Pitzhanger Manor
Pitzhanger Manor House is a former manor house in the London Borough of Ealing. Major parts of the building designed by the renowned architect John Soane, who owned the estate from 1800 to 1810. After changing owners several decades, the house served as a public library before it was in 1985 transformed into an exhibition center.
From the family Pitshanger for the first Manor House
The name Pitzhanger goes back to the family Pitshanger (also Putelshanger ), which is mentioned in the 13th century in Ealing as landowners. Today's Pitzhanger Manor House with adjoining Walpole Park are the remaining parts of an originally much larger property whose former names Pits Hanger Manor Farm or Pitts Hanger denominated.
On this land were located in two 18th century mansions, of which the smaller one, a simple brick building, as Manor House or Pitshanger Farmhouse called and was demolished in 1908. The larger building, now Pitzhanger Manor House, is located about 1.5 kilometers south of the old Manor House. It was originally built around 1770 by the architect George Dance the Younger for the banker's son Thomas Gurnell. Meanwhile, daughter Susannah Gurnell ( second wife Susannah Peyton ) sold the property in 1799 to the architect John Soane.
John Soane
Soane began his architectural studies at George Dance the Younger and attended from 1771 Royal Academy of Arts. Since 1788, he worked as an architect and surveyor ( expert) for the Bank of England. In this position, he sought for himself and his family a weekend house in west London. From the designed by his teacher Dance Pitzhanger Manor, consisting of a central building with southern and northern extensions, let Soane are only the south wing. The new central building is a two-storey brick building, whose facade is crowned with ceramic statues Ionic columns, medallions and relief fields from Portland stone decorate. Along with the single-storey north wing of the new building was completed in 1804. Soane occupied the house until 1810 and kept this as a part of his ever-growing collection of paintings, books, architectural drawings and fragments, which are now on display at London's Sir John Soane 's Museum. The present spelling of Pitzhanger with a " Z" goes back to John Soane.
Pitzhanger Manor House today
Following the sale of Pitzhanger Manor by Soane, the owners changed several times. 1832 acquired Eric Mackay, 7th Lord Reay ( 1773-1847 ), the property before it was inhabited from 1844 to 1900 from the daughters of the murdered British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. 1901 bought by the local council ( District Council ) of Ealing the building and used it for the appropriate tags as a public library. For this purpose, an extension was built 1938-1940 to the erected by Dance South Wing.
1985 moved the library of Pitzhanger Manor into the Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre. The building is now the PM Gallery as an exhibition. In addition to a collection of English pottery of the Martin Brothers from the period 1873 to 1923, the gallery features changing exhibitions of contemporary artists. The building, designed by Soane part is gradually restored according to original plans. In the adjoining Walpole Park, which is open to the public since 1901, there is a stone bridge designed by Soane.
View of the east side
Walpole Park
Stone Bridge in Walpole Park