Syon House Apartments

Syon House has been in the possession of the family of the Duke of Northumberland since its freehold was granted to the 9^th Earl in 1604, ten years after he acquired a leasehold interest. Of monastic origin, the house was rebuilt in several phases, beginning in the mid-sixteenth century and continuing from 1604 onwards through the first half of the seventeenth. In the 1650s Edward Marshall, under the direction of John Webb, was responsible for refacing the courtyard where the damp had lifted the ashlar away from the brick walls. Refaced again in the nineteenth century by Thomas Cundy, the house is now best known for its rich eighteenth-century interiors by Robert Adam, who remodeled three of the wings around the central courtyard (1762 – 69). The house is listed at grade I.

Dannatt, Johnson Architects have been involved in the conser­vation of the nineteenth century Bath stone cladding of the four wings of the house and the courtyard, and renewing the parapet where metalwork used to secure the Bath stone is failing. Repairs have also been carried out on the timber and metalwork of Charles Fowler’s iron-and glass Great Conservatory of 1827 – 30, which is distin­guished by an innovative central dome carried on a ring of cast-iron columns.

The first floor south wing has also been redesigned to provide living, dining and kitchen spaces and a new curved, single-flight timber stair leads to the suite of bedrooms and corridor space above, providing five bedrooms and staff accom­mod­ation. The new interiors reflect the period and style of the existing fabric.

Images by Peter Cook