Marble Hill House

Marble Hill House was built between 1724 and 1729, designed by Lord Herbert and Roger Morris for Henrietta Howard, who was the mistress of George II. It is a significant example of the architectural ideas of the English Palladian School. The house is set within grounds designed by the poet Alexander Pope and the royal landscape gardener Charles Bridgeman.

The building has a rectangular plan, with its main elevations facing north and south. It features a stucco exterior with stone dressings and has three main storeys, with the lowest level designed as an architectural basement. The roof has a modillion cornice and is covered with blue-black pantiles, topped with a lead-covered ball finial.

Both the north and south fronts have five bays, with the central three bays projecting and featuring a pediment. A plain string course and sill band mark the principal floor level. The north front is more ornate, with a rusticated basement and a pilastered giant Ionic order, complete with a stepped architrave and pulvinated frieze. It also includes a cartouche in the tympanum of the pediment. In contrast, the south front is simpler, featuring a centrally located rusticated arched door. There are low wing walls on either side of the north front.

Inside, the house boasts fine interiors, including the Great Room, which is a cube measuring 24 feet, and a mahogany staircase. Although the building underwent some alterations both externally and internally, it was restored to its original design by the Greater London Council in 1965-66.