DiCamillo Companion
England

Stanmore House (Stanmore Park) (Stanmore Park Mansion)

  • Earlier Houses: Elements of an earlier house were incorporated into the 18th century house.

    House & Family History: In 1729 the Scottish goldsmith Andrew Drummond, the founder of the Drummonds Bank, purchased Stanmore; in 1763 he rebuilt the house in the popular Palladian style. The institution that Andrew Drummond founded in 1717 survives today as an exclusive bank (the Drummond family owned it until 1924, when the bank was purchased by The Royal Bank of Scotland, who continue to own it today). Located at 49 Charing Cross, Drummonds has a long history of elite clientele; among its customers were George III, Robert and James Adam, Capability Brown, Thomas Gainsborough, Josiah Wedgwood, Sir William Chambers, Henry Holland, Johan Zoffany, Alexander Pope, Beau Brummell, Benjamin Disraeli, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (see "Images" section for scan of an 1829 Drummonds Bank check for £5). The famous Johan Zoffany painting, "The Drummond Family," which was very likely painted on the grounds of Stanmore circa 1769, shows the bewigged patriarch, Andrew Drummond, seated with a gold-handled cane in one hand and his snuffbox in the other, both of which are today owned by Drummonds Bank. The painting is in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art (see "Images" section). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Stanmore House was a boys' prep school. After the house was demolished in 1938, the grounds were requisitioned by the government and used by the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as the headquarters of Balloon Command during World War II.

  • Architect: John Vardy Sr.

    Date: 1763-65
    Designed: Rebuilt House for Andrew Drummond

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    Architect: Henry Holland

    Date: 1787
    Designed: Alterations for George Drummond

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    Architect: William Oldham Chambers

    Date: 1766-69
    Designed: Completed work for Andrew Drummund begun by John Vardy

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  • Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
    Author: Colvin, Howard
    Year Published: 2008
    Reference: pgs. 243, 529, 1075
    Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
    ISBN: 9780300125085
    Book Type: Hardback

  • House Listed: Demolished

    Park Listed: Destroyed

  • Past Seat / Home of: Andrew Drummond, 1729-69; George Drummond, late 18th century. Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford, early 19th century (as a tenant). James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, 1839-48. George Carr Glyn, 1st Baron Wolverton, 1848-73.

    Current Ownership Type: Demolished

    Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished

  • House Open to Public: No

    Historic Houses Member: No