Laleham Abbey

Laleham Abbey was built between 1803 and 1806 and designed by J. B. Papworth for the second Earl of Lucan. Further alterations were carried out by Papworth in the 1820s and 1830s. The house is two storeys above a basement, built with stucco and arranged with a 2:1:2 bay facade. It features moulded cill strings, with brackets supporting the ground floor windows. A Greek fret cornice sits above a blocking course, returning along the sides of the building. A Greek Doric portico with paired columns dominates the central bay, leading to a perron with a half-glazed door and an enriched cornice above. A tripartite window is positioned above the portico, featuring brackets to mullions and flanked by T-plan pilasters with conical rainwater heads. The basement is concealed behind a solid wall with moulded coping. A solid verandah extends to the south, and there is a five-window return along with a modern chapel extension to the south-east, all constructed in a matching style. The rear elevation is characterised by a 2:3:2 window arrangement, with a wide central bow featuring glazing bar sashes and flanked by flat pilasters.

The interior's primary feature is Thorvaldsen's plaster frieze depicting Alexander's Triumph (a copy of the one in the Quirinale), located in the stair hall. This space is D-shaped, top-lit, and contains cantilevered stone stairs. A massive fireplace is positioned below the frieze, with lobbies leading to the dining room and drawing room on either side. These rooms, along with the library, retain significant original plasterwork and fittings, including a Greco-classical fireplace in the apse of the dining room. Entry to the house is through a segmental barrel-vaulted hall, featuring four Ionic scagliola columns and angled side walls. The abbey is documented in the Victoria County History of Middlesex, Volume II, page 397.