Morton House

Morton House was the home of Lady Frieda Harris and her husband Sir Percy Harris, Chief Whip for the Liberal Party.

     This property certainly dates back to the 17th Century and could be even older. A fire insurance plate on the front wall shows a seated Britannia, her shield beside her, holding a spear in her left hand and an Irish harp in her right. This plate was issued to ‘Thomas Peters of Chiswick’ (who re-fronted Strawberry House next door in about 1735) by the London Assurance Co. In 1726 the insurance was raised from £350 to £700, a very large sum in those days. This spate of redevelopment of houses along the Mall in the first half of the C18th was driven by the building of Chiswick House in 1925-9 by Lord Burlington, which made the whole area more fashionable.

     Thomas Peter’s son-in-law John Meadows took over the building in about 1775. He then probably ‘updated’ the front elevation of the house with recessed sash windows with their fine glazing bars and the elegant glazed front-door fanlight.

     In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I a compulsory levy had been started for the relief of the poor and for the upkeep of the church – each house was assessed according to its value and size. In 1726 the rate for Thomas Peters’ house jumped from £11 to £20 but did not change for neighbouring houses. Because of its sudden increase in value, it seems likely that Thomas Peters had recently refaced the old timber-framed house with the brick façade.

     About 1958 the brickwork of the front of the house began to bulge outwards, probably the end result of a local flying bomb in World War II. The facade was then rebuilt – each brick in its original place except for those which had disintegrated, and these were replaced with exact copies stitched into place with thick copper wire and cemented.

     Morton House housed a small school for local children in the early 1920s. It has had many distinguished residents over the centuries. From about 1923 it housed a famous artist and sculptor, Eric Kennington, whose studio was in Durham Wharf at the east end of Chiswick Mall. One of his works was the 24th Division War Memorial in Battersea Park. He also sculpted a figure of his friend, T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), for his tomb, and he illustrated 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom'. From 1937 Sir Percy Harris, Chief Whip for the Liberal Party (1935-45) lived here; he was a strong supporter of the League of Nations.

     Dr. Maurice Shaw, Physician to the West London Hospital, lived at Morton House from 1953 until his death in 1977. He was Chairman of the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society for 13 years. His wife, Christine, did meticulous research into local history, including much of what you see here. She was one of the founders of the Old Chiswick Protection Society in 1957 along with Mrs Mary Richie of Eyot Cottage and others living along the Mall and up Church Street, including Jeremy Benson at Walpole House and Sir Arthur Ellis at Bedford House.

     A more recent occupant was Michael Manser, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1983 to 1985, who built The Cottage further east along the Mall.