Maids of Honour Row

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Maids of Honour Row
Maids of Honour Row, front view, Richmond Green.jpg
Houses 3 and 4 Maids of Honour Row
Maids of Honour Row
Interactive map of Maids of Honour Row
General information
TypeResidential
Location Richmond, London, England
Coordinates 51°27′40″N0°18′30″W / 51.4610°N 0.3083°W / 51.4610; -0.3083
Year builtc. 1717
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name1-4, Maids of Honour Row
Designated10 January 1950
Reference no. 1065317

Maids of Honour Row is a Grade I listed [1] Georgian terrace on the south-western side of Richmond Green in Richmond, London, England. The houses are listed alongside their original gates and railings for their exceptional design and preservation, largely appearing as they would have originally.

Contents

Description

Maids of Honour Row is celebrated as "one of the finest examples of a Georgian terrace in the country" [2] and represents a design established by the Rebuilding of London Act 1666 of houses fronting onto "streets of note". [3] It is built mostly in brick, with stone quoins and band courses, as well as other ornamental details. House no. 4 also has a largely restored interior including an entrance decorated with painted panels by Antonio Joli for the Swiss-born British impresario John James Heidegger. [4]

History

Construction on the terrace began around 1717 on the grounds of the former Richmond Palace of which the gatehouse, a short distance away, is one of the last remaining structures. [5] The terrace is named after the maids of honour of Queen Caroline, who with her husband the Prince of Wales, later George II, stayed at the nearby Richmond Lodge. Traditionally the terrace was considered to have been built for the purpose of housing the maids of honour, although there is contrary evidence that they were built speculatively before George's arrival, possibly in anticipation of it. The connection was more surely established shortly after construction began, as two of the houses would start being rented by George for the accommodation of the maids of honour. [6] Other notable residents include William Capel, 3rd Earl of Essex, [6] Edward Croft Murray, [4] Richard Burton, [7] Charles Garvice, [8] Henrietta Vansitart, [9] Judith Levy, the "Queen of Richmond Green" [10] and the previously mentioned John James Heidegger.

References

  1. ↑ Historic England (10 January 1950). "1-4, Maids of Honour Row, and gates and railings (Grade I) (1065317)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  2. ↑ "Maids of Honour Row | Grade I for C21st by McDaniel Woolf". find-an-architect.architecture.com. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  3. ↑ Hussey, Christopher (28 May 1943). "No. 4 Maids of Honour Row Richmond: The Home of Mr. Edward Croft-Murray". Country Life . Vol. 93, no. 2419. Bath, Somerset. pp. 968–971. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  4. 1 2 Wilson, Mary (9 February 2005). "Gorgeous Georgian". The Independent . Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Historic England (10 January 1950). "The Gate House The Old Palace (1065318)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. 1 2 Jeffery, Sally (2010). "The Building of Maids of Honour Row" (PDF). The Georgian Group Journal. XVIII: 65–76.
  7. ↑ "Richard Francis Burton". Richmond Local History Society . Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "People of historical note buried in the borough A to L". London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . 18 February 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  9. ↑ emmasteponstage (9 March 2017). "Henrietta Vansittart – Female engineer of the Industrial revolution". literarylandscapes. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  10. ↑ Endelman, Todd M (23 September 2004). "Levy, Judith". www.oxforddnb.com. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/59419 . Retrieved 16 December 2025.
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