Osterley Park House

I'm determiend to get to see all the National Trust places in London, so this afternoon I went to Osterley Park House, which is only about twenty minutes journey on the Piccadilly line, and then a short walk to Osterley Park.

Osterley Park House is impressive.    The original was a brick manor house build by banker Sir. Thomas Gresham in 1576, which was visited by Elizabeth 1, and the stable block from this period still remains, although it now houses the tea rooms and shops.

Two hundred years later, the house came into the possession of another banker, Sir Francis Child of Child's Bank.     He spent a small - no, large - fortune in refurbishing it, employing Robert Adam in 1761 to turn the house into a masterpiece of luxury and taste.   When he died in 1763, his brother Robert Child took over the project and saw it through to completion.

Robert's only child, Sarah, should have inherited the house, but unfortunately she eloped with John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmoreland, whom her father considered quite unsuitable as husband material.   As a result, he left all his property, including Child's Bank, to her second child, Lady Sarah Sophie Fane, who was born in 1785 and married  George  Child-Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey.  Thus the property passed to the Jersey family, where it remained until it was given to the National Trust in 1949.

Although as a member I don't have to pay, this Sunday there was free entry for everyone, just by filling in a form or downloading one from the internet.   The house and grounds were packed with people, and there was a large number for the 15 minute lecture on the history of the house, which was given by one of the volunteer guides.  

Set in extensive grounds, with lakes nearby, the house must have been idyllic when it was built; out in the country, yet within a few miles of the centre of London where everything was happening.

Today it is still idyllic, but somewhat marred by the constant roar of the cars and lorries hurtling along the motorway.  

On the road  through the park to the house there was a farm shop, selling produce from the farm.   I stopped by and bought a really large cabbage for 80p and a lettuce for 50p, both presumably picked that same afternoon and so super-fresh.