The Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond was a hotel located in the London countryside (later suburbs) on Richmond Hill overlooking the Thames Valley, on the site later occupied by the Royal Star and Garter Home, Richmond. The first establishment on the site, an inn built in 1738, was relatively small. This was followed by several other buildings of increasing size and varied design as the site changed from family ownership to being run by a limited company. Some of the rebuilding or extension work took place following fires that by 1888 had destroyed most of the original buildings. At various times architects were commissioned to build grand new buildings or extensions to take advantage of the famed view over the river and valley below, with the largest being the 1860s chateau block by E. M. Barry.
The hotel reached the peak of its fame as Richmond itself expanded in the 19th century during the Victorian era. In the period from the 1830s to the 1890s, the hotel guests ranged from literary figures such as Charles Dickens to exiled crowned heads of Europe such as King Louis-Philippe and his wife. The hotel's reputation spread to other countries, with guests arriving from the US and Europe, or travelling by horse and carriage from London to visit the area and stay at the hotel. In the later years of the 19th century, the hotel and its concert hall, banquet hall, and gardens were used for public dinners, fetes and fundraising gatherings, often attended by local grandees and members of the royal family.
Following the end of the Victorian era, the rise of the motor car and more widespread travel led to a decline in the hotel's fortunes, and it failed twice to be sold at auction. During World War I it was purchased by the Auctioneers and Estate Agents Institute and donated to Queen Mary in 1916 in support of her plans to establish a home for paralysed and permanently disabled soldiers. The hotel buildings were demolished and rebuilt as a care home beginning in 1919; the new building was dedicated in 1924 as the Women of the Empire's Memorial of the Great War.
Early years During the 18th century Richmond and its surroundings were mostly still countryside and parkland with several villas and estates along the River Thames, together with scattered villages and towns. The land on which the Star and Garter Hotel was later built was owned by the Earl of Dysart and is located on the river-facing side of Richmond Hill, next to the Richmond Gates of Richmond Park (enclosed 1637) and overlooking Petersham Common, an area of grazing meadows and common land between the hill and the river. The land, initially only enough for the building of a small inn in 1738, was leased from the Earl by a John Christopher (died 1758). This inn bore the name "Star and Garter", an allusion to the insignia of the Order of the Garter that was and still is common among inns and hotels around Britain.The Original ‘Star and Garter’, Richmond Hill, Local History Notes, Richmond Libraries' Local Studies Collection, accessed 19 April 2010
Little is known about the subsequent early history other than a rebuilding of the inn, but in the year 1780 a private residence that had been built next to the inn became part of what could now be called a hotel, though it was also referred to as an inn or tavern. In the early 19th century, the establishment went through three owners starting with a Richard Brewer who leased more land from the Earl of Dysart in 1803. An idea of the value of the site can be ascertained from the rental value for the new land of 60 shillings per year. However, Brewer's management and expansion of the hotel left him over-extended financially and he was declared bankrupt and died in a debtors' prison in 1808.
The hotel then passed into the hands of a Christopher Crean who made changes and reopened the hotel in 1809. Prices, said to be half a sovereign to "look through a window", were considered "exorbitant". Following Crean's death in 1815, his widow continued to run the property, though with a mortgage of £4000. It was the need to pay off this mortgage that led to the hotel being sold in 1822, when it was purchased by a Joseph Ellis for £11,022.
Ellis family ownership The Ellis family would own the hotel for over 40 years, making several enlargements to the property. It was during this time that the hotel became widely known in London as it established itself as "a fashionable resort of London society, who used to drive out from town for luncheon or dinner".London and Its Environs, 1927, by Findlay Muirhead, 1927
One of those who stayed regularly at the hotel was the author Charles Dickens. He and his wife and his friend and biographer John Forster spent the day there on the Sunday in March 1838 when the first installments of Nicholas Nickleby were to be published. The occasion also coincided with the time of the year for Dickens' birthday and marriage anniversary, and a tradition developed and continued for 20 years to celebrate these events at the Star and Garter Hotel if they were in the country at the time. The hotel was said to be a "favourite resort" of Dickens, and he would meet friends there, or recover there after strenuous bouts of writing. Other events were held by Dickens at the Star and Garter, including a dinner in 1844 to mark the birth of his third son, and a famous dinner in 1850 that celebrated the start of the publication of David Copperfield. Guests at the latter dinner included Alfred, Lord Tennyson and William Thackeray.Dickens in Richmond upon Thames, Local History Notes, Richmond Libraries' Local Studies Collection, accessed 19 April 2010
Other dinners and meetings, held by societies and private individuals, took place at the hotel during the period of the Ellis family ownership, with some of them being reported in The Times, the leading newspaper of the day. These dinners included a banquet held in 1846 by the Irish Society to mark the Earl of Lincoln retiring from the post of Chief Secretary for Ireland,The Times, Thursday, 2 July 1846; pg. 5; Issue 19278; col E a public dinner in 1847 for The Scottish Hospital, a charity known today as the Royal Scottish Corporation,The Times, Thursday, 6 May 1847; pg. 3; Issue 19542; col F and a dinner hosted in June 1855 by the American entrepreneur and philanthropist George Peabody for Millard Fillmore, ex-President of the United States.Millard Fillmore Papers, 1833-1874, Correspondence and Memorandum as U.S. President, 1850-1855, "A Dinner Given by Mr. Peabody at the Star and Garter [Hotel], Richmond [London], to the Honorable Millard Fillmore, Late President of the United States", 25 June 1855", accessed 21 April 2010
Among the most prestigious and celebrated events during this period was the stay at the hotel of the ex-royal family of France in 1848. Then known as the Count and Countess de Neuilly, and formerly Louis-Philippe I, King of the French and his queen Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily, the couple and their entourage stayed at the Star and Garter while Maria recovered from the effects of the water at Claremont House. The family had been staying at Claremont following their arrival in the country in exile after the revolution in France. The stay at the hotel was several months long while the water pipes at Claremont were replaced, and the group consisted of 88 people occupying between 50 and 60 apartments.The Times, Saturday, 18 November 1848; pg. 5; Issue 20024; col CThe Times, Monday, 29 January 1849; pg. 4; Issue 20085; col F
The presence of these "illustrious exiles" in the area led to a visit in 1850 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Times reported this as the Queen's first visit to Richmond for "many years past" with crowds in attendance. On the arrival of the British royal party, the ex-French King greeted the British monarch and escorted her into the hotel to meet the ex-Queen.The Times, Wednesday, 6 March 1850; pg. 8; Issue 20429; col A Louis-Philippe would die later that year, but his widow Maria (more usually referred to as Marie Amelie or just Amelie) would continue to frequent the hotel until her own death in 1866. One of the stays reported by The Times concerned the 1859 visit to see Marie Amelie by a group that included Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Alexandrine of Baden, Duchess of Saxe Coburg Gotha, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess MaryThe Times, Friday, 27 May 1859; pg. 8; Issue 23317; col B Queen Victoria and Albert would also visit a few days later.The Times, Monday, 30 May 1859; pg. 10; Issue 23319; col D
Joseph Ellis died in 1858, and the hotel passed to one of his sons, George, who ran the hotel until 1864.The Times, Saturday, 14 July 1860; pg. 11; Issue 23672; col B
Star and Garter Company In 1864, control of the hotel passed to a limited company (the Star and Garter Company) that was listed on the stock exchanges of the day. The company was run by a board of directors, while day-to-day running of the establishment was entrusted to a hotel manager. One of the major changes made was a large expansion by the building of a grand chateau-like building, designed by the architect Edward Middleton Barry, and the addition of a banqueting hall. These additions were completed by 1865, but were not universally well-received, with one critic describing the new building as a "wen" on the face of the hill.
During this period, dinners held here included the inaugural dinner in July 1866 of the Cobden Club, formed in memory of Richard Cobden, with a speech given by William Gladstone, a meeting in July 1866 that led to the formation of the world's first canoe club the Royal Canoe Club,The history of the Royal Canoe Club, The Royal Canoe Club, accessed 21 April 2010 the ninth Cholmeleian Society dinner in 1868,The Times, Saturday, 30 May 1868; pg. 3; Issue 26138; col A the annual dinner in 1868 of the officers of the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders,The Times, Friday, 5 June 1868; pg. 12; Issue 26143; col F and another dinner in 1868 held by the Fishmongers' Company.The Times, Tuesday, 14 July 1868; pg. 12; Issue 26176; col A
The hotel continued to attract royalty and aristocracy, with The Times reporting in 1869 the stay at the hotel of Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Leopoldina of Brazil and their three children. The family had travelled from Brazil for the health of the young princess, but she died 2 years later aged 23. While in the area, the royal party visited the "Orleans family at Twickenham" (the members of the ex-royal family of France).The Times, Monday, 20 September 1869; pg. 5; Issue 26547; col F
1870 fire and rebuilding The old hotel building from before the 1864 extension was completely destroyed by a major fire on 12 January 1870. Although that section of the hotel had no guests at the time as it was the winter season, the hotel manager John Lever died in the fire. The fire and accounts of the dramatic rescue of one of the three people in the hotel at the time, was reported in the newspapers of the day as far afield as Australia.The Times, Thursday, 13 January 1870; pg. 5; Issue 26646; col CDestruction of the Old Star and Garter Hotel, Richmond, The Sydney Mail - 26 March 1870 The hotel employee rescued from the flames wrote an account in a letter to The Times.The Times, Monday, 17 January 1870; pg. 10; Issue 26649; col F There were attempts to locate the remains of Lever,The Times, Tuesday, 18 January 1870; pg. 10; Issue 26650; col C but these were not found until March that year.The Times, Tuesday, 15 March 1870; pg. 8; Issue 26698; col B An inquest was held with a verdict of accidental death.The Times, Saturday, 19 March 1870; pg. 12; Issue 26702; col D Those who took part in the fire rescue attempts received awards for their bravery.The Times, Thursday, 28 July 1870; pg. 10; Issue 26814; col E