History

Warren House is located on the Coombe Estate, which has been one of the wealthiest and most exclusive area in the Royal Borough of Kingston since the reign of Queen Victoria.

Until 1837, the land was owned by Earl Spencer, after which the Duke of Cambridge bought it, thereby extending his own land to 535 acres. After the purchase, the Duke erected a large fence forbidding entry to anyone, and put ornamental gates across the entrance to ‘The Warren’ (Warren Road, as it is now called), complete with guards.

The result was a miniature civil war in Kingston. Half of the town thought it was the Duke’s own right to do as he pleased with his land, whilst the other half declared that ‘The Warren’ was a vital part of everyday life – it was indeed the very track that led the way through to Richmond, Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Putney. After many angry meetings, and a court case in 1853, a jury gave its verdict: the public were entitled to unrestricted use of ‘The Warren’ as a footpath, but not as a carriageway. This whole affair became known nationally as ‘The Battle of Coombe Warren’ and was reported in the Times.

Today, Warren Road still has a gate that is regularly guarded by a uniformed official, who opens it to vehicle traffic with permits, but he still has no jurisdiction over the pedestrians using the little path that runs up beside it!

In 1865, Hugh Hammersley bought 16 acres of land from the Duke and commissioned the building of Warren House. Intersecting part of Hammersley’s plot of land was a section belonging to Coombe Nursery. The Nursery (established 1856) was owned by Veitch & Sons and was famous for its many rare specimens of flowering trees and shrubs, most notably magnolias, azaleas and acers, and for its Japanese Water Garden which was apparently inspired by the well-known “Willow Pattern” plate design. Indeed, it was these very water gardens that were dividing Hammersley’s land. At some time in the 1870s, Hammersley managed to persuade Veitch to sell the plot, thus completing the land around Warren House.

This unique garden is thought to be the oldest Japanese garden in existence today in the British Isles. In its maturity, it is now even more beautiful than when first planted all those years ago.

After Hugh Hammersley’s death in 1880, Warren House stood empty until 1884, when George Grenfell Glyn (the second Baron Wolverton) and his wife acquired it. Lord Wolverton’s family founded the Williams and Glyn’s Bank, which is now the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Lord Wolverton died in 1887, followed ten years later by his wife. Warren House then came into the hands of Sir George Holford, of Westonbirt fame.

In 1907, after changing hands several times, Warren House was acquired by General Sir Arthur Paget, GCB KCVO and remained in the Paget family until the early 1950s. After the First World War, Warren House was inherited by Leila Paget, daughter of Sir Arthur. On returning home after the war, she was feted a national heroine for her courageous devotion to the Serbs, and was honoured with the title of Dame – and she was indeed Britain’s first!

After the death of her husband in 1940, Lady Paget converted the house into a military convalescent home, supervising and financing the domestic arrangements herself. She reluctantly had to sell the house to move to Soames House in Coombe Hill Road and it was at that time in 1954 that Warren House changed hands once again to become a Conference and Training Centre.

Many of the noteworthy features of the house and grounds were added during Sir Arthur Paget’s tenancy. The magnificent ballroom, now a main conference hall, was built as a miniature scale “Hall of Mirrors” from the Palace of Versailles. The Persian Room contains an interesting Persian fireplace, probably made to Sir Arthur Paget’s order at about the same time, while the Winter Garden with grotto, and the Italian style loggia, are further interesting examples of the architectural and domestic taste of the period.

If Gladstone, Edward VII, George V, George VI, Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary (or any of the other famous guests who frequented Warren House) could return to it today, they would find it virtually unchanged. Warren House today is maintained in all of its original character and beauty.

Warren House, “the fine Victorian Mansion that still survives in Warren Road”, reopened in 1988 after a major refurbishment and is now one of the most sought-after conference venues in the world.