A 1784 engraving of the House from "Walpoole's New and Complete British Traveller"
Built / Designed For: Sir Gregory Page, 2nd Bt.
House & Family History: Wricklemarsh was built for Sir Gregory Page for the enormous sum of £90,000 (approximately £11 million in 2011 values, using the retail price index) and stood in a 250-acre park. John Cator purchased the Estate in 1783 and, between 1783 and 1800, stripped and eventually demolished the House. The portico and other materials were reused by John Cator for his house, Beckenham Place, Kent; four chimneypieces were installed in the First Lord's House in Whitehall. The surrounding land later formed part of the Blackheath Park housing estate. Wricklemarsh was in the 1782 edition of "Watts's View of Seats" (pl. xlvii).
Collections: Wricklemarsh was famous for its lavish interiors and its art collection. Sir Gregory Page's collection included works by Claude, Veronese, Adriaen van der Werff, Rubens, Salvator Rosa, van Dyck, Nicolaes Berchem, and Poussin. Sir John Soane's Museum, London, has, in its collection, six Dutch East India Company wood chairs (inlaid with the coat of arms of Page and Kenward in mother of pearl) from Wricklemarsh.
Architect: John James
Date: Circa 1724-27Vitruvius Britannicus: C. IV, pls. 58-64, 1767.
Title: Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, A - HARDBACK
Author: Colvin, Howard
Year Published: 2008
Reference: pg. 568
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300125085
Book Type: Hardback
Title: Classical Architecture in Britain: The Heroic Age
Author: Worsley, Giles
Year Published: 1995
Reference: pg. 118
Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press (The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art)
ISBN: 0300058969
Book Type: Hardback
House Listed: Demolished
Park Listed: Not Listed
Past Seat / Home of: Sir John Morden, 1st Bt., 17th century. Sir Gregory Page, 2nd Bt., 18th century.
Current Ownership Type: Demolished
Primary Current Ownership Use: Demolished
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No