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THE STORY OF BUSHY HOUSE |
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by National Physical Laboratory
(1663 Probably
designed by William Samwell
The Globe Room
Temple in the grounds. The temple was built by William Duke of Clarence, to house part of the main mast of Nelsons ship the "Victory"
Bushy House at Night
Bushy House in Spring
The Vinery, built by Dowager Queen Adelaide 1663-1713 Edward Proger (1621-1713) As a reward for his loyalty to Charles II during his exile, Edward Proger was made keeper of the Middle Park and was commanded by the King to build a ‘Lodge for Our Service in one of Our Parks at Hampton Court called North Parke’ . This keeper’s lodge cost Proger £4000, an enormous amount of money which he spent the next 40 years attempting to recover from the Treasury. A pension of £400 a year was agreed in 1711-12 only two years before his death ‘of the anguish of cutting teeth’ at the age of 92. He lived in Bushy House until his death. 1713-1715 Charles Montagu, Earl of Halifax (1661- 1715) A brilliant politician, he was a Treasury Lord in 1692, contracted the first national debt (a loan of one million pounds for the nation), and became the first Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1708 he purchased the keepership of the three parks from the Duchess of Cleveland, a former mistress of Charles II. He began repairing and rebuilding Bushy House but the extent of those works is not known; however, it was probably during this time that the corner pavilions were added. He lived in the ‘Upper House’ also in Bushy Park. 1715-1737 George Montagu, Earl of Halifax, second creation Charles Montagu’s nephew, he continued the repairs and usually spent half of his time in Bushy House. 1737-1771 George Montagu Dunk, Earl of Halifax Son of George Montagu, he was also a successful politician and became First Lord of the Admiralty, Head of the Board of Trade and Lieutenant General of Ireland. 1771-1797 Lord North (1732-1792) In 1754 he became the Member of Parliament for Banbury, a junior Treasury Lord in 1759, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons in 1767 and Prime Minister in 1770. During his administration he dealt with the many problems of the Indian and American colonies, the loss of the latter leading to his resignation. He and his wife then spent all their time at Bushy House until his death in 1792 and hers in 1797. 1797-1849 Duke of Clarence (1765-1837) William, the third son of George III, became a midshipman in the Royal Navy in June 1779 aged 13. It was a hard life and taught the young William many of the bad habits which were to make him less than desirable as a husband. It was whilst he was in the navy that he first met Horatio Nelson whom he later honoured by building a temple in the grounds of Bushy House which contained a portion of the main mast of the Victory. In 1789 he was made Duke of Clarence which effectively ended his naval career and from then onwards he led a fairly pointless existence until he met and fell in love with the famous actress Dorothy Jordan in about 1790. In 1797, the King offered him Bushy House recognising and accepting that William was already living with Dora Jordan. They often entertained the Duke’s brothers at Bushy and for William’s 41st birthday, a wonderful reception was organised attended, it is said, by all his brothers, the pretenders to the throne, and all quite drunk. William and Dorothy had ten children who could often be seen playing in the garden with the animals as the Duke of Clarence had become a real farmer taking care of his garden, peach trees, flower garden, dairy cattle and other animals. The relationship between William and Dora came to an end in 1812. Dora left her beloved Bushy House and went to France where she died alone and in poverty in 1816. In May 1816, Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent and heir presumptive to the throne died in childbirth leaving only the Regent and the Duke of York between William and the throne. It was now necessary for William to marry an acceptable wife and so in 1818 he married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. The couple lived in Bushy with William and Dora’s children, the FitzClarences. On the 26th June 1830, a doctor arrived from London at 6am to announce to the Duke that his brother the King was dead and to salute the Duke as the new king. The Duke is said to have returned to bed saying he had “always wished to sleep with a Queen”. After the death of William in 1837 Adelaide returned to Bushy House which remained her official residence until her death in 1849 1865-1897 The Duc de Nemours (1814-1896) The second son of the French King Louis-Philippe, the Duc de Nemours was made Colonel de Cavalerie in 1825 and elected King of the Belgians in 1831, but his father refused that crown on his behalf as he did not wish to upset the British who were afraid that France would annex Belgium. After the revolution of 1848, Nemours went into exile in England where Queen Victoria had welcomed several members of the French Royal family. In 1865 the Duc de Nemours was offered Bushy House and it was from there that he tried to unite the exiled Royalists and restore the Bourbon Monarchy. He was allowed to return to France in 1871 but kept his ‘ménage’ at Bushy House in case of further violence in France. He was restored to his rank of Divisional General in the army but failed to restore the monarchy to France! Some Important dates 1660 Restoration of Charles II 1664-65 Great Plague 1666 Great Fire of London which resulted in the reconstruction of the city in stone and brick and also the development of the West End of London 1685 Accession of Catholic King James II 1688 Protestant William of Orange invited to assume the throne of England 1689-1702 Crowned William III with his wife Mary II 1702-1714 Reign of Queen Anne 1715 Accession of a Hanoverian king, George I 1727 Accession of George II 1756-57 Anglo-French war for the American Territories. France lost and England won the territories 1760 Accession of George III 1770 Lord North became Prime Minister 1775 War of Independence in the American Territories 1778 France recognised the United States as an independent country 1782 Fall of Lord North 1788 George III became seriously ill 1798 Beginning of Napoleonic Wars 1805 Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson 1811 The Prince of Wales appointed Regent 1814 Treaty of Chaumont, first abdication of Napoleon in favour of his son. But the French Senate had already voted for the recall of the Bourbons (Louis XVIII) Napoleon exiled to Elba 1815 Napoleon escaped in February but was defeated at Waterloo in June and exiled to St Helena 1817 Prince Regent’s only child, Princess Charlotte, died in childbirth 1820 The Prince Regent became George IV on the death of George III 1827 Duke of York died, the Duke of Clarence was now heir to the Throne 1830 Accession of William IV 1832 Reform Act 1837-38 Social and economic crisis 1837 Death of William IV. Succeeded by his niece Victoria 1848 French Revolution got rid of Louis Philippe and Louis Napoleon became President 1851 Great Exhibition 1871 French king is allowed to return to France 1899 Foundation of the National Physical Laboratory
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