Ancaster House, Richmond

Ancaster House is a Grade II listed^[1] building in Richmond, London that sits by Richmond Gate and opposite the Royal Star and Garter Home which it was used to house the nurses of.

The house built in the late 18th century for Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster possibly as a shooting box as it sits next to Richmond Park which was historically used for deer hunting,^[2] or otherwise as a country retreat from his home in London. It was built on crown land granted to him in thanks of his military service.^[3] The building's design has been attributed to Robert Adam.^[4] It was later sold to Sir Lionel Darrell, him being a friend of George III The London Encyclopaedia recounts a story:^[2]

Sir Lionel needed extra land to build greenhouses and applied for permission to build on Park land. After interminable bureaucratic delays, he mentioned the problem to George III who was riding in the Park. The king dismounted, marked out a plot of land with a stick and within a short time the land was Sir Lionel’s.

Under Darrell's ownership the house gained a reputation of hosting extravagant parties. Upon Lionel Darrell's death in 1803, his daughter Amelia took ownership of the house and is said to have left her father's room as it was until 1864, when after her death it was reopened.

At some point it was used as a school and by 1915 it came into the ownership of the Star and Garter Home and began being used to house its nurses. A few years before this it had been set to be demolished and again in 1944 after suffering bomb damage but was saved both times.^[5] In 2013, it was sold along with the Star and Garter Home for redevelopment by London Square, and refurbished as three mansions, alongside other new builds on site.^[6]