Richmond Park provides 2,500 acres (10 km²) of classic English parkland. In it is situated Pembroke Lodge in one of the finest locations, on high ground with spectacular views across the Thames valley to Windsor and Surrey. It has eleven acres (45,000 m²) of beautifully landscaped grounds, including King Henry VIII's Mound. A corner of the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park Richmond Park is the largest of the Royal parks in London, close to Richmond upon Thames, Kingston upon Thames and East Sheen. ... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... Windsor (IPA: usually , but also ) is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, South East England. ... Surrey is a county in southern England, part of the South East England region and one of the Home Counties. ... King Henry VIIIs Mound is the highest point within Richmond Park southwest of London, and is located within the public gardens of Pembroke Lodge. ...

A magnificent Georgian mansion, Pembroke Lodge began life, sometime prior to 1754, as a humble cottage of one room, occupied by a molecatcher whose sole duty was to reduce the peril presented to huntsmen by moles. This cottage was enlarged to form a dwelling with four principal rooms and renamed Hill Lodge. It was granted to the Countess of Pembroke, a "close friend" of King George III, at her request in 1787. Between 1788 and 1796 she extended the building to form the entire Georgian wing and part of the north wing. George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ...

In 1847, Queen Victoria granted the Lodge to Lord John Russell, then Prime Minister, who conducted much government business there and entertained Queen Victoria, foreign royalty, aristocrats, writers (Dickens, Thackeray, Longfellow, Tennyson) and other notables of the time, including Garibaldi. Lord John was much taken with the Lodge – "an asset that could hardly be equalled, certainly not surpassed in England." Earl Russell (as he had become) died there on 28 May 1878; Fanny, his second wife, in 1898. Their daughter Lady Agatha Russell left a memorial, still standing in the rose garden: "Pembroke Lodge 1847–1902 — In loving memory of my Father and Mother, Lord and Lady Russell and of our supremely happy home at Pembroke Lodge." Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and Empress of India from 1 January 1877, until her death. ... John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (August 18, 1792 - May 28, 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a Whig politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ... Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (February 7, 1812 – June 9, 1870), pen-name “Boz”, was an English novelist of the Victorian era. ... William Makepeace Thackeray (18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist of the 19th century. ... Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807–March 24, 1882) was an American poet who wrote many poems that are still famous today, including The Song of Hiawatha and Evangeline. ... Tennyson may refer to: A placename: In Australia: Tennyson, Queensland Tennyson railway station, Brisbane Tennyson, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney Tennyson Point, New South Wales a suburb of Sydney Tennyson, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide Tennyson, Victoria In the United States of America: Tennyson, Wisconsin Tennyson, Indiana... Garibaldi in 1866 Giuseppe Garibaldi (July 4, 1807 – June 2, 1882) was an Italian patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento. ...

Other occupiers included Bertrand Russell, the philosopher and mathematician, who grew up there between 1876 and 1894. At "PL", he wrote, "I grew accustomed to wide horizons and to an unimpeded view of the sunset." In 1911 the occupant was the Dowager Duchess of Dudley. During World War II, the Phantom Squad, GCHQ Liaison, was regimented to Pembroke Lodge for its headquarters. Members of the squad went on to become privy councillors, law lords, judges, MPs, a commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and actors – including David Niven, who remarked in a letter, "these were wonderful days which I would not have missed for anything." The Right Honourable Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was an influential British logician, philosopher, and mathematician, working mostly in the 20th century. ... The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) (previously named the Government Code and Cipher School (GC&CS)) is the main British intelligence service providing signals intelligence (SIGINT). ... Metropolitan Police redirects here. ... David Niven was the second unofficial James Bond. ...

Thirty-five years ago, Pembroke Lodge offered the visitor a government-run tea room. Now in private hands and restored to its former architectural glory, Pembroke Lodge is not open to the public except for weddings and conferences.

External links

Pembroke Lodge

Richmond Park

Interview on the Restoration