The Bower House () is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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 in

Havering-atte-Bower Havering-atte-Bower ( ) is a village in Greater London, England, in the far north of the London Borough of Havering. The village lies northeast of Charing Cross. It was one of three former parishes whose area comprised the historic Royal Libe ...

, England. It was built in 1729 by

Henry Flitcroft Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a humble background; his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court. Flitcroft began his career a ...

, and was his first commission. The stable block was built at the same time and is separately grade I listed. Landscape architect

Charles Bridgeman Charles Bridgeman (1690–1738) was an English garden designer who helped pioneer the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres ...

designed the grounds and possibly the stable block. The mansion incorporated architectural items salvaged from the ruined

Havering Palace Havering Palace was an old royal residence in England, in the village of Havering-atte-Bower (formerly in Essex, since 1965 in the London Borough of Havering). It was built before 1066 but abandoned in 1686. By 1816 no walls remained above grou ...

. The staircase features murals by

James Thornhill Sir James Thornhill (25 July 1675 or 1676 – 4 May 1734) was an English painter of historical subjects working in the Italian baroque tradition. He was responsible for some large-scale schemes of murals, including the "Painted Hall" at the R ...

. It remained a private home until 1976 when it was purchased by the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

. It is currently used as a Christian training centre. The house forms part of the

Open House London Open House London, now known as Open House Festival, is an annual festival celebrating the architecture and urban landscape of London. It is staged by the charity Open City which campaigns to make London a more accessible, equitable and open city ...

festival.

References

{{coord, 51.612, 0.183, display=title Houses completed in 1729 Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Havering Houses in the London Borough of Havering Grade I listed houses in London 1729 establishments in England Country houses in London