Built / Designed For: Lady Mary Reade

House & Family History: Lady Mary Reade, the young widow for whom Boston Manor House was built, re-married, circa 1624, Sir Edward Spencer of Althorp, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales. Sir Edward and Lady Mary were still the owners of Boston Manor during the English Civil War, when, in 1642, the Battle of Brentford took place nearby. Circa 1670 the house was purchased for £5,136 (approximately £11 million in 2019 inflation adjusted values using the labour value commodity index) by James Clitherow, a city merchant. King William IV and Queen Adelaide, who had long been friends of the Clitherow family, came to dinner at Boston Manor in 1834—a rare instance of a reigning monarch being received as the guest of a commoner. The Clitherows owned the house until it was sold to the local council in 1924.

House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: Lady Mary Reade, 1623-24; Sir Edward Spencer (and Lady Mary), 1624-56. James Clitherow, 1670-82; Clitherow family here until 1924.

Current Ownership Type: Government

Primary Current Ownership Use: Visitor Attraction

Ownership Details: Owned and operated by London Borough of Hounslow

House Open to Public: Yes

Phone: 01815-605-441

Fax: 01818-627-602

Website: https://www.hounslow.gov.uk

Historic Houses Member: No