people to stay, for weddings, corporate events, music concerts and other similar events to help raise the funds to keep the estate going.

The State Dining Room, which today having been totally remodeled again sits 150 within its original dimensions. It was completed in 1822 for the 12th Earl. It was and is unrivalled as a dining room with its windows from floor to ceiling looking out on the vast parkland and lake landscapes designed by Capability Brown. The Stucco Room is the Ballroom with a soft dance floor, a marvelous example of early Georgian gilded stucco – even when doubled in width in 1895.

See http://www.knowsley.com/ or telephone: +44(0)151489 4827 for more information on maps, open times, and contents.

55. Knole House:


Knole House is the ancestral home of the Sackville family, the Earls and Lords of Dorset. It is in Kent, very close to Chartwell, at the end of Sevenoaks High Street, off A225. It has a very interesting history. Henry VIII liked it so much he forced the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, to give it to him in 1538. To others over the centuries its Kentish ragstone and military look has depressed them. But on a sunny day the sun dances off its seven lightly colored marble arches and a different picture is painted.

It was built and rebuilt 3 times, each with some 100 in between. In the 1600’s Thomas Sackville, the 1st Earl of Dorset, transformed Cranmer’s archbishop’s palace into a Renaissance mansion. In the 1700’s the 6th Earl installed a large collection of Stuart furniture and textiles from his office as Lord Chamberlain. Then in the late 1700’s the 3rd Duke (the great-grandson of the 6th Earl) added art from the great masters from his Grand Tour of Italy as well as English master works by Gainsborough and Reynolds.

Today the visitor sees a house little changed from the 3rd Duke’s time. By the 18th Century the Sackvilles were living in private apartments on the first floor, leaving the public rooms for entertaining. The fact that these rooms were not lived in for years and the furniture etc. covered in dust sheets accounts for the miraculous survival of the contents and rooms to today. In 1946 the Sackville family handed Knole House over to the National Trust with an endowment towards its maintenance. They retained the Park and the contents and were granted a 200 year lease on the private apartments in the House. The Sackvilles are connected to the novel ‘Orlando’. It’s authoress, Virginia Woolf, dedicated it to Vita Sackville-West, wife of historian Harold Nicholson, who grew up at Knole House. Vita loved the House but could not inherit it because it passed through the male line.

The direct phone number is: (44) 01732 462100; and see www.epedia.com/england/Knole_house.shtml. for maps, open times, tickets and more on contents.

54. Kew Palace & Richmond Lodge:


This is the smallest of all Royal Palaces but it is an historical gem! It is in central west London in Kew Gardens. It was built originally in 1631 by Flemish merchant Samuel Fortrey on the site of a home of Elizabeth’s famous courtier (and lover?) Robert Dudley and is a fairly non-descript red brick rectangular mansion. It is very close to Richmond, a long favorite site for Royals since Edward III, George II (1727-1760) became attracted to Key Palace. His wife felt it would be a suitable home for their three daughters, Caroline, Amelia and Elizabeth. Their son, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had built another palace, adjacent, called Richmond Lodge, although it became known as the White House. But the Palace principally tells the story of George III (1760 – 1808), and his family living simply and at peace away from the public eye and from politics. George III and his family loved Kew Palace and grounds, living there like ‘the simplest country gentlefolk’. But George was declared mad in 1788 and lived in Richmond Lodge (White House) away from the public eye undergoing harsh treatment for his ‘mental illness’ – actually suspected today to be an illness of the blood. He recovered and took out his wrath on the White House, sweeping it away, and began to restore Key Palace for his family.

When George III’s Queen Charlottte died there in 1818, George IV considered tearing it down, but did not. William IV ignored it and Queen Victoria opened it to the public, along with his Queen Charlotte’s Cottage on the property in 1898 to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee. The main Kew Palace and gardens she donated to the State and her people.

It is a wonderful place to visit today. It was extensively restored and reopened in April 2006. The gardens, started by George III are simply magnificent. There used to be an extensive menagerie there under the Hanover Kings, including tigers and kangaroos. They have gone, but the gardens remain. You can also see the Queen Charlotte’s chair in which she died in 1818, along with George III’s clothes, a wax bust of George III by Madame Tussaud, and especially, the second floor, the bedroom floor, where you can see the unrestored bedrooms of the three daughters just as they left them, untouched in 200 years!! A true must see!!

See http://www.kew.org/places/kew for more information on maps, open times, tickets and contents.


53. Kenwood House:


This totally white mansion is located in north London’s Hampstead Heath and is the ancestral home of the Earls of Mansfield. It dates back to the great judge Lord
Mansfied for whom it was built in the mid-1700’s. Later it was owned by the brewing magnet the Earl of Iveagh who was responsible largely for the incredible art collection it holds. Indeed, it is one of the UK’s most precious private collections, which includes ‘Portrait of An Artist’ by Rembrandt, ‘The Guitar Player’ by Vermeer and works by such other greats as Turner and Gainsborough. There is a marvelous Library with a wonderful blue ceiling. The Earl of Iveagh bequeathed Kenwood House to the nation in 1927.

Its gardens are remarkable. The formal garden dates back to the first half of the 18th Century, and sculptured landscapes. Its gardens and House were featured in the films: ‘Notting Hill’ in 1998 and Jane Austen’s ‘Mansfield Park’ in 1999. To help allay its annual costs, there also a functioning farm, with dairy, stables, kitchen garden, lakes, meadows and woods – all so close to the center of London. It is a Grade II protected Home and estate.

See www.english-heritage.org/uk/server/show/nav.12783/chosenImageld/3. for more details on location, open times, maps and more on content.