The Twickenham Museum
Exhibitions : Villages on the River

Other Major Houses in Twickenham & Whitton
In 1709, Sir Godfrey Kneller, the court painter, acquired a house ... in the centre of Whitton and rebuilt it.

Highshot House
The majority of fashionable houses in Twickenham were along the riverside, but there were others away from the river. Heatham House, on the north bank of the River Crane, and the nearby brewery were bought by the Cole family in 1736. The house survives, but the brewery was demolished and is now the postal sorting office. High Shot House (demolished 1927) was a relatively unpretentious red brick villa in Crown Road, built in the first half of the 18th century. In 1800, Louis Philippe, then Duke of Orleans (1773-1850), moved into the house. Gifford Lodge was a handsome house facing Twickenham Common. A later occupant, from 1808-10, was Dorothea Jordan, actress and mistress of the Duke of Clarence. The house was burnt down in the 1960s and an old people's home, Gifford House, stands on the land. The old people's home was demolished in 2010, and the latest Gifford House, built in 2012, is sheltered housing.
Kneller Hall - view by Kip c1715

The first house at Fulwell Park was originally known as Fulwell Lodge and was built in the early 17th century. Much later ex-King , deposed in 1910, lived there after his marriage in 1913. After his death in 1932 the estate was purchased by Wates who developed the estate with housing. Various local road names commemorate this association.

Whitton Tower

Whitton Park and Whitton Place were formed from a single estate, originally enclosed from Hounslow Heath in the early 17th century. The first house was built by the in the 1720s as a country residence. After the Duke's death in 1761 the house was leased to Sir William Chambers, the architect. The house was demolished about 1845 and the site is now 44-46 Rydal Gardens.

In 1709 Sir Godfrey Kneller, the court painter, acquired a house then known as Whitton Hall in the centre of Whitton and rebuilt it. The present , a result of the rebuilding in the 1840s, and briefly a teacher training college, opened in 1857 as the Royal Military School of Music.

back to top