Wanstead House, Essex

Richard Westall, Wanstead House, watercolour and graphite, 18.1 x 21.3cm,
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

As this post is the first of what I hope will be many, I thought it appropriate to begin this project at the root of my inspiration for Missing Storeys and the subject of my PhD thesis, Wanstead House, built in 1715-22 by Scottish architect, Colen Campbell. Due to significant debts the contents of the house were sold in a thirty-two day sale in 1822 and the house itself was demolished two years later. The demolition of Wanstead House has erased a significant building from history but evidence of the house is plentiful. As a result, the history of the house can be pieced together by drawing on paintings, drawings, maps, furniture, archaeology and contemporary descriptions in order to construct a better understanding of what once stood at Wanstead. 

St Mary the Virgin, Overton Drive. 

To find the site of the lost estate, exit the Wanstead Underground station and turn left onto St Marys Avenue. Keep walking until you reach the junction of Langley Drive and Overton Drive. Situated opposite stands St Marys of Wanstead, the church which once belonged to the owners of the Wanstead estate in the late eighteenth century. Inside the church stands an impressive statue by John Nost of Sir Josiah Child, a wealthy East India Company merchant who acquired the Wanstead estate in 1673. Prior to Child's acquisition, Wanstead had belonged to Sir Robert Brooke. Earlier owners include Sir Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and a famous favourite of Queen Elizabeth 1st. The extensive history of Wanstead demonstrates it has long been a site of significance but for this post, focus will be made solely on the Child family's ownership of the estate between the time of Josiah Child's acquisition in 1673 and its demolition in 1824. 

The Wanstead golf club is situated next to St Mary's church, the club house now accommodated in what was once the stables for the estate. Visitors proceeding through the club house onto the golf course shortly arrive at the first tee where a large crater at the first tee marks the spot where 'princely mansion' stood. 

The 1st hole on the Wanstead golf course, the site of where Colen Campbell's mansion once stood. 

Although the site of the estate has transformed dramatically, a visit to the Wanstead site with Compass Archaelogy in January 2013 proved to me just how well the Wanstead golf course has preserved features of the eighteenth century estate landscape. Standing with your back to where the house stood, you may be fortunate to see evidence in the grass of the parterres planted by Humphrey Repton around 1812. 

Site of Humphrey Repton's parterres introduced circa 1813,shortly before the demolition of the Wanstead estate.

To the left of where the crater at the first tee is situated, evidence of the fish ponds can also be noted. These fish ponds were introduced into the landscape by Josiah Child in the late seventeenth century but seem to have been removed during the time of his son's, Richard Child 1st Earl of Tylney's landscape improvements following the completion of Campbell's mansion around 1720. Evidence of the fish ponds can be noted in contemporary descriptions of the landscape such as that made by John Evelyn in 1683, who noted; ‘I went to see Sir Josiah Childs prodigious Cost in planting of Walnut trees, about his seate, & making fish-ponds, for many miles in Circuite, in Eping-forest’ and in Kip and Knyff's engravings of the Wanstead estate produced in 1712.

Site of the fishponds as illustrated in Kip and Knyff's 1712 view of the Wanstead estate.

Of course it is not advisable to wander through a golf course mid afternoon. The Wanstead golf club is busy and it is best to call in advance if you want to try and trace some of these features. However, this is not the only way of seeking evidence of the eighteenth century estate. If you exit through the golf club house and continue to proceed down Overton Drive towards Warren Road. Reference to Kip and Knyff's 1712 views of Wanstead indicate that Warren Road lies along where the bowling green was situated and leads you into what is now Wanstead Park. 

The main footpath that begins at Warren Road will eventually lead you along the canals designed by Richard Child, 1st Earl of Tylney some time around 1713. Evidence of the canals is recorded in numerous contemporary accounts, an anonymous painting once attributed to Charles Catton the Elder and now held in the Newham Archives and in a map by James Craddock dating from 1725. Peter Kalm's account of Wanstead in 1748, praised the construction of the canal network; 

The difficulty met him at the place where his house should be built, that there was no water; but money could cure all such things. Where, previous to that time there was scarcely anything, but a ditch with a little water in it, we now saw a large flowing river, all made with art and human labour.

The central canal at Wanstead which once led towards where Wanstead House once stood.

The above image shows where the central canal ends. Standing at this point you can hear the sounds of cars flying by on the North Circular. A far cry from the peaceful environment experienced by visitors to the Wanstead estate during the eighteenth century. An eighteenth century visitor standing at the point depicted above, would be able to see Wanstead House in the distance. Campbell's mansion was built of Portland Stone which was considered to turn brighter the longer it remained in the fresh country air. This was ideal for a country house designed to stand out from great distances. 

The central avenue which once led towards where Wanstead House once stood. 

There are two more sites worthy of visiting during a trip to Wanstead Park, the Grotto and the Temple. The Grotto is situated along the canal network discussed above and although it is now in a derelict state due to a fire in the late nineteenth century, it gives us some insight into the types of activity that once took place.A grotto was designed for leisurely purposes and provided elaborate entertainment for visitors. This grotto was built by the 2nd Earl of Tylney, John Child. An earlier grotto was located further away from the canal although evidence of this has largely been lost. However, many of the materials used to construct the grotto we see today were those used in the earlier grotto. Some evidence of these materials has since been found and is displayed in the Temple, now the visitors centre of Wanstead Park.

The Grotto at Wanstead built by John Child, 2nd Earl of Tylney c.1760.

The steps which once led to the Wanstead Grotto, now obscured by pondwater.

Also displayed in the Temple are a few sculptures that have been found in the canal and are presumed to have once adorned the Wanstead grotto. Considering the 2nd Earl spent most of his lifetime in Naples, it is possible that these sculptures could have been among the many brought back to England from Italy.

The Temple & Wanstead Park Visitors Centre.

Inside the Wanstead Temple, another architectural feature of the late eighteenth century built by the 2nd Earl Tylney, you can find plenty of information on the history of the estate. The shop also sells a number of informative publications by local historians and are well worth a look at if you want to know more information about the estate. If you are interested in finding more about the history of the park or getting involved in protecting the park you can contact the Friends of Wanstead Parklands. If you would like to see images of how the estate once appeared you can find images on the Yale Centre for British Art, British Museum Collections Online or the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Visiting the Wanstead site will unveil evidence of the magnificent eighteenth century estate that was once considered as equal to estates such as Castle Howard, Blenheim Palace, Holkham and Houghton Hall. 

The two columns at the junction of Overton Drive and Blake Hall Road bear Richard Child's intials and once marked the gateway into the estate.