Boston Manor House, Brentford, Greater London A property of the London Borough of Hounslow
A 17th-century house on the outskirts of London has undergone a sensitive restoration and now offers fascinating insights into changing domestic tastes, as Charles O’Brien explains
BOSTON MANOR, Brentford, was put up for sale after the First World War in the face of the inexorable expansion of London. In 1924, it was purchased by the local council and preser ved within its immediate setting. Last featured in COUNTRY LIFE in 1965, after it had been repaired by Donald Insall & Partners, this splendid example of a 17th-century suburban country house subsequently fell into serious disrepair. It has now been recovered from that state and its interiors re-presented in exemplary fashion by a team led by Harriet Pillman of Purcell for London Borough of Hounslow.
The house was built in the early 17th century for Mary Reade, widow of Sir William Reade, who inherited Boston, together with Osterley, from his mother, Ann, the widow of Thomas Gresham. The couple probably lived in an old house here when Osterley was tenanted by Sir Edward Coke, but William’s death in 1621 provided Mary with the impetus for comprehensive reconstruction. Three lead rainwater hoppers are dated 1622 with her initials.
The result is a fine example of the type of compactly planned house favoured by City merchants (Fig 1). It is built of red brick laid in English bond to create a block six bays wide, four deep and three storeys high.
A deep cornice runs around the building and demarcates the third storey with its crown of gables, three to the longer sides, two at the short end. The main front to the east appears regular with a central door, now enclosed by a porch, but the rear of the house is slightly chaotic, with the cornice broken to accommodate staircase windows and the gables are entirely unrelated to the placing of the windows below (Fig 8). Now hidden within the roof space between the fourth and fifth bays are two north-facing brick gables, each decorated with an oculus, proving the top storey originally ended here. The brickwork in the lower floors north of this line is carried on without interruption, so these storeys probably existed in the 1620s and, at ground floor, no doubt contained the kitchens, perhaps with other service rooms retained from the older house adjoining.
In 1670, the manor and other lands were purchased by James Clitherow, City merchant and banker. His business activities are detailed meticulously in account books, which record his payment of £5,336 for Boston. Rainwater heads dated 1671 correspond with a record o
