Osterley Park

Originally built before 1576 for the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham, Osterley Park was bought by the banker Francis Child in 1713 and was remodelled for his grandson Robert in 1763-80 by Robert Adam. The entrance to this red-brick U-shaped mansion is dominated by Adam’s double portico that links the 2 wings, an idea derived from the Portico of Octavia in Rome. Upon his return from Italy in 1758, Adam had become the most fashionable architect in England. His Neo-classicist impulse is apparent inside the entrance hall, where the grey and white colour scheme, coupled with the Roman statues in the coffered apses, creates an austere beauty. The mid-Georgian craze for Greek ceramics is apparent in the ‘Etruscan’ dressing room where motifs from Greek pottery adorn the walls. The house is the principal ornament in the 142-acre flat parkland, where there is also a semi-circular garden house designed by Adam and a Doric Temple of Pan.

Osterley Park, London

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The intact nature of Adam’s neo-classical designs is all the more remarkable given the retention of Osterley's original collection: furniture by Adam, Linnell and Chippendale; remarkable Gobelins tapestries; and objets d’art from across the globe reflecting the family’s vast banking wealth and their connections with the East India Company. The Childs also amassed a significant collection from the mid-17th century, so there are exceptional objects from Osterley's pre-Adam phase including outstanding pieces of silver, East Asian porcelain and lacquer furniture.

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