Montrose House with ivy

I had no plans to photograph autumn leaves this year but walking past Montrose House (on my way to West Hampstead) the combination of the ivy, house and gate was compelling.

New gate

Montrose House had been without a gate for a few weeks during which time work was done on the pillars and the foundations. The gate itself has now been retuned.

As far as I can tell, by referring to older photographs, it is the same gate and as it now looks pristine and very black I presume that it spent its time away being spruced up ready for a few more years of defending Montrose House from the onslaught on Petersham Road.

Montrose House at night

I do not often take photos at night and it was the illumination on the front of Montrose House that persuaded me to take one this time. The increased contrast emphases the symmetry of the lodge and that is what makes it so attractive.

Missing gate

One of the more prominent pretty things at Montrose House is the front gate, only it has gone missing. I do not know whether its removal was accidental or deliberate but it has been missing for a while.

Fake gate

The wall in front of Montrose House is not that new now and I must have walked past it a few dozen times but it still managed to surprise me on a recent walk. I first noticed the arch and then the suggestion of two pillars as if there used to be a gate there.

Obviously the door is fake as the wall was completely rebuilt. I cannot recall there being any sort of gate in the old wall but then I did not notice this one for quite a while.

New wall at Montrose House fully revealed

The closure of the Petersham Road for five weeks has had one benefit, I was able to stand in the normally busy road to take this picture of the new wall at Montrose House, revealed for the first time in all its glory with the removal of the barriers that had been protecting it for several weeks.

New wall at Montrose House

The replacement wall at the front of Montrose House was well worth the wait. It is the same height as the previous wall but looks fairly different, which is understandable given that they had to use different bricks. I like the way that the varied shades have been mixed and the way that the wall has been topped.

The success of the wall can be judged by how well it sets off Montrose House.

POG2016: Montrose House

The large garden at Montrose House is filled with an eclectic mix of objects including two large elephants and, new for this year, a large tortoise. However, I have avoided the temptation to feature one of those (I have shown most of them previously) and gone for some thing more traditional instead.

One corner of the garden has lots of space to sit out in and that corner is enriched by a large water feature which makes all the soothing noises that water features are meant to make. I think it is very attractive too so it is something to look at as well as to listen to.

A clearer view of Montrose House

The temporary removal of the wall in front of Montrose House offers views of the building that are not normally available and that was not a chance that I was going to miss. This picture was taken just after the tree was removed and the work had yet to start on rebuilding the wall.

Major changes at Tommy Steele Corner

This week the Petersham Road has been reduced to single-file traffic, controlled by traffic lights, around Tommy Steele Corner during the day as major works have been done to a tree in the grounds of Montrose House and also to the boundary wall.

When I got there (lunchtime on Wednesday 30 March) the tree had been cut back to just a trunk and this was being cut down in sections. There were a few vehicles and a couple of skips so it was clearly a big job.

Montrose House in Petersham Open Gardens 2014

Petersham Open Gardens is a must-see event in my calendar and this year I had the time and the weather to do it full justice. I started at Montrose House just after the 11am when the gardens opened.

The first thing that struck me was how much the gardens had matured in the two years sine I was last there. A lot of work had been done on the garden and this work had now come to fruition.

The soft blue of one of the extensions was a lovely background for some of the pots on the terrace. The sun was appreciated by them as much as it was by me.

The garden at Montrose House is full of unusual objects and I had to be very selective in which ones to include here. There is no space for the ducks or the children but there definitely is for this Dalek-eye water feature.

The garden has a little folly in it, a ruined castle that looks more realistic now that it has be colonised by climbing plants like this rose.

There had to be a picture of one of the elephants. I chose the blue one as it looked more at home among the bushes than the pink one did out in the open. The pink one was also showing some signs or wear and is going to need some new Wellington boots soon.

Colourful elephants

The rear garden at Montrose House is full of unusual objects, some of which have featured in this blog before, but they have all been upstaged by the arrival of two extremely colourful elephants.

I presume that they were part of Elephant Parade London 2010 and were bought in the charity auction afterwards. I liked most of the 260 elephants that I managed to find but I am not sure that I would have bought either of these let alone put them in a prominent position in my garden.

Wisteria and glass

The garden at Montrose House is bit of a curate's egg. One of the good parts is the old wisteria that cloaks the wall above the sympathetic conservatory and leaves just about enough space for the windows.

Grazing sheep

The garden at Montrose House is most notable for the collection of unusual object in it, such as this sheep happily grazing next to the tall wall that borders the road.

Montrose House and gate

It is possible to argue that Montrose House is not that special when compared to the other grand houses locally, especially in nearby Sudbrook Lane and, a little further south, the cluster around Ham Common.

On the other hand, it is equally possible to argue that it is made that little bit more special through its dominant position on the tight bend on Petersham Road (which means that you have to go past it slowly) and through its famous former owner.

Whatever the merits of these two arguments it is still a building that makes me pause as I pass and from time to time I take a photograph like this one as I do so.

Montrose House gardenside

One of the benefits of visiting open gardens is that you can get a different view of the house too. The front of Montrose House is grand but also dark and stark with just a small paved area in front of it and then the tall wall that keeps Petersham Road at bay. The rear of the house, facing the large garden, is also grand and combines this grandeur with sunshine and greenery.

Wild garden at Montrose House

Most of the people that I spoke to at the Petersham Open Gardens were keen to look around Montrose House which was open for the first time, and I was keen too.

Much of the garden was as expected to anybody used to travelling on the top deck of the 65 bus as it crawls around the sharp bend, but there was one surprise. Hidden in the far corner behind a line of trees is an area of wilderness that could just as easily be part of the nearby Richmond Park as a private garden.

Still sheep

The larger, more exotic but less believable gorilla and rhinoceros at Ormeley Lodge now have some rivals. These cute but entirely fake sheep look at home among the new trees at Montrose House. You can see them clearly if you brave the traffic (for there is no pavement there) and look through the large gates opposite the entrance to the German School.

Repairs needed at Montrose House

The wall at Montrose House has long looked worn and weak, almost certainly due to the influence of the former Sudbrook River that now flows beneath the road here, and now it looks as though repairs are on the way with two stretches of the wall now boarded up.

Montrose House at night

Montrose House (on the sharp bend on the main road through Petersham) is impressive during the day but at night the uplighting makes it majestic.