Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...
,
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and F ...
and
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was his ...
,
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...
, England. Purchased for the nation from the
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of Fr ...
, it was opened to the public by
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeaseme ...
, then Minister of Health, on 21 May 1926. The park is currently jointly managed by Hounslow and
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was his ...
woodland garden
A woodland garden is a garden or section of a garden that includes large trees and is laid out so as to appear as more or less natural woodland, though it is often actually an artificial creation. Typically it includes plantings of flowering shr ...
, relying heavily on new plants from Asia. Other features included a more formal "Italian Garden", Victorian scattered flower-beds, an orangery largely in glass, a
rock garden
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...
, and an early example of a "
Japanese garden
are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden des ...
" in England. All of these survive, though inevitably not as well-maintained as a century ago.
History
Origins
The name ''Gunnersbury'' derives from Gunylda, the niece of King Canute who lived there until her banishment from England in 1044. The manor, owned by the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
In the mid-17th century, Gunnersbury was acquired by Sir John Maynard, a lawyer and politician during the time of
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
.''John Maynard'' in ''
Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''. It was he who in around 1663 built Gunnersbury House, a
Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
mansion modelled on the Villa Badoer, and designed by John Webb, the pupil and son-in-law of
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.
As the most notable archit ...
. A map of Ealing dated 1777, shows the house in the north-east corner of the park, facing a horseshoe-shaped
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
Henry Furnese
Henry Furnese (after 1688 – 30 August 1756), of Gunnersbury House, Middlesex, was a British merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1720 and 1756.
Furnese was the only son of George Furnese, an East India Company facto ...
, after whose death in 1756 it was sold to Princess Amelia, the daughter of George II.
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel '' Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
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…"
Princess Amelia
In 1760, the house and estate were purchased for Princess Amelia, favourite daughter of George II. Plans for her to marry Prince Frederick of Prussia (who later became
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
) had come to nothing, and when her father died, Amelia had lost her apartments at
St James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...
. She took a house in Hanover Square and used Gunnersbury House and estate as a country summer retreat. Amelia –
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
'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 by
William Kent
William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, bu ...
in the 18th-century landscape style. Princess Amelia continued this, building a bathhouse in the grounds.
19th century
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 of Henry Holland, and built the "Large Mansion" which was known, with its grounds, as "Gunnersbury Park".
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".
Rothschilds
In 1835, the merchant and financier
Nathan Mayer Rothschild
Nathan Mayer Rothschild (16 September 1777 – 28 July 1836) was an English-German banker, businessman and financier. Born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany, he was the third of the five sons of Gutle (Schnapper) and Mayer Amschel Rothschild, a ...
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 gothic folly. An orangery was built in 1836 to a design by Sydney Smirke.
20th century
In 1925, following the death of Nathan's grandson Leopold de Rothschild, Leopold's wife, Maria, and son Lionel, sold the Gunnersbury estate, which was entirely contained within the Brentford Urban District, to the adjacent
Ealing Borough Council
Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London.
History
There have previously been a number o ...
and Acton 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.
Following the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, 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 use
Exbury House
Exbury House is an English country house in Exbury and Lepe, Hampshire, situated on the edge of the New Forest.
It is a Grade II* listed building with associated Grade II* listed parkland and gardens.
The house consists of an 18th-century co ...
in 1919, by the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
and was investing in its fine, tourist attraction today,
woodland garden
A woodland garden is a garden or section of a garden that includes large trees and is laid out so as to appear as more or less natural woodland, though it is often actually an artificial creation. Typically it includes plantings of flowering shr ...
, so selling Gunnersbury facilitated this. Disgruntled Ealing ratepayers wrote to the papers complaining about the burden on their rate bills. The adjacent Brentford and Chiswick Borough Council commented that since Ealing already had The Common and several other parks, not to mention Kew 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 the Ministry 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.
When he opened the park on 21 March 1926,
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeaseme ...
"''...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.
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. An adjoining area of Rothschild land just outside the Gunnersbury estate became the
Gunnersbury Cemetery
Gunnersbury Cemetery, also known as Kensington or New Kensington Cemetery, is a cemetery opened in 1929. Although it is owned and managed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,London Borough of Hounslow in 1965 and the Gunnersbury Park Joint Committee with Ealing was set up in 1967.
21st century
A £50 million-pound, four-year restoration was completed in June 2018 with the reopening of the large mansion. The restoration was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Ealing Council and Hounslow Council and
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
. An outdoor sporting facility is due open to the public in 2020.
In popular culture
The large mansion is quite recognisable as the venue for the police exhibition in the climax of the
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...
comedy '' The Lavender Hill Mob'' filmed in 1951.
In 1991 the London-based indie band The 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 in Bollo Lane.
In 2020, Gunnersbury Park and its museum served as the location of the music video of Liam Gallagher's single "Once".
Gallery
Image:The Small Mansion at Gunnersbury.JPG, The small mansion with the large mansion in the background to the left
Image:18th Century Temple at Gunnersbury.JPG, The 18th-century temple
Image:The Boat-House Gunnersbury Park.jpg, The boathouse on the Potomac
Image:Gunnersbury, The Orangery from the Horseshoe Pond.jpg, The Orangery from the Horseshoe Pond after restoration
References
Further reading
* Collett-White, Ann and James, (1993) Heritage Publications, .
* Rivis, Ronald Gordon Lockhart, (1960) The Gunnersbury Park Museum 1927–1955.