York House Gardens

Set on the banks of the River Thames in West London, York House Garden offers a formal setting with an extensive history and heritage. The gardens themselves are made up of a diverse range of areas, including tennis courts, formal planting, amenity grass and woodland.The gardens and house were once owned by the French royal family and then by an Indian merchant prince, Sir Ratan Tata from 1906 to 1924 before being bought by the then district council and officially reopened in 1926. This historical house is now council offices. Richmond’s Parks department works closely with York House Society; the oldest established Amenity Society within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The society provides historical knowledge and is involved with consultations about the site.

Over the years York House Gardens has benefited from various improvement projects as part of the Parks Improvements Programme.

Since 2007 the following projects have taken place:

• Reducing and reshaping the yew hedges.
• Reshaping the three lawn areas.
• Redefining the seating areas and bays within the yew hedges
• Repairing and resurfacing the footpaths and standardising the footpath widths.
• Shrub borders along the riverside have been replanted in the original style shown on historical photos.
• The Japanese Gardens and Woodland have been restored to give a more inviting feel to visitors.
• A disused green house has been transformed to a staff allotment called “The Green Finger Project”
• Sculptures and artefacts cleaned and restored back to their former glory.

Sculptures

The famous York House sculptures have been carved in the renowned Italian white marble of Carrara. They represent the Ocean ides, or sea nymphs of Greek mythology, and although we cannot be sure of the name of the sculptor, it seems that they came from the Roman studio of Orazio Andreoni at the turn of the nineteenth century. These sculptures were brought to England to adorn the Surrey property of the financier Whitaker Wright, but were dispersed when in 1904 he was found guilty of fraud and unexpectedly died. Similar pieces from his collection can be seen in the Beale Wildlife Park near Pangbourne.

The York House Garden Statues came to Twickenham in 1909 still in their packing cases, bought for £600 by the last person to own York House and arranged in their present display by the firm of J.Cheal & Sons, specialists in handling garden statuary. In the late 1980s a spirited local citizen named Elizabeth Bell-Wright encouraged the York House Society and the Twickenham Society to save the statues, then on the brink of destruction by neglect and vandalism. Further restoration was carried out in 2007. You now see them as we hope they will remain.

Following these works it was discovered that the pedestrian bridge linking the riverside garden to the main house and gardens was in a very poor condition and as a result was extensively repaired and rebuilt in 2010.

Around the recently restored cascades, planting has been done in harmony with the statues with greens, pinks and whites predominating. The aquatic planting in the pool has also been improved with additional Waterlilys, Irisis and Arum lilys, whilst Candelabra primulas have been extensively planted around the waters edge.Some unusual specimen trees and shrubs have also been added to enliven the landscaping. These include several types of Magnolias, Cornus contraversa,and Tulip trees.

Champions Wharf, also known as the Sculpture Park, is an addition to the York House Gardens situated alongside the Twickenham Embankment. This small site has been planted with a variety of herbaceous and perennial planting. It is used as a popular lunchtime spot with great views across the River Thames.

Richmond Council employees have developed a disused green house into a staff allotment - the “Green Finger Project”. With the help of the Sustainability Team, they have made great use of this space by growing a variety of herbs and vegetables!

Virtual Tours of York House Gardens

• York House Gardens
• York House Lawn
• York House Gardens Riverside
• York House Gardens Statues