Asgil House

The house materialised in 1760, an unassuming edifice perched on the Tudor brewhouse remnants at the Palace grounds' fringes. Its gaze, an ambivalent observer, extended over Cholmondeley Walk and the river's tranquil waters. A relic of 18th-century Palladian aesthetics, it held its place in the esteemed archives as a Grade I monument. And in the rear Garden, the gnarled branches of a copper beech tree, weathered and wise, whispered tales that spanned two centuries.

However, the inception of this dwelling spins a narrative of intriguing dynamics. A dance of land exchange unfolded between the hands of Richard Hill, steward of Trumpeters House, and Colonel Cholmondeley, whose name etched itself on Cholmondeley Walk, an echo of the Thames Path. Sheep grazed here until the 1850s. Then entered Charles Asgill, his name resonating in banking circles, crowned with the accolade of Lord Mayor of London from 1757-8. With vision and companionship, he beckoned his confidante, Sir Robert Taylor, to sculpt a villa onto the landscape.

Taylor's metamorphosis from a sculptor to an architect was not without its complexities.
A journey coloured by the hues of humility, his initial endeavours in sculpture bore meagre fruits. Architecture's embrace, though, proved more generous. His trajectory rose to prominence, and he was a torchbearer after William Chambers within the annals of architectural legacy.

It was initially christened Richmond Place, but as the decades tiptoed by, in the 1820-30s, the name changed into Riverside Villa. During the stewardship of Benjamin Cohen 1828-67, it was further retitled Asgill House. The reins shifted and passed into the hands of James Bracebridge Hilditch, son of artist George Hilditch. He ascended to the mayoral seat in 1899. His signature, though, was etched into the landscape through his pivotal role in conceiving Richmond Lock and Weir.

The Victorian era left fingerprints, amending and embellishing the house's form. However, the latter years of the 1960s witnessed the house's resurrection under the guidance of Mr. Hauptfuhrer and architect Donald Insall. Its contours returned to their original grace and formed an eloquent dialogue between past and present.

Within its walls is an octagonal footprint on both ground and first floors, flanked by rooms along three sides. An Italian painter by the name of Andrea Casali decorated the walls with his brushwork—however, I have not been inside, so I cannot vouch for their continued existence.

Just outside the house, a plaque on Asgill House's exterior wall, nestled along Old Palace Lane, is a nod to the presence of royalty—Henry I, Edward III, Henry VII, and Elizabeth I—who once claimed Richmond Palace as their regal abode. This small villa has good classical proportions and a beautifully warm stone colour.