Syon Park, Greater London, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest: 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Syon Monastery, founded in 1415, moved to the site of Syon Park in 1431. At the time of the Dissolution in 1539, when it became the property of the Crown, there were 30 acres (12.5 hectares) of garden and orchard within its walls. In 1547, the same year that Henry VIII died, the Duke of Somerset, Protector of the Realm, was granted the monastery and the estate. He built a new house with raised terraces, one of which was triangular. The intention of the design of the terraces was to give views out to the Thames but the plan was misconstrued and Somerset was accused of plotting against the Crown, the terrace being said to be the first step towards fortification. In 1552 he was charged with felony and executed.

In 1553 Syon House was presented to the recently created Duke of Northumberland, John Dudley. Northumberland, his son, and Lady Jane Grey were all executed when their attempt to make Lady Jane Queen of England failed. In 1594, Henry Percy, the ninth Earl of Northumberland was granted the lease of Syon and between 1604 and 1606 spent over £3000 on improvements which included the two lodges in front of the west lawn. The plan of Syon by Ralph Tresswell, made in 1607, shows the lodges, the formal walled gardens, and the triangular terrace. A very severe frost in the winter of 1739 followed by several very dry summers resulted in the loss of almost all the elm trees in the groves and walks at Syon. In 1748 Syon House was given to Sir Hugh Smithson by his father-in-law, the seventh Duke of Somerset. Smithson considered it to be ruinous and inconvenient, and accounts for the year 1749 include £2620 for 'Repairs necessary to be done at Sion House'. It is thought that the terraces to the south of the House were removed at this time (Land Use Consultants 1991).

Two years later the earldom of Northumberland was recreated and granted to Sir Hugh. In the same year he inherited extensive estates including Syon and Alnwick and embarked upon a programme of work on the House and grounds at Syon. Lancelot Brown (1716-1783) was commissioned to redesign and enlarge the gardens and the park in 1754, and in 1762 Robert Adam (1728-1792) was employed to remodel the House. At around the time that the earldom was raised to dukedom in 1766 (Sir Hugh becoming the first Duke), the park to the west of the House was created and a second lake made. In 1769 Robert Adam designed a bridge for the new lake. Brown's account book records payments for Syon from the Duke of Northumberland continuing until the 1770s. Brown's improvements are recorded on a plan commissioned by the second Duke, who inherited to the title in 1786 (Sauthier, 1786-1787).

The third Duke, who succeeded to the title in 1817, made a number of major improvements and it was he who opened the gardens to the public in 1837.

During the First World War the House was used as a military hospital and during the Second World War a number of incendiary devices were dropped onto the House and grounds. In 1962 the kitchen garden to the north was developed for housing and in 1964 the idea for a National Garden Centre at Syon was first considered. The project was confirmed in June 1965 as a joint venture by the tenth Duke of Northumberland and ICI. James Gardener was appointed designer. Works for the Garden Centre were undertaken between 1965 and 1968, these including conversion of the stable block for a new sales outlet, and the layout of new display gardens. The Garden Centre was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on 12 June 1968.

A National Garden Festival was held at Syon in 1974 and major alterations were made to the northern pleasure grounds to accommodate display areas. Syon Park lost 114 trees during the great storms of 1987 and 1990.

The site continues (2000) in private ownership.