Fox Hall

SINGLETON CHARLTON VILLAGE SU 8812-8912 34/161 Fox Hall 5.6.58 - II*

Probably designed by Lord Burlington. This little building was a hunting lodge of the Duke of Richmond. It was built by the second Duke in 1730. In 1731 he took over from the Duke of Bolton the ownership of the Charlton Hunt, which throughout most of the eighteenth century was the most renowned pack in England, even above those of the Shires. It remained so in the time of the third Duke who employed George Stubbs to paint various versions of the hunt. The hounds were sold by the fourth Duke to the Prince Regent in 1813. The building is very plain on the outside and gives no hint of its character or interior. Two storeys and attic in gable ends. One window facing West, one window and 2 window-spaces facing South. Cemented front with long and short quoins to the ground floor. Stringcourse. Slate roof. Glazing bars intact. Ground floor window in heavy rusticated surround. First floor window in moulded architrave surround with pediment over on consoles. Chimney breast on the North wall. The interior of the ground floor room, said to have been the butler's room, is quite plain, likewise the 2 small bedrooms on the attic floor. But the first floor is a sort of piano nobile. It is a grand Palladian room with gilded panelling, fine chimney-piece and bed recess with a closet on either side of it. The Duke of Richmond used to sleep the night before the meet here as the hunt always met at 8 am. Photograph in "A Duke and his Friends" by the Earl of March (later the seventh Duke of Richmond). Now in the care of the Landmark Trust.

Listing NGR: SU8887312828