Description
The main front of the Trumpeters' House with its grand portico faces the river across a lawn and gardens planted with numerous mature trees. The lawn was the former site of the Privy Lodgings of Richmond Palace. In the garden and close to the river is an C18th castellated summer house / gazebo, of one storey high but set on a high plinth in order to provide a good view over the river. Nearby is a knot garden and a modern aviary for doves. It gets its name from two medieval figures of trumpeters that once stood outside the entrance of Old Palace Yard.
Practical Information
| Site location | Old Palace Yard, Richmond |
|---|---|
| Postcode | TW9 |
| What3Words | ///eagle.sums.belly |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Richmond |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Rail/London Overground/Tube (District): Richmond |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2004 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
In 1700 the former Middle Gate House, adjoining Trumpeting or Garden Gate House and a long garden, were leased by the Hon. Richard Hill. Hill(1655-1727) had begun his career tutoring the children of the Earl of Burlington and then those of the Earl of Rochester, who lived at Petersham Lodge. He became Deputy Paymaster to the Army in Flanders from 1688-96, and subsequently an envoy in Bavaria and Ambassador to The Hague. He returned to England in 1700 to become a Lord of the Treasury and in 1702 became Councillor to George of Denmark, the Prince Consort of Queen Anne. Hill had the Gate House converted, possibly employing John Yeomans, a master bricklayer who had worked on Petersham Lodge and possibly with Christopher Wren on Winslow House in Buckinghamshire. In 1711 Hill exchanged part of his land with George Cholmondeley in order to acquire the old Great Orchard of the palace.
After his death Trumpeters' House was inherited by Hill's two nephews and thereafter was leased by a succession of residents, including numerous members of the aristocracy. The last private owner left in 1942 and in 1943 it was used as the American Red Cross Day Club until the house suffered bombing. After the war it was used by the Inland Revenue and in 1951 was converted by C Bernard Brown into four apartments and a small house that Brown kept for himself, together with the garden. This was later replanted with plants inspired by the Elizabethan era when Mrs Pamela Franklyn lived in Trumpeters' Lodge and her daughter who lived in one of the apartments.
After his death Trumpeters' House was inherited by Hill's two nephews and thereafter was leased by a succession of residents, including numerous members of the aristocracy. The last private owner left in 1942 and in 1943 it was used as the American Red Cross Day Club until the house suffered bombing. After the war it was used by the Inland Revenue and in 1951 was converted by C Bernard Brown into four apartments and a small house that Brown kept for himself, together with the garden. This was later replanted with plants inspired by the Elizabethan era when Mrs Pamela Franklyn lived in Trumpeters' Lodge and her daughter who lived in one of the apartments.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ175748 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | private |
| Dates | 1708 |
| Listed Structures | LBI: Trumpeter's House. LBII: summer house/gazebo |
| 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 | Richmond |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | CA |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Thames Policy Area |
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
Maids of Honour Row, facing onto Richmond Green, was built in 1717-21 on part of the site of Richmond Palace as a speculative development. Two houses were rented for the Maids of Honour to the Princess of Wales. Walled gardens front and back were probably part of the original design, and all houses have retained their garden walls and handsome iron railings and gates at the front. The gardens are now all arranged individually. No very early designs are recorded although there is one design for No.4 in the 1860s.
Richmond Green has been an important open space since medieval times when jousting tournaments and pageants took place, although as commonland it was used for grazing sheep. From the C14th the Lord of the Manor was the King and the Green was overlooked by Richmond Palace, then called Sheen Palace, occupied by monarchs until the late C17th. The royal connection led to the early growth of Richmond, which continued to develop as a fashionable town, and a popular place for excursions in the C19th. In 1899 Richmond Theatre was built on Little Green, an extension of the main green to the east. Criss-crossed by paths, the Green is bordered by fine mature trees and is surrounded by historic buildings.
St Mary Magdalene is the old parish church of Richmond. A chapel existed here by 1220 when the parish was known as Shene, later renamed Richmond. The churchyard was enlarged on the west side in 1745, and in 1790 a new burial ground was consecrated nearby at Vineyard Passage. Among the important tombs in the churchyard is that of Sir Matthew Decker and his grandson Viscount Fitzwilliam who founded the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge; and that of Sir Richard Levett of Kew whose estate became part of the Royal Gardens.