*** Welcome to piglix ***

York House, Twickenham


Coordinates: 51°26′52″N 0°19′28″W / 51.44778°N 0.32444°W / 51.44778; -0.32444

York House is a historic stately home in Twickenham, England, and currently serves as the Town Hall of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is situated in Richmond Road, near the centre of Twickenham, close to St Mary's Church.

Unlike several other UK buildings also called , the Twickenham building did not take its name from being a residence of a Duke of York. The central portion of York House dates to the 1630s and derives its name from the Yorke family, owners of farming land in the area. It was built for Andrew Pitcarne, a courtier of King Charles I. When Pitcarne died in 1640, the house was sold to Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester in 1656, and then re-sold in 1661 for £3,500 to Henry Hyde, the son of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, the Lord Chancellor.

It then passed through several owners, including (in the late 18th century) Count Ludwig von Starhemberg (1762–1833), the Austrian ambassador to London. He accumulated debt and in 1817 the house was sold to Mrs Anne Seymour Damer (1748–1828), a sculptor and close friend of Horace Walpole, after whom the house passed to linguist Sir Alexander Johnstone (1775–1849), a former Chief Justice of Ceylon, founder of the Royal Asiatic Society and a Privy Councillor. Members of the Johnstone family continued to live in the house until 1863, intermixed with tenants such as the Dowager Duchess of Roxburghe (widow of the 5th Duke) until 1837, and William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale (1757–1844).


...
Wikipedia

...