Bushy House

Coordinates: 51°25′13″N 0°20′21″W / 51.42028°N 0.33917°W / 51.42028; -0.33917
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bushy House
National Physical Laboratory
Design and construction
Architect(s)William Samwell
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameBushy House
Designated2 September 1952
Reference no.1080870

Bushy House is a

Queen Adelaide in Teddington, London, which Lord Halifax
had constructed for his own enjoyment on the site of a previous house Upper Lodge, Bushy Park, between 1714 and 1715.

It is part of the

National Physical Laboratory and its upper two storeys overlook adjoining Bushy Park. The house and 30 acres (12 ha) of surrounding Bushy Park land were taken as the site for the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in 1900 after concerns about flooding of the previously proposed site in the Old Deer Park
, Richmond; it opened as part of this important laboratory in 1902.

The ground floor and basement levels of Bushy House were converted to laboratory space and

scientific equipment
, and rooms used for meetings and conferences.

History

Bushy House in its first form was built in 1663 by William Samwell for Edward Proger, at a cost of £4,000 (£773,000 in 2023),[2] as the lodge of the Keeper/Ranger of Bushy Park in what was at the time the North Park part. Proger had been made Ranger of Bushy Park to reward him for his loyalty to King Charles II during his exile.[3]

It was rebuilt by the

George Montague-Dunk (1737–1771).[3] From 1771 to 1792, it was occupied by the grandson of the 1st Earl through his eldest daughter, Lord North, prime minister,[4]
who had further homes such as in Epsom and the centre of London or Westminster.

In 1797, after the death of both Lord North and his wife,

King George IV was dead and Clarence was now King William IV, he is said to have replied that he had 'always wished to sleep with a queen' and gone back to bed.[citation needed
] As William had appointed her ranger in her own right upon his accession, after William's death in 1837, Bushy House became Adelaide's official residence until her death in 1849.

In 1865, Queen Victoria offered Bushy House to the Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours and other members of the exiled French royal family as they tried to restore the House of Bourbon. After his return to France in 1871, he kept control of Bushy House until his death in 1896 in case he was forced to leave France again, and with Nemours not having children as heirs, the house became empty in 1897.

In March 1902, the new National Physical Laboratory was opened at Bushy House by the Prince of Wales (later

King George V).[5]

Gallery

  • North side of Bushy House in 2007
    North side of Bushy House in 2007
  • Bushy House from an 1827 book illustration
    Bushy House from an 1827 book illustration
  • East side of Bushy House in 1901/1902
    East side of Bushy House in 1901/1902
  • A clone of Isaac Newton's apple tree
    A clone of Isaac Newton's apple tree

References

  1. ^ Historic England (2 September 1952). "Bushy House (1080870)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  2. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Spelthorne Hundred: Hampton Court Palace, parks' in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1911), pp. 386-388. British History Online Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Google Books The Story of Dorothy Jordan Armstrong, Clare & Jerrold, Bridgman Ayer Publishing, 1969
    ISBN 978-0-405-08672-4
  5. ^ "The National Physical Laboratory". The Times. No. 36720. London. 20 March 1902. p. 6.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bushy House.
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