Thatched House Lodge
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Thatched House Lodge is a royal residence in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in London, England.
The main house has six reception rooms, six bedrooms, and stands in four acres (16,000 m²) of grounds. The gardens include an eighteenth century two-room thatched summer house which gave the main house its name. Since 1963 Thatched House Lodge has been the residence of Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy. It was acquired by her late husband, Angus Ogilvy, on a lease from Crown Estate Commissioners following their marriage.
[edit] History
It was built as two houses in 1673 for two Richmond Park Keepers, as Aldridge Lodge. It was enlarged in 1727 by the ranger, Hugh Walpole, son of Sir Robert. The two houses were joined and renamed Thatched House Lodge in 1771 by Sir John Soane. It had also been known as Burkitt's Lodge.
The house was used by various members of the Royal Household, including General Sir Edward Bowater, and General Lynedoch Gardiner, respectively Equerry to the Prince Consort and to Queen Victoria. Later Thatched House Lodge became the home of Wing Commander Sir Louis Greig (equerry to King George VI, when he was Duke of York), and then the Duke of Sutherland. It was the London home of General Eisenhower during the Second World War.
