Description
In the C17th and C18th Roehampton became a popular place for wealthy people to have country villas, whose fine houses set in grounds were built on the high-lying site. A number of these fine houses remain, including Downshire House, Manresa House and Mount Clare, the latter's grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. Much of their former grounds were built over for the Alton East and Alton West Estates but the houses themselves have been converted for educational use and now provide facilities for Roehampton University. Remnants of earlier garden features are found in the surrounding environment, including an C18th garden temple, a summer house and architectural balustrading.
Practical Information
| Site location | Downshire House, Roehampton Lane / Whitelands College, Holybourne Avenue / Mount Clare, Munstead Gardens |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW15 |
| What3Words | ///basis.medium.prices |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Wandsworth |
| Open to Public | Partially |
| Opening Times | private/some access |
| Public Transport | Rail: Barnes then bus. Bus: 72, 74, 85, 170, 265 |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Although the present Downshire House was built in c.1770 it is on the site of an earlier mid-C17th villa. When the extensive estate of Roehampton Park was broken up between 1770-88 the land was used for Mount Clare, Clarence Lodge, Templeton (q.v.), The Priory (q.v.) and Lower Grove House, as well as for enlarging the grounds of Downshire House and the Cedars (now demolished). A small part of the once extensive formal gardens of Downshire House remain today to the north, which includes brick walls, stone balustrades with pineapples and a hipped roof summer house by O P Milne. 'The Watchers' by Lynn Chadwick, 1963, overlooks the landscape.
Manresa House, built by Sir William Chambers (1723-96) in 1761-63, stands hidden behind the high walls in the Alton West Estate, the main front facing west across Richmond Park. An earlier house appears to have been on the same site from the C17th and the property has had a number of different names over the years. It was known as Parkstead House when it was built for the 2nd Earl of Bessborough, becoming Roehampton Park in 1832, Bessborough House in 1848-50 and re-named Manresa House in the 1860s after the house and part of the grounds were purchased by the Society of Jesus in 1861. The name refers to Manresa in Spain where the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola, wrote 'Spiritual Exercises'. Changes were made to the house by the Society and it was used as a retreat and a teacher training college until 1962. It was later owned by the LCC and subsequently the GLC, becoming Garnett College and Putney Adult Education Institute in 1979. It is now Whitelands College, which was founded in 1841 by the Church of England's National Society as a teacher training college for women, and was originally based at Whitelands, a Georgian property in Chelsea from where it gets its name. Whitelands is one of the oldest higher education institutions in England, pre-dating every university except Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham. In the garden is the remains of an C18th garden temple; the garden has suffered from landfill to create playing fields, thus altering the relationship between it and Richmond Park.
Mount Clare by Robert Taylor, built in 1770-3, had gardens that were landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, but much of this has been covered by buildings. A temple from Manresa House, moved here in 1913, stands in the grounds of the principal's house at Mount Clare.
Manresa House, built by Sir William Chambers (1723-96) in 1761-63, stands hidden behind the high walls in the Alton West Estate, the main front facing west across Richmond Park. An earlier house appears to have been on the same site from the C17th and the property has had a number of different names over the years. It was known as Parkstead House when it was built for the 2nd Earl of Bessborough, becoming Roehampton Park in 1832, Bessborough House in 1848-50 and re-named Manresa House in the 1860s after the house and part of the grounds were purchased by the Society of Jesus in 1861. The name refers to Manresa in Spain where the founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola, wrote 'Spiritual Exercises'. Changes were made to the house by the Society and it was used as a retreat and a teacher training college until 1962. It was later owned by the LCC and subsequently the GLC, becoming Garnett College and Putney Adult Education Institute in 1979. It is now Whitelands College, which was founded in 1841 by the Church of England's National Society as a teacher training college for women, and was originally based at Whitelands, a Georgian property in Chelsea from where it gets its name. Whitelands is one of the oldest higher education institutions in England, pre-dating every university except Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham. In the garden is the remains of an C18th garden temple; the garden has suffered from landfill to create playing fields, thus altering the relationship between it and Richmond Park.
Mount Clare by Robert Taylor, built in 1770-3, had gardens that were landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, but much of this has been covered by buildings. A temple from Manresa House, moved here in 1913, stands in the grounds of the principal's house at Mount Clare.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ220740 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Roehampton University |
| Site Management | Roehampton University |
| Dates | C18th, 1954 |
| Designers | part: Capability Brown |
| Listed Structures | LBI: Mount Clare; Manresa House. LBII*: Downshire House; Temple in grounds of Mount Clare. LBII: Downshire House garden gates; The Watchers by Lynn Chadwick |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Wandsworth |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Roehampton House was designed by baroque architect Thomas Archer for Thomas Carey in 1710-12 and it was later much enlarged by Edwin Lutyens in 1911-3 for A. M. Grenfell. Lutyens added 3-storey wings and designed the gardens. In 1915 the house became part of Queen Mary's Hospital Roehampton and much of the garden was built over by extensive single storey wings, designed to minimise bomb damage during WWII. The only part of the garden that remained lay immediately behind the Thomas Archer House. In the C21st, part of the former hospital land was sold for development. St James has built a new housing scheme, known as Queen Mary's Place, and restored Lutyens' Sunken Garden and Rose Garden to provide communal gardens for the residents.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Roehampton Great House originally stood on this site, built by David Papillon in c.1624, who sold it in 1625 to Sir Richard Weston. Some of the foundations are visible in the cellar of Grove House, the later house that James Wyatt built in 1792 for Sir Joshua Vanneck. The grounds were laid out in the C18th when Capability Brown is thought to have been consulted. Formal gardens with a lily pond, fountain and limestone terrace were created in the C19th, as was a grotto. There are also an icehouse, lake, sham bridge and mausoleum in the grounds. Grove House was acquired by the Froebel Educational Institute in 1921. It is now one of the four colleges of Roehampton University, which was established in 2004 out of the earlier Roehampton Institute. The main campus is comprised of the Froebel, Digby Stuart College and Southlands College, with Whitelands College and a number of other fine houses converted for educational use in the area.
Roehampton Great House originally stood on this site, built by David Papillon in c.1624, who sold it in 1625 to Sir Richard Weston. Some of the foundations are visible in the cellar of Grove House, the later house that James Wyatt built in 1792 for Sir Joshua Vanneck. The grounds were laid out in the C18th when Capability Brown is thought to have been consulted. Formal gardens with a lily pond, fountain and limestone terrace were created in the C19th, as was a grotto. There are also an icehouse, lake, sham bridge and mausoleum in the grounds. Grove House was acquired by the Froebel Educational Institute in 1921. It is now one of the four colleges of Roehampton University, which was established in 2004 out of the earlier Roehampton Institute. The main campus is comprised of the Froebel, Digby Stuart College and Southlands College, with Whitelands College and a number of other fine houses converted for educational use in the area.
Templeton was built in the late C18th with a new east range added to the house between 1865-94, and later alterations to the south front undertaken for Lady Wimborne, who owned the house in the early C20th. It was built on land of the former estate of Roehampton Park, which was broken up by Thomas Parker, and got its name from its first occupant, Lady Elizabeth Templetown. It had a number of illustrious private owners and in 1930 became a hall of residence for the Froebel Institute. The grounds were once more extensive but in 1932 Roehampton Gate and Roedean Crescent were built over part of the estate. It has a carriage drive to the entrance and formal gardens to the rear.