Earlier Houses: There was at least one earlier house on, or near, the site of the current house.

House & Family History: Northwick was part of the bishop's lordship prior to 964. Held by the bishop as a knight's fee by Roger de Northwick in 1152, the ownership ended with two heiresses, who divided the estate between their two husbands, one of whom was Roger de Draycote. One hundred years later the properties were joined by the marriage of Thomas de Clipstone, who married into the family, thus becoming the bishop's tenant. About 50 years later it came to another heiress, who married John Childe of Northwick in 1383. The Childe family controlled the Northwick Estate for three centuries: Thomas in 1426, Edmund in 1459, and William in 1520. William Childe gave up the estate in 1530, giving it to his wife's brother, Thomas Hunckes. In 1683 Thomas Childe sold the Northwick Estate for £14,000 (approximately £28 million in 2016 values, using the labour value commodity index) to Sir James Rushout. James was created a baronet by Charles II on June 17, 1661 and represented Evesham in Parliament for over 30 years. The Rushouts owned the estate for the next three centuries. James had two sons and three daughters; the sons, James and John, both succeeded to the title. James died in 1705 and was succeeded by his son James, who died in 1711, aged nine. His uncle, John Rushout, succeeded this Sir James, who died on March 2, 1775, having engaged the Earl of Burlington to remodel his mansion. His son John was married on June 8, 1766, to Rebecca, daughter of Humphrey Bowles, Esq., of Wanstead Grove, Essex, and was created the 1st Baron of Northwick on October 26, 1797. He died in October of 1800, aged 62. The 2nd Lord Northwick died unmarried, so Northwick went to the son of his brother (The Rev. George Rushout of Bedford House, Shropshire), George John Rushout (born 1811), who succeeded as the 3rd Lord Northwick in January of 1859. He represented Evesham in Parliament from February 1837 to August 1841 and East Worcestershire from January 1847 to January 1859, when he succeeded to the peerage. The 3rd Lord Northwick was married on April 15, 1869, to The Hon. Augusta Elizabeth Warburton, widow of Major George Warburton, RA, and daughter of the 1st Lord Bateman; their daughter, Augusta Warburton, married Captain Edward George Spencer-Churchill, and the Northwick Estate shifted to the Spencer-Churchill family. Upon the death of Edward George Spencer-Churchill in 1964 the estate was purchased by The Hon. Michael Pearson, son and heir of Lord Cowdray and great nephew of Captain Churchill, on behalf of a subsidiary of S. Pearson and Co. Ltd. The house and home farm were let in 1967 to The Life for the World Trust, a non-profit that rehabilitates drug addicts. The mansion, which had fallen into disrepair, was restored and converted into luxury flats in the 1990s. (We are grateful to Allan Taylor for this history of Northwick).

Collections: The 2nd North Northwick found, in spite of the addition of the Picture Gallery in 1832, that Northwick Park was too small to contain his great picture collection. Thus, he purchased Thirlestane House (see "Images" section) to contain the overflow. The collection included not just paintings, but coins, Greek vases, prints, gems, miniatures, and porcelain, all of which was housed at Thirlestane. Lord Northwick was a magnanimous man and opened his galleries at Thirlestane to visitors throughout the year. When he died in 1859 without a will, Lord Northwick's property was forcibly divided among his three nearest relatives; consequently, the great sales of the contents of Northwick Park and Thirlestane House followed. The sales lasted for over 22 days (July 26-August 16, 1859) and included over 1,500 pictures. Sir Charles Eastlake made many important purchases for The National Gallery, London, during these sales. Paintings in the collection included "Stoning of Saint Stephen" by Garofalo; "SS Cosmos and Damian" by Fra Angelico; Lorenzo Monaco's "Presentation in the Temple;" and "Robin Hood" by Daniel Maclise. Upon the death of the widow of the 3rd Lord Northwick in 1912, the collection of prints formed by the 2nd Lord Northwick was sold at Christie's. In 1912 Captain Edward George Spencer-Churchill inherited the Northwick Estate and its famous collections. He built the collection up greatly and was particularly noted for "The Northwick Rescues," paintings he discovered that excited his curiosity and were usually dirty, over-varnished, and over-painted. These paintings were often misattributed or considered junk. "The Northwick Rescues" were particularly strong in the Early English School and Netherlandish paintings. Highlights from this collection included "Peasant Wedding" by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Dirk Bouts's "Madonna and Child," Nicholas van Verendael's "Vase of Flowers," and "The Adoration of the Magi" by Gerard David (see "Images" section). Spencer-Churchill also added other fine paintings to the collection, such as Lorenzo Monaco's "Presentation in the Temple" and Joshua Reynolds's portrait of Warren Hastings. One of the finest English portraits from the early 17th century, "Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia," English School, 1612, was in the collection, together with Hogarth's portrait of Daniel Lock (1762) and Gainsborough's self portrait. Spencer-Churchill was also an avid collector of Greek vases and pottery and collected more than 100 examples, representing the entire history of Greek vase painting. Other notable paintings in the collection included Hans Eworth's circa 1570 oil on panel portrait of Elizabeth I, which shows the queen wearing a much more sober outfit than those she wore later in life. The painting was probably part of the collection formed by the 2nd Lord Northwick, thence by descent: Christie's, Northwick Park, June 25, 1965 and Sotheby's, London, April 3, 1996. At the death of Captain Edward George Spencer-Churchill in 1964 the contents of the house were dispersed through a number of sales, though Marie Blancour's 17th century painting, "A Bowl of Flowers," was bequeathed to The National Gallery. A solid ebony early 19th century four-poster bed, believed to have been commissioned by 2nd Lord Northwick, was sold for £29,000 by Sotheby's at Prior Park, Bath, on October 29, 1998, together with other items originally from Northwick, including paintings and clocks.

House Listed: Grade I

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSES: Roger de Northwick, 12th century. Roger de Draycote, 12th century. Thomas de Clipstone, 13th century. John Childe, 14th century; Thomas Childe, 1426-59; Edmund Childe, 15th century; William Childe, 1520-30. Thomas Hunckes, 16th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Sir James Rushout, 1st Bt., 1683-98; Sir James Rushout, 2nd Bt., 1698-1705; Sir James Rushout, 3rd Bt., 1705-11; Sir John Rushout, 4th Bt., 1711-75; Sir John Rushout, 5th Baronet and 1st Baron Northwick, 1775-1800; John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick, 1800-59; George Rushout, 3rd Baron Northwick, 1859-87; Rushout family here until 1912. Captain Edward George Spencer-Churchill, 1912-64.

Current Ownership Type: Flat Owners Company / Condo Association

Primary Current Ownership Use: Flats / Multi Family

House Open to Public: No

Historic Houses Member: No