User:KJP1/sandbox4-Ham House
Historic house museum in Ham, London / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed by 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan courtier and Knight Marshal to James I. It was then leased, and later bought, by William Murray, a close friend and supporter of Charles I. The English Civil War saw the house and much of the estate sequestrated but Murray’s wife Katherine’s regained them on payment of a fine. During The Protectorate, his daughter Elizabeth, Countess of Dysart on her father’s death in 1655, successfully navigated the prevailing anti-Royalist sentiment and retained control of the estate.
Ham House | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Stuart |
Town or city | Ham, London |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°26′37″N 0°18′59″W |
Completed | 1610 |
Client | Sir Thomas Vavasour |
Owner | National Trust |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | William Samwell |
Other information | |
Parking | Ham Street |
Website | |
www | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Designated | 10 January 1950 |
Reference no. | 1080832 |
The house achieved its greatest period of prominence following Elizabeth’s second marriage to John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale in 1672. The Lauderdales held important roles at the court of the restored Charles II, with the Duke being a member of the Cabal ministry and holder of major positions in Scotland, while the Duchess exercised significant social and political influence. At that time, Ham House was almost doubled in size and furnished to the highest standards of courtly taste for the comfort of the Lauderdales' eminent guests. The Lauderdales decorated the house with "a lavishness which transcended even what was fitting to their exalted rank";[1] accumulating notable collections of paintings, tapestries and furniture, and redesigning the gardens and grounds to reflect their own status and that of their guests.
After the Duchess's death, the property passed through the line of her descendants. Occasionally, major alterations were made to the house, such as the reconstruction undertaken by Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart in the 1730s. For the most part, later generations of owners focused on the preservation of the house and its collections. The family did not retain the high position at court held by the Lauderdales during the reign of Charles II and a strain of family eccentricity and reserve saw the fifth Earl refuse a request to visit the house from George III. On the death of the 9th Earl, and the last to live at Ham, in 1935, the house passed to his second cousin, Lyonel and he, and his son, Major (Cecil) Lyonel Tollemache, donated it to the National Trust in 1948. During the second half of the 20th century, the house and gardens were opened to the public, as well as being extensively restored and researched.
The house is built of red brick, and was originally constructed to a traditional Elizabethan era H-plan. The southern, garden, frontage was infilled during the Lauderdales' rebuilding. The architect of Vavasour's house is unknown although drawings by Robert Smythson and his son John exist. The Lauderdales first consulted William Bruce, a cousin of the Duchess, but ultimately employed William Samwell to undertake their rebuilding. Ham retains many original Jacobean and Caroline features and furnishings, most in an unusually fine condition, and is a "rare survival of 17th-century luxury and taste."[2] The property is a popular filming location, with movies and television productions making use of its period interiors and gardens. Ham is designated on the National Heritage List for England as a Grade I listed building and received museum accreditation from Arts Council England in 2015. Its park and formal gardens are listed at Grade II* by Historic England in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.