Grade II listed building in Kew, London
West Hall at West Hall Road, Kew, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is a Grade II listed building[1] dating from the end of the 17th century.[2] It is Kew's only surviving 17th-century building apart from Kew Palace.[3]
History
The house stands on what was described in 1386 as an estate of 160 acres. This was included in Mortlake Manor, which was owned by the Archbishops of Canterbury.[2]
By the end of the 15th century, West Hall estate had become part of the new manor of East Sheen and West Hall.[2]
The late 17th-century house[4] was probably built by the lord of the manor, Thomas Juxon, who lived in East Sheen, as a house to let.[2] A second substantial house to let, Brick Farm, was built just to the west.[5] This later became the home of Sir William Hooker, the first Director of Kew Gardens, who rented the house and renamed it West Park.[3] The estates of both houses were let out for grazing and market gardening.[5]
In 1813 the painter William Harriott is recorded as living at West Hall.[6] He was the son of the miniaturist Diana Hill, who also lived at the Hall.[7]
Although the house of West Hall remains, and the property includes gardens and cottages,[8] much of its estate, and that of the neighbouring Brick Farm, has now been redeveloped for housing.[9]
The roof and upper floor of the house were damaged by fire in 2005.[8] In 2007 the house was restored by the Bissell Thomas family.[3][8]
West Hall in popular culture
Joanna Lumley was filmed at West Hall in the mid-1990s for her television series Class Act.[8]
