Camilla Pays a Visit to Boston Manor House
Her Majesty The Queen Consort makes historic visit to Brentford
Camilla unveiling a plaque with Councillor Shantanu Rajawat
February 23, 2023
This Thursday (23 February) Camilla, The Queen Consort, visited Boston Manor House to see first hand the progress of the restoration of the 400-year-old building.
The Jacobean House is being refurbished and is set to open six days a week from the spring with no charge for entry.
The King’s wife viewed some of the refurbished rooms and met with architects, craftspeople, apprentices and volunteers who played a role in resorting the house to its former glory.
She was shown a photo of the Queen Mother visiting the house in 1963 when she was given a ceremonial key and then the Leader of Hounslow Council, Councillor Shantanu Rajawat, presented Camilla with a symbolic key in the House’s State Drawing Room.
The house is run by Hounslow Council with the help of local volunteers and it is hoped to recruit 150 more volunteers over the next two years.
Queen Consort looking at photo of Queen Mother visiting Boston Manor House
Her Majesty also visited the new Jimmy Choo London Fashion Academy based in the buildings adjacent to Boston Manor House. The academy, in partnership with Hounslow Council, is one of the newest emerging universities in the country dedicated to fashion. The Queen Consort met with school children from Our Lady and St John’s RC Primary School in Brentford who were designing shoes – along with students and local artisans cutting, sewing and designing clothes.
Councillor Rajawat, said, “It was an absolute honour to have Her Majesty visit Brentford today and see how Hounslow is enshrining heritage and culture into its identity. This project would not have been possible without the highly skilled craftspeople, staff at Hounslow Council, volunteers and funders who have made history come alive in this iconic house.
“Yet beyond the restoration we have cemented an important legacy: we will provide placements, apprenticeships and internships for young people under 25 – within the heritage sector - until at least 2025.”
Stephen Smith, the Founder and Director of the Jimmy Choo Academy and local resident, said, “My five-year-old son has grown up in Boston Manor Park and we would stare at Boston Manor House every time we visited. I often thought it would be a great place to have a creative space so when Hounslow Council announced they were wishing to support the local artisan community it was an immediate meeting of the minds.”
Boston Manor House was built in 1623 for Lady Mary Reade. Lady Mary would go on to marry Sir Edward Spencer at a local church and the House would pass into the hands of the Clitherow family who lived in the House from the 1660’s until the 1920’s.
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