Chapel House

Alfred Tennyson and his family occupied Chapel House from 1851 to 1853. Tennyson first viewed the house in 1850, and he was disappointed to find it had already been let. He wrote in a letter: <blockquote>"The most lovely house with a beautiful view in every room at top … A large staircase with great statues and carved and all rooms splendidly papered … and all for 50 guineas! A lady has taken it. I cursed my stars!"</blockquote> Tennyson negotiated with the landlord and managed to rent the house in 1851, after all. His son Hallam was born in the house in 1852 and baptized at St Mary's Church, Twickenham. Tennyson also wrote “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington”, published in 1852,…

Chapel House is a three-storey brick house in early Georgian style, built in about 1721 for retired naval officer Captain John Gray. It takes its name from the private Montpelier Chapel built for Gray in about 1727. The chapel building was demolished after collapsing in 1941. The row features red window dressing and variations in doorways. The interior of No. 15 includes pine-panelled rooms and two carved wooden staircases. It has five thousand square feet of living space in the main house and a 150 ft-long walled garden with a small cottage at the end. The cottage is thought to have been built around 1921 as an artist's studio.