Inventory Site Record

* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens

The manor of Osterley dates back many centuries, but the beginnings of the park as it exists today developed from the C16th when the estate was owned by the Gresham family. It was substantially remodelled in the C18th by the wealthy Child family, who purchased the estate in 1711. Osterley House was built in the 1760s to designs of Robert Adam for Sir Francis Child, and later his brother Robert, and its surrounding gardens and park were laid out. Earlier formal gardens were replaced by a more informal landscape, possibly designed by Robert Child's wife. In the early C19th the estate came through inheritance to the Jersey family and there was extensive tree-planting. In 1949 the house and 57 hectares were left to the National Trust, which later acquired further land, the remainder of the estate in private ownership.

Site location:

Osterley Lane/Jersey Road, Isleworth

Postcode:

TW7 4RB

What 3 Words:

translated.press.models

Type of site:

Public Park

Borough:

Hounslow

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

Grounds 9am-7.30pm or sunset (Stableyard Information Point 9am-5pm daily). House 31 Mar-4 Nov Wed-Sun 1-4.30-m.
Has taken part in Open Garden Squares Weekend 7 times, most recently in 2018.

Special conditions:

Dogs on leads. Admission charge to Osterley House (free to NT members) and free entry to park and gardens.

Facilities:

Car park; NT shop; toilets; Stables Tearoom; Jersey Galleries; Farm Shop

Events:

Numerous events including children's activities, music; exhibitions in Jersey Galleries.

Public transport:

Tube: Osterley (Piccadilly) the walk. Bus: H91, H28

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

01/04/2009

Last minor changes:

19/07/2023

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.

Sources consulted:

Sir Clifford Radcliffe 'Middlesex', Evan Brothers Ltd, (c.1950); David Pape, 'Nature Conservation in Hounslow' Ecology Handbook 15, London Ecology Unit, 1990. See EH Register Listing: Brewer, Brayley and Nightingale, The Beauties of England and Wales (1816); W Keane, Beauties of Middlesex (1850); Gardeners' Chronicle, ii (1885), pp 261-262, 267-268, 272; Country Life, 60 (20 November 1926), pp 782-791; (27 November 1926), pp 818-826; (4 December 1926), pp 858-867; B Cherry and N Pevsner, The Buildings of England: London 3 North-West (Penguin, 1999 ed); National Trust Garden Survey, (unpublished report 1980)

Grid ref:

TQ146780 (514410,178460)

Size in hectares:

64 (public park?)

Site ownership:

National Trust (some areas in private ownership)

Site management:

National Trust. Friends of Osterley Park

Date(s):

C16th; C18th; C19th

Designer(s):

C18th garden, possibly designed by Mrs Robert Child and her steward Mr Bunce

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

Yes

NHLE grade:

Grade II*

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

Yes

Conservation Area name:

Osterley Park

Tree Preservation Order:

Not known

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Borough Importance I

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

Yes

Special Policy Area:

Yes - ENV 20/ENV7

Other LA designation:

Historic Parks and Gardens.

Osterley House Gardens - Photo: Colin Wing
Date taken: 02/11/18 14:36

Click a photo to enlarge.

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