Frognal House

51°25′4″N 0°6′18″E / 51.41778°N 0.10500°E / 51.41778; 0.10500

Frognal House is a Jacobean mansion in London, England, standing on the border of Sidcup in the London Borough of Bexley, and Chislehurst, in the London Borough of Bromley.^[1] It was built in the early 16th century.^[1]

History

A Jacobean mansion

Frognal House is believed to have been built sometime before 1550 by the Dyngley (or Dynely) family, on land obtained by

James I, Dyngleys's grandson, Sir John Dynley, sold the estate to William Watkins, who substantially altered the building in the Jacobean style, reducing the size of the rooms and replacing stone with brick. At this point the house was on two floors and sloping ground, a square building with a central quadrangle, and an entrance on the northwest side. The only features retained from the original Tudor building were an arch and one of the staircases.^[1]

The Warwicks

In 1649 Watkins sold Frognal House to

Hearth Tax assessment in 1662. At that time the house was the largest in the district with 24 chimneys. Warwick's death in 1682 was followed by his son's death the following year, and in 1691 the property passed to Rowland Tryon, Sir Philip Warwick's nephew.^[1]

The Tryons

Though the Tryon family were from working class origins, Rowland Tryon had become wealthy trading in the

High Court of Chancery to be sold for the benefit of his creditors.^[1]

The Townshends

Frognal House was purchased by

Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo, who often stayed at the house and gave his name to a room decorated with his family's paintings.^[1] John Robert Townshend was a member of the royal household, serving as Lord Chamberlain (1859-1866 and 1868–1874) and Lord Steward (1880-1885). He was also created an earl in 1874, though he had no children and the title died with him on his death at Frognal House in 1890. Upon his wife's death in 1893 the house passed into the hands of his sister's son, Robert Marsham, on condition that he added Townshend to his name.^[1] In 1915 the Marsham-Townshend family sold the house and 1,740-acre (7.0 km²) estate to the government to build a new hospital.^[1] At the same time the contents of the house were sold in an auction, including 284 paintings, 1048 books and a huge collection of furniture and antiques.^[1]

Hospital and modern use

The house was then subsequently used as the original building of the Queen's Hospital (later Queen Mary's Hospital), Sidcup, developed as the First World War's major centre for facial and plastic surgery, largely through the efforts of Harold Gillies. Opened in 1917, the hospital and its associated convalescent hospitals provided over 1,000 beds, and between 1917 and 1921 admitted in excess of 5,000 servicemen. The original hospital closed in 1929, re-opening the following year under the management of London County Council.

In 1974, a new Queen Mary's Hospital was built to replace the original Great War hospital, and since November 1999 Frognal House has been a residential and nursing home run by Sunrise Senior Living, their first location in the United Kingdom. In 2021, the property was taken over by Signature Senior Lifestyle.

The house gave its name to the nearby Frognal Corner, once a crossroads

A222

.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "Frognal". bexley.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
^ Darwin archives, University of Cambridge
^ Photograph of Frognal Corner in 1936 Archived 2006-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
^ History of A222 at SABRE

Bibliography

Tester, P. J. (1981). "Frognal House, Sidcup" (PDF). Archaeologia Cantiana. 97: 305, 307.

External links

[bexleyfrognal-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ "Frognal". bexley.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 14 February 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.

[2] Darwin archives, University of Cambridge

[3] Photograph of Frognal Corner in 1936 Archived 2006-09-05 at the Wayback Machine

[4] History of A222 at SABRE

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