Chapel House, now No. 15, Montpelier Row,

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boro ...

, is a house in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The house has also been called Tennyson House and Holyrood House. It was occupied at one time by

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

, and poet

Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...

lived in the same row nearly a hundred years later. The house was owned for many years by musician

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Towns ...

, principal songwriter of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Description

Chapel House is a three-storey brick house in early Georgian style, built in about 1721 for retired naval officer Captain John Gray. The row features red window dressing and variations in doorways. The interior of No. 15 includes pine-panelled rooms and two carved wooden staircases. It has five thousand square feet of living space in the main house and a -long walled garden with a small cottage at the end. The cottage is thought to have been built around 1921 as an artist's studio.

History

Alfred Lord Tennyson 1908-1892 Poet Laureate lived here

Alfred Tennyson and his family occupied Chapel House from 1851 to 1853. Tennyson first viewed the house in 1850, and he was disappointed to find it had already been let. He wrote in a letter:

"The most lovely house with a beautiful view in every room at top … A large staircase with great statues and carved and all rooms splendidly papered … and all for 50 guineas! A lady has taken it. I cursed my stars!"

Tennyson negotiated with the landlord and managed to rent the house in 1851, after all. His son Hallam was born in the house in 1852 and baptized at

St Mary's Church, Twickenham St Mary's Church, Twickenham, also known as St Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, is a Grade II* listed Church of England place of worship dedicated to Saint Mary the Virgin. It is on Church Street, Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon T ...

. Tennyson also wrote “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington”, published in 1852, while living at the house. After the Tennyson family moved to a more secluded location at

Farringford Farringford House, in the village of Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, was the home of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from 1853 until his death in 1892. The main house dates from 1806 with gothic embellishments and extensions added from the 1830s. ...

in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

, Alfred's widowed mother Elizabeth moved into Chapel House. Chapel House was bought in 1985 by Pete Townshend, and sold by his wife Karen Townshend in 2008 after the couple separated in the mid-1990s. The Townshends raised their children in the home, and Pete Townshend maintained a studio in the cottage on the property where he wrote and recorded songs. Townshend also filmed a music video for his album ''

All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes ''All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes'' is the third solo studio album by English rock musician Pete Townshend, released on 14 June 1982 by Atco Records. Chris Thomas produced the album (who had also produced Townshend's previous album, ''Em ...

'' at the house. Karen Townshend made slight modifications to the house, removing cloak closets to open up the home and adding modern appliances to the kitchen. The house was seriously damaged by a fire during refurbishment in 2005. Although there was little interior fire damage, the panelling and wattle-and-daub ceilings suffered water damage which required restoration. Because of its historical significance, Tennyson's residence at the house is commemorated by a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

. The building is listed as

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

Other houses in the row

Joseph Skelton (1783–1871), an antiquarian and engraver, occupied Fotheringay House at No. 14, next door to Chapel House. Skelton published the ''Oxonia Antiqua Restaurata'' or ''Antiquities of Oxfordshire'' in 1823, containing over 170 engravings of scenes and buildings from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The poet and writer

(1873–1956) also occupied a house in the row from 1940 until his death in 1956. After the death of his wife, the writer took a flat in the top two stories of South End House, Montpelier Row. De la Mare was officially reprimanded for failing to comply with the blackout during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and, on one occasion, the police rowed across the river to warn that his upper windows were a beacon for the enemy.

References

External links

Interior photos and floor plans of Chapel HouseMusic video for ''All the Best Cowboys have Chinese Eyes'' filmed at Chapel House
{{coord, 51.450631, -0.317402, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1720s establishments in England Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade II* listed houses in London History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Houses in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Alfred, Lord Tennyson Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Pete Townshend Twickenham