The principal apartment in actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer David Garrick’s former home in Hampton is now on the market.
Several theatres have been named after Garrick, including the famous Garrick Theatre in the West End.
The building features exteriors re-designed by renowned neoclassical architect Robert Adam, while Capability Brown advised on the layout of the gardens and designed the orangery.
The garden also features a Mulberry tree thought to have been grown by Garrick from a cutting originating from William Shakespeare’s Garden in Stratford upon Avon.
On the market for £1,195m, the apartment occupies a significant part of the first floor and boast some magnificent rooms including The Great Room, which measures some 38ft in length with soaring ceilings and fine period details. The kitchen has the quirky feel of a parlour kitchen with a dresser at its heart. The principal bedroom is large enough for a four-poster bed.
The second reception or bedroom has some incredibly important and fine period detail including some Intaglio casts reputedly done by the very hand of Robert Adam in Italy and shipped specifically to be installed in the Villa. From this room is a private terrace with views to the river situated under the original portico.
Meanwhile, outside the extensive communal gardens are a delight and include a mulberry tree planted by Garrick who is said to have taken a cutting from the Mulberry tree in William Shakespeare’s Garden in Stratford upon Avon.
The history of Garrick’s Villa is a fascinating one. In 1754 David Garrick became bought the property, making it his country retreat and a place of recreation where he and his wife frequently entertained their friends.
He embarked on extensive alterations inside the house and, employed Robert Adam to re-design the facade in the classical style then in vogue. The wing on the left, though similar in appearance, dates from 1865. In the house as it appears in prints of the late 1770s the upper portico – of four columns rising over an arched podium – was positioned centrally in the facade. The columns with their Corinthian capitals are all of wood and some of the widows are false, to achieve symmetry.
Capability Brown advised on the layout of the gardens. Even then the highway from Kingston to Staines separated the house from its riverside land. It was shortly to become a Turnpike. A tunnel enabled the Garricks to reach their riverside garden privately, without having to cross the road.
Of all the additions, the Temple, with its statue of Shakespeare was the crowning glory.
Horace Walpole wrote in 1755 “Garrick is building a grateful temple to Shakespeare”. The architect is unknown but possibly Adam, Capability Brown and Roubiliac all gave advice. It resembles a structure in the grounds of Chiswick House, where the Garricks spent their honeymoon and brings to mind that Garrick’s wife, Eva, was a protégé of the Burlingtons who owned that estate.
A further addition to Garrick’s “arcadian” landscape was an orangery at the far end of the main garden. Adam also designed an Orangery in the main garden with Corinthian facade and classical entablature. This was later changed to Greek Doric after Mrs Garrick’s death and an upper floor was added in 1922. Extended on either side in the early 1970s to make four self-contained apartments, this later structure is visible from the road.
Garrick owned a good deal of farmland which is now part of Bushy Park and bought other houses in Hampton including Orme House in Church Street, the Six Bells (until recently the White Hart), Garrick’s Ait, three other small aits and, just before his death. The Cedars, now known as Garrick House, on the riverside.
After he died in 1779, Eva continued to live in the villa until her death at the age of 98 in 1822.
With the coming of the trams, the road was widened and the house bought by the London United Tramway Company in 1902, for demolition. Fortunately the General Manager, Clifton Robinson, took a fancy to it and decided to live there. To facilitate the widening of the road the farmland was exchanged with the crown for a strip of land formerly part of Bushy Park. The garden walls were set back some twenty feet and the underground passage extended.
Clifton Robinson had tramway tracks made into his entrance at the west end of the site so that he could travel from door to door to his office in Chiswick. He also treated his staff and their families to annual garden parties at the Villa and was photographed in the garden with a large hound reminiscent of the one in the Zoffany picture of Garrick and his wife on the Temple steps.
The first tram ran to Hampton Court in April 1903 and was replaced by the trolley bus in 1935.
Sir Clifton and Lady Robinson left Garrick’s Villa in 1910. At this point Sir Charles Wyndham wanted to see it become a Garrick Museum. The Hampton Urban District Council tried to raise the money to buy it but failed – at the sale, the bidding did not reach the reserve price of £9,600. It was commandeered by the army in World War I and subsequently Flora Hutchinson, who had acquired the house, let it on a repairing lease to Mr James Wooller who neglected to conduct any repairs.
In March 1922 Mrs Hutchinson divided the house into seven flats and in 1923 sold the Temple and most of the riverside lawn, along with the kitchen garden and stabling. During World War II the house again became regarded as a country retreat, though in a different sense. Hoping to avoid the blitz, Sir Desmond MacCarthy, Literary Editor of the Sunday Times, moved to Hampton from central London and lived in a large flat on the first floor.
Post-war conditions made it hard for a single owner to maintain the estate. Throughout the late 1940s, the 50s and the 60s Dr Laura McConnell, who was now the owner, sought planning permission, unsuccessfully, for houses to be built in the grounds. Finally, in 1966, a plan preserving the broad sweep of the lawn between the Villa and the Orangery was approved and, under the watchful eye of the Hampton Residents’ Association, the development went ahead.
Lindsay Cuthill, co-founder of Blue Book Agency comments, “This exquisite apartment in Garrick's Villa is a living piece of history, blending architectural brilliance with literary heritage. Once the home of David Garrick, the celebrated actor and playwright, this unique residence carries the essence of 18th-century creativity and grandeur. Garrick enlisted the iconic Robert Adam to redesign its façade, while Capability Brown, the eminent landscape architect, shaped the verdant gardens. One highlight is the magnificent mulberry tree, believed to originate from Shakespeare's own garden - a botanical tribute to literary greatness.
“Stepping inside, the apartment unfolds into rooms of breathtaking elegance. The Great Room, true to its name, stretches an impressive 38 feet, featuring lofty ceilings and intricate period details. The parlour-style kitchen, with its charming dresser, adds an intimate yet whimsical touch. The principal bedroom invites luxury, while the second reception room captivates with its delicate intaglio casts, possibly crafted by Adam himself. From here, a private terrace offers serene views of the Thames, framed by the villa's original portico.
“The communal gardens are a sanctuary, with their Capability Brown layout and Shakespearean mulberry tree. Truly, this home is a masterpiece—an ode to art, history, and timeless elegance.”
