THE BUILDING OF THE HOTEL

In 1863, Nightingale Cottage (by then renamed Ashburnham Lodge) was acquired by the Richmond Hill Hotel Company. They employed John Giles as the architect, who had just designed London’s first ‘grand hotel’; the recently renovated Langham Hotel in Portland Place. The new hotel building in Richmond was completed in 1865 – the same year as E M Barry’s new ‘French Château’ wing of the Star and Garter above it on the hill.

Though somewhat less ambitious than Barry’s building the Richmond Hill Hotel with its tower, high pitched roofs and many balconies was an imposing structure. Its architectural style was described at the time as ‘florid Italian Gothic’. The description and plans in a sale brochure of 1866 show a dining room, ballroom, bar, many bedrooms and a number of separate ‘sitting rooms’ as well as several suites. Every room had, of course, its own fireplace with a coal fire and although the hotel was, by the standards of the time, well provided with w.c.s, it only had two bathrooms!

THE STAIRCASE AND ITS PAINTINGS

The most notable feature of the interior is the magnificent Portland stone staircase; reported to be the tallest unsupported stone staircase in the country. The paintings on its ceiling were executed by Ferdinando Galli (1816-97), an Italian painter then briefly working in England (he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1866).

These depict Italian renaissance artists: Raphael (1483-1520), based on a self portrait in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence; Michelangelo (1475-1564), a typical portrait showing his ‘broken nose’; Titian (1485-1576), based on a self portrait in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin and Annibale Carracci (1560-1609), renowned for his decoration of the Farnese Gallery, Rome.

CHANGES OF NAME

In 1877, following a change of ownership, the hotel’s name was changed to ‘The Mansion’ (which left Richmond Hill Hotel free to be assumed by another hotel on the hill in 1913). In 1889 it became ‘The Mansion Hotel’. Then in 1922, when the famous old Star and Garter had been demolished to be replaced by the Royal Star and Garter Home for disabled servicemen, it took on the name of ‘New Star and Garter Hotel’.

The ‘New’ was dropped a few years later and the hotel continued as ‘Star and Garter’ until 1945, when the Bank of England bought it for use as a staff hostel under the name of ‘Nightingale Hall’. It was sold in 1951 and reopened as ‘The Star and Garter Hotel’. In 1978 it was purchased by the Dare family, who are still the present owners, and renamed ‘The Petersham Hotel’.

ALTERATIONS

Of the many alterations made to the hotel since its early days, the most visible externally is the building-out (in 1957) of the ground floor on the side facing the river, to form a large new restaurant. Discreetly hidden by the trees of Petersham Common is an extension built in 1971-2, mainly containing bedrooms. In the 1950s and 60s various proposals for enlargement were put forward by the owners, culminating in a project to replace the Victorian building completely by an 18 storey tower block but the planning permission was very firmly refused. Internally, the hotel has been largely remodelled, especially in the last decade, to bring it fully up to our four star standard as Richmond’s leading hotel.

THE VIEW FROM RICHMOND HILL

The hotel looks out across Petersham Meadows to the bend in the Thames. The meadows are protected from development by an Act of Parliament passed in 1902, and renewed 100 years later, to safeguard the famous view from Richmond Hill; best seen from the Terrace Walk at the top of Nightingale Lane. This view has been painted by many famous artists, including Sir Joshua Reynolds (for whom Wick House, next door to the Wick, was built) and J M W Turner (who lived across the river in Twickenham for many years).

In the mid-17th century there was already a seat on the hill from which to admire the view. The Terrace walk was first laid out in about 1700. William Byrd gave the name of Richmond to the city he founded in Virginia in 1733 because the view of the James River reminded him so much of the view from Richmond Hill. Captain Vancouver, the explorer of the Pacific coast to North America, was so taken by the view that he lived the remaining few years of his life in Petersham.

THE PRESENT OWNERS - THE DARE FAMILY

Colin Dare married Merla English in 1959 and they settled in Richmond in 1965. By 1968 Colin had bought The Richmond Gate Hotel adjacent to Richmond Park Gates at the top of the hill. Throughout the 70s The Richmond Gate became a focal meeting point for Richmond residents. In 1978 Colin acquired The Petersham Hotel, known at that time as the Star and Garter Hotel. The superb Victorian Hotel overlooking the famous bend in the River Thames remains in the Dare Family today.

The text of these notes was partly written by John Cloake, President of the Richmond Local History Society