Osterley Park and House is one of the last surviving country estates in London. It forms one of the largest open spaces in West London, being 140 acres of landscape park and farmland. It is only ten minutes walk from Osterley Underground Station (Piccadilly Line).
Osterley House was originally built in 1575, but fell into disrepair. In 1761, Sir Francis Child, founder of Child’s Bank, commissioned the architect, Robert Adam, to transform the Tudor mansion into a country house to entertain and impress friends and business associates. He created this neo-classical mansion, which was described by Horace Walpole as, ‘the palace of palaces’. After the death of Sir Francis Child, his granddaughter married the Earl of Jersey and the house passed to the Jersey family. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1949, after the owner, the Earl of Jersey, moved to the Channel Islands. Today, the house is presented as it would have been in the 1780s. The original Tudor stable block remains, which now contains the tea room.
The formal gardens have been transformed back to their 18th century grandeur. The flower garden, known as Mrs. Child’s Flower Garden, provides a relaxing walk in the summer, but is also delightful on a winter’s day. Osterley Park provides woodland walks, attractive lakes and lawns for picnics and family games.
Osterley Park and House will be seen on ITV in 2016, as the fictional ‘Greshambury Park’. Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, has filmed his adaptation of Anthony Trollope’s, ‘Dr. Thorne’, in the sumptuous interiors of the house.
Where in England is Osterley Park and House, Isleworth
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