Orleans House was 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 ...

villa built by the architect John James in 1710 near the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

, England, for the politician and diplomat James Johnston. It was subsequently named after Louis-Phillipe, Duke of Orléans who stayed there in the early 19th century. By the early 20th century it was derelict and in 1926 it was mostly demolished. However, parts of the property, including a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al room designed by architect

James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...

, were preserved. The octagon room and its service wing are listed Grade I by

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 Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

and, together, with a converted stable block, are now the Orleans House Gallery, a gallery of art relating to the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

and neighbouring areas of London.

History

18th century

James Johnston settled at

at the end of his political career. Johnston had seen diplomatic service in Germany, first as King's envoy to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and later working to secure the

Hanoverian succession The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

, and made frequent journeys to

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. It was said

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

"often conversed with him very familiarly" and that Johnston was "a great favourite of Queen Caroline, who was much entertained with his humour and pleasantry". It was also said "he keeps out a very great rank, and frequently has Mr. Walpool and the greatest courtiers with him at his country house near London; and the King sometimes does him the honour to dine with him". The King (George I) is also recorded to have been a regular casual visitor to the house. Johnston was one of the first to construct a home on the

in Twickenham during the 18th century. He procured a

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

(from the then under-lessee Mrs Davies)Mrs Davies was sister to

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – 26 August 1678) of Berkeley House in Westminster and of Twickenham Park in Middlesex, was an English royalist soldier, politician and diplomat, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley f ...

. The manor was vested in

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

from 1541 and usually, for life, in the possession of the Queen consort. In 1675 Charles II granted a

reversionary lease A reversionary lease is a lease that does not commence until some future date. In Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Austra ...

for 41 years after the death of

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

(1638–1705) to

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 26 July 1680 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II of England, Charles II's Restoration (England), ...

. In 1702 James Johnston obtained from the Queen Dowager a lease for 13 years from 1720. By the time of his death in 1737 Johnston had much further extended the lease and (from George II) obtained yet another 13 years to commence in 1774. On Johnston's death it was sold to

George Morton Pitt George Morton Pitt (1693 – 9 February 1756) was a British politician and colonial administrator who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1730 to 1735. Fort St George George Morton hailed from the well-known Pitt family of England ...

, who obtained an extension to 1815. Pitt's only child married Brownlow Bertie but died aged 18 without surviving issue and in due course it became the residence of Pitt's wife's daughter by a prior marriage, Sophia Drake (died 1767) and her husband, Sir

George Pocock Admiral Sir George Pocock, KB (6 March 1706 – 3 April 1792) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War. Family Pocock was born in Thames Ditton in Surrey, the son of Thomas Pocock, a chaplain in the Royal Navy. His grea ...

(1706–1792).
and commissioned architect John James to plan and erect a mansion – a project which spanned the following 35 years. The grounds were extensive, including the area now known as the Orleans House woodlands. Johnston created a fine garden which "included canals, an icehouse, a kitchen garden, a pleasure garden, a wilderness, a grotto and a fruit garden". A

octagonal room, designed by architect

, was added in 1720 for entertaining George II's Queen Consort, Caroline, who regarded Johnston with great favour.

19th century

Louis-Phillippe, Duke of Orléans, while in exile, lived in Johnston's house at Twickenham between 1813 and 1815 and the house was later named after him.

20th century

Orleans House was demolished in 1926, and the area formerly occupied by the house used to quarry gravel throughout the 1930s. The outbuildings and octagon room were saved by the efforts of a local figure, the Hon. Nellie Levy, later

Nellie Ionides The HonorableAs she was the daughter of a peer she was entitled to use the honorific "The Honorable" from 1921. Her father, Sir Marcus Samuel, was created 1st Baron Bearsted of Maidstone in the 1921 Birthday Honours; in the 1925 Birthday Hono ...

, who left it and her collection of 18th- and 19th-century pictures to the borough. It became a listed building in 1952 and was converted into an art gallery in 1972. In 1973, at the northern end of the former park were taken as the site of

Orleans Park School Orleans Park School is a Mixed comprehensive school with academy status, located in the Twickenham area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It is situated 10 miles south-west of central London. Location and history In th ...

21st century

The buildings and site were refurbished between 2005 and 2008 by architects

Patel Taylor Patel Taylor is an architectural practice based in Clerkenwell, London. Placemaking defines its work. It operates from studios in Rawstorne Street, in an old warehouse converted by the firm in 2011. History Patel Taylor was founded by Pankaj ...

to incorporate an education centre and a café.

Orleans House Gallery

Orleans House Gallery, which opened in 1972, displays material from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames' art collection. This includes a portrait of James Johnston by

Thomas Gibson Thomas Ellis Gibson (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and director best known for his roles as Aaron Hotchner on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–16), Greg Montgomery on '' Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002) and Daniel Nyland on '' Chicago Hope'' ...

, paintings of Orleans House by Arthur Vickers and several other artists, and the Burton Collection, which includes artwork, personal effects and photographs of the explorer

Richard Francis Burton Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, Royal Geographical Society#Fellowship, FRGS, (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, army officer, orien ...

. Orleans House Gallery is also the site of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames' arts service and provides educational workshops for a wide variety of ages, using the converted stables and coach house as educational spaces. The gallery can also be hired as a wedding venue and for functions. The gallery reopened in March 2018 after a 17-month restoration project costing £3.7 million, which was partly funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

through a £1.8m grant. The Octagon Room has been restored, facilities improved and the upper floor extended to provide additional space. The painting of Queen Caroline has been relocated outside the Octagon Room.

Exhibitions

The gallery's previous exhibitions have included

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

and sketches by

Richard Dadd Richard Dadd (1 August 1817 – 7 January 1886) was an English painter of the Victorian era, noted for his depictions of fairies and other supernatural subjects, Orientalist scenes, and enigmatic genre scenes, rendered with obsessively minuscule ...

and, in 2003, the first major retrospective of

Stephen Wiltshire Stephen Wiltshire (born 24 April 1974) is a British architectural artist and autistic savant. He is known for his ability to draw a landscape from memory after seeing it just once. His work has gained worldwide fame. In 2006, Wiltshire wa ...

's works. The gallery's exhibition ''Capability Now'' (from February to June 2016) marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of

Capability Brown Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects ...

Gallery

File:Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot04.jpg, Johnston's Twickenham house in 1844 File:Joseph Nickolls - Orleans House, Twickenham - Google Art Project.jpg, Painting of ''Orleans House, Twickenham'' by British artist Joseph Nickolls (1689–1789), circa 1750, held at the

Yale Center for British Art The Yale Center for British Art at Yale University in central New Haven, Connecticut, houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom. The collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare ...

Note

References

Bibliography

* Patricia Astley Cooper, ''The History of Orleans House, Twickenham'', Twickenham 1984
Miranda Stearn and Mark De Novellis, ''Orleans House – a history'', Twickenham 2002: free download''Orleans House and The Octagon'', Local History Notes, Richmond Libraries’ Local Studies Collection

External links

Official website: Orleans House Gallery

Twickenham Museum: Orleans House

Richmond upon Thames Borough Art Collection on Art UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orleans House 1710 establishments in England Houses completed in 1710 Art museums and galleries in London Art museums and galleries established in 1972 Buildings and structures on the River Thames Country houses in London Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Grade I listed houses in London History of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames History of Middlesex James Gibbs buildings Louis Philippe I Middlesex Museums in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Museums on the River Thames Palladian architecture in England Twickenham