History of Orleans House and The Octagon Room
History of Orleans House
A house has stood on the site of the present Orleans House Gallery since the 17th century. The property was leased in 1702 by James Johnston (1655-1737), Joint Secretary of State for Scotland, as a retreat on retirement from public life. Johnston commissioned the architect John James (c.1672-1746), who later worked on St Mary's Church in Twickenham, to design a "pleasant and delightful Tenement built with brick and part with Timber". This simple "plainness of structure" contrasted with the ornate baroque interior of the Octagon Room, built around 1720 to a design by James Gibbs (1682-1754).
The property remained in private hands from the 18th until the early 20th century. Previous owners have included George Pitt, the Pocock family, Louis Philippe, the Earl of Kilmorey, Henry Duc d'Aumale, Sir John Astley and the Cunnard family.
During the 19th century, the house was occupied by its most famous resident, Louis Philippe, Duc d'Orleans (1773-1850), from whom the present gallery derives its name. Forced into exile from France in the period leading up to Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Louis Philippe made this house his home between 1815 and 1817. Attracted to the tranquillity of the area he wrote to a friend: "I bless heaven, noon and night that I am in my peaceful house in old Twick". In 1844 he returned to England as King of the French, and visited his former residence accompanied by Queen Victoria.
The Octagon Room
The Octagon Room was described by Daniel Defoe as " a pleasant room joining the greenhouse". It served as a garden pavilion, and was designed for entertaining guests. An adjoining service wing contained "two rooms and a large kitchen, a scullery, laundry, a room for fruit 3 or 4 pretty good bed chambers". The Octagon was designed by the Scottish architects James Gibbs (1682-1754) and was built by 1721, at a time when Gibbs had become the most fashionable architect in England. The simple exterior belies the stunning baroque interior, decorated by the renowned Swiss stuccatori Guiseppe Artari and Giovanni Bagutti, who also decorated St Martin-in-the-Fields, London.
The portrait medallions over the original doors depict the Prince and Princess of Wales, later King George II and Queen Caroline. These, and the reference to the Hanoverian monarch George I, included presiding over personifications of the land and sea, add validity to the claim that the Octagon was designed for Queen Caroline, who held court at Richmond Lodge near Kew.
Portrait of Queen Caroline.
The bequest of the Hon. Mrs Nellie Ionides (1883-1962) is the foundation of the collection housed at Orleans House Gallery. In addition, thanks to her timely intervention, the Octagon Room, adjacent wings and 19th century stables complex have been saved for posterity.
