Roehampton House

Description

ROEHAMPTON LANE SW15 1. 5033 Roehampton House (At Queen Mary’s Hospital) TQ 27SW 3/14 23.10.78 I 2. 1710-12 by Thomas Archer. Alterations to the main house and addition of advanced north and south wings 1910-13 by Sir E Lutyens: a continuation of the Archer style and to a plan close to Archer’s original intentions. The Lutyens parts would in themselves merit Grade II*. See Vitruvius Britannicus Vol 1 for original plan and elevation. Three-storeys and basement. Seven-window centre block linked by five-window quadrants to the wings. Brown brick with fine red brick dressings. Green slated roofs. [Centre Block: Entrance Front (West)] Moulded brick bands between storeys. Plain brick pilasters. Brick rustications to angles and to three-window centre projection. Main cornice below brick parapet, except to three-window centre which has stone cornice and balustrade. Semi- recessed windows with red gauged flat arches, dressings, projecting brick keyblocks and shaped aprons. Stone central feature comprising entrance flanked by Doric pilasters supporting entablature and broken segmental pediment, and semi-circular-headed window at first floor flanked by fluted Corinthian pilasters. Entrance approached by 2 flights of steps with wrought iron ornamental balustrade. One-storey quadrant brick arcades at angles of block. Above the arcades the quadrants and wings by Lutyens. Linked to them on north and south sides of front courtyard 2-storey seven-window pavilions with three-window advanced centres, also by Lutyens. [Centre Block: Garden Front (East)] Similar to west front but with window in place of entrance door and niche in place of window above. [Centre Block: South Front] Similar to west front but the stone central feature pedimented and framing a ‘stable door’ window on ground floor. Good original interior features including staircase, panelling and carved woodwork. (Historic England, list entry 1357694)

ROEHAMPTON HOUSE (Queen Mary’s Hospital), Roehampton Lane. The second house of this name at Roehampton, built by Thomas Archer in 1710-12 for Thomas Cary. Much enlarged by Lutyens in 1911-13 for A. M. Grenfell; later converted to a hospital. The original house (now used as a nurses’ home) consists of the seven central bays. Red brick; basement, two and a half storeys, and a top parapet. The details have the wilfulness typical of Archer. Rusticated brick quoins to emphasize the corners and angles of the three-bay projecting centre. The middle bay, on the E as well as the w side, has door, main upper window (a niche on the E side), and top balustrade all connected, and all of dressed stone. The doorway has pilasters carrying a broken pediment, with a tall arched opening above on a scale quite different from the other windows. These are embellished only by tall brick keystones, moulded surrounds, and aprons. To the 1. and r. of the entablature of the main window circular openings, further breaking the symmetry of the composition. The whole was originally crowned by a gargantuan cleft pediment, similar to Archer’s St John Smith Square and his demolished Mon- mouth House, Soho. Vitruvius Britannicus shows the main block with low curved links to pavilions (which may never have been built). Lutyens heightened the links to two storeys, and added three-storey wings. The interior has been altered. The main room was the saloon on the first floor over the entrance hall, extending through two storeys and completely decorated with paintings by Sir James Thornhill: landscapes on the walls, and the Feast of the Gods on the coved ceiling. These were destroyed in the Second World War and the room has since been divided up. (Cherry & Pevnser, 1983, p.695)

Bibliography

Historic England.Roehampton House. [Online] Available from: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1357694

Cherry B & Pevsner N (1983) LONDON 2: SOUTH. The Buildings of England. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Also Cited In

Weaver, L. (1913) Houses and Gardens by E L Lutyens. London: Country Life.

WEAVER, L., 1915. COUNTRY HOMES GARDENS OLD & NEW: ROEHAMPTON HOUSE, SURREY: ONE OF QUEEN MARY’S CONVALESCENT AUXILIARY HOSPITALS. Country Life (Archive : 1901 – 2005), 38(971), pp. 232-239.

Listing Grade

I

Listing Reference

1357694

Client

Arthur M Grenfell