Lady Wakefield's timeless Twickenham home full of objects amassed over three generations
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Twickenham provided London with much ofits fruit and vegetables, which were grown in the farmland and orchards that bordered the river Thames. The aristocracy and court of George II regarded the area as a retreat away from the hectic life of the metropolis and, to that end, built a series of magnificent houses there. These included Orleans House, York House and Marble Hill House, a beautiful Palladian villa built for Henrietta Howard, mistress of the king, surrounded by Arcadian parks and gardens.
The popularity of the area grew, increasing the demand for new houses and, in 1720, a speculator called Captain John Gray built a terrace of town houses that were named Montpelier Row. Built of red and brown brick, three windows wide and four storeys high, including a basement, they were not immediately popular, as they were considered somewhat out of place in such bucolic surroundings. Fast forward 250 years and the terrace had become a sought-after enclave amid jostling nineteenth and twentieth-century houses. Not surprising, therefore, that when Sir Peter Wakefield and his wife Felicity, who were looking for a home for themselves and their five children, first saw one of the houses in 1970, they instantly fell in love with it.
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Peter was in the Foreign Office and at that time was being posted abroad again, serving as the UK's ambassador in Beirut in 1975. He and Felicity decided to sell their house in Thurloe Square, south-west London, and look for one to which they could eventually return and enjoy their retirement. The house was not immediately convenient, being rather too small for the family. Their children - the eldest then 19 - were still living at home, but they thought that they would have flown the nest by the time they were next in England. 'Part of the attraction of this house was that it was pretty much as it had been when it was built in 1720,' says Felicity. 'It was extremely cold because there was no central heating, but there was running water and a well in the basement. The garden was full of well-established roses and, as I was a keen gardener, it was all too tempting.'
On their return in 1982, Peter retired from the Foreign Office and was subsequently appointed director of the National Art Collection Fund, a charity that raises money to help British museums buy works of art. Felicity, too, had a background in the art field. Her mother, Rose Marrable, was an artist, but had decided that such a precarious living should not be her daughter's calling, and instead enrolled her on a stenotyping course. This led her to her working for the United Nations and to her meeting her future husband.
During their honeymoon, they visited a painting school in Suffolk run by Felicity's family friend, artist Cedric Morris, who gave them a painting as a wedding present. Thereafter, they bought a painting a year, purchases that continue to fill the house wonderfully.
The collecting of beautiful objects became a consuming passion for both of them. 'In those days, there were dealers and shops around every corner and the children would frequently shout "teeks Daddy teeks" as another antique shop came into view,' Felicity says. 'Once, we both took so long making a purchase that the children exhausted the car's battery listening to cassettes while they were waiting.'
Felicity is adamant that they bought nothing as an investment, only for decorative value - with instinct rather than fashion guiding their choices. This approach is apparent in the house as it is today - full of pieces chosen with confidence, nothing matching, not necessarily of value, but all of beauty and interest.
Peter died in 2010 and their two granddaughters, who both work in London, now share the house with Felicity. Over the years, the layout and colours of the house have changed as different generations moved through its rooms. To begin with, the kitchen and dining room were downstairs. Peter, who loved entertaining, returned the drawing room to the first floor from the ground floor, and the top floor became the main bedroom with an en suite.
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In 1998, they built an extension and moved the kitchen upstairs, with the addition of a beautiful Georgian window in the first-floor bathroom, which Peter and Felicity had found in a junk shop on the King's Road. A Marston & Langinger conservatory followed, feeling more like an extension of the garden than the house, which has cleverly been arranged into different 'rooms' by placing a pot here and a chair there.
Felicity mixed many of the paint colours for the walls herself, choosing joyful shades to emphasise the beauty of the paintings and objects. With layer upon layer of experience and history evident on the surfaces, this is an extremely personal house, one that represents life well lived and an eye for beauty. It cannot fail to give pleasure to both its owner and visitors alike.
Michael Sinclair1/10Lady Wakefield and her late husband Peter decided to move the drawing room up to the first floor. Here, they created a comfortable space with panelled walls and purposely unmatched furnishings that mix well with paintings and objects acquired over the past three decades. Two rugs from Turkey demarcate separate sitting areas, while bookshelves on either side of the original marble chimneypiece display ceramics from Iran.
Michael Sinclair2/10At one end of the drawing room, three tall Georgian windows frame the greenery of the garden. The full-length floral-print curtains from Colefax and Fowler add to the effect.
Michael Sinclair3/10Lady Wakefield and her late husband Peter decided to move the drawing room up to the first floor. Here, they created a comfortable space with panelled walls and purposely unmatched furnishings that mix well with paintings and objects acquired over the past three decades. Two rugs from Turkey demarcate separate sitting areas.
Michael Sinclair4/10For the dining room on the ground floor, Felicity chose a limewash-style blue, which brings out the veins in the marbled cornicing and door frame. The panelled walls are hung with sixteenth-century portraits of the Duchess of Richmond[/i] and a Venetian boy, which Peter and Felicity bought from Richard Philp and Michel Dumez-Onof.
Michael Sinclair5/10The owner's collection | Lady Wakefield terrace town house | Interior Design Inspiration & Real Homes
Pieces from the owner's collection of delftware are displayed in the dining room of this Twickenham house.
Michael Sinclair6/10In the conservatory, two columns found in Stockbridge, Hampshire, stand alongside a display of delftware on the chest of drawers.
Michael Sinclair7/10A spare bedroom with wooden furniture and a window seat.
Michael Sinclair8/10The en suite main bedroom on the top floor.
Michael Sinclair9/10The Marston & Langinger conservatory acts as an extension of the garden, and provides an alternative dining area.
Michael Sinclair10/10A path bordered by topiary cones leads back to the house from the garden.
