Poster designed by Austin Cooper (1931), published by the Underground Electric Railway Company Ltd, advertising London Transport connections to Richmond Park.  The poster features an image of Charles I (reigned 1625–49), who established Richmond Park c1635. The Hearsum Collection PH0354 © TfL from the London Transport Museum collection

Facsimile of a page from a travel guide entitled Ambulator, or The Stranger’s Companion in a Tour Round London (London: J Bew, 1787). By kind permission of Suzanne Gunton

Section of a map by John Rocque, first published in 1746, showing the North West boundary of Richmond Park. White Lodge is marked as the ‘New Lodge’, and can be seen in relation to the remnants of a former building known as the ‘Old Lodge’, which was demolished between 1839–41. Facsimile published by Harry Margary, date unknown. The Hearsum Collection MA0052

The original ground level entrance to White Lodge comprised three stone archways, approached through Richmond Park from the West. The covered area in front of the arches created a loggia, providing shelter for riders dismounting upon arrival at the Lodge. This was later enclosed by the addition of an external staircase (c1922), which left the original entrance archways intact.  The loggia now houses The Royal Ballet School physiotherapy suite at White Lodge. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of the decorative masonry which adorns the first floor of the West façade of White Lodge, above three archways which formed the original entrance to the villa. An external staircase (added c1922) has since obscured the archways, but these stone ‘balustrades’ remain fully visible. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017) 

Detail of the near-white Magnesian limestone that is one of the most distinctive features of White Lodge. Records show that Hildenley Stone was used for the facing of White Lodge; it came from quarries located between Castle Howard and Malton in Yorkshire. (Hewlings, 2009) The significance of the number written on the wall is not known. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017) 

The original kitchens of White Lodge were located at ground level, beneath the first floor on the South side of the main villa.  Cast iron ovens were built into the wall, probably during the early years of the Lodge (exact date unknown).  These ovens remain intact, along with a brick recess for wood-fuel (currently hidden behind a bookcase); they now form remarkable features of The Royal Ballet School Library at White Lodge. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

The original kitchens of White Lodge were located at ground level, beneath the first floor on the South side of the main villa.  Cast iron ovens were built into the wall, probably during the early years of the Lodge (exact date unknown).  These ovens remain intact, and even contain their original shelving and a cooking pan! They now form remarkable features of The Royal Ballet School Library at White Lodge. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Portrait of Henrietta Howard by Charles Jervas, oil on canvas, c1724. Painted after she had ‘retired’ from her long-held position as the principal mistress of King George II, at the time when her new house at Marble Hill was being designed. This portrait of Henrietta was commissioned by her friend, Alexander Pope, who also resided at Twickenham. By kind permission Marble Hill House © Historic England Archive

Postcard featuring a photograph of Marble Hill House in Twickenham. It was constructed between 1724 to 1729 by Roger Morris, who oversaw the building of nearby White Lodge during the same period. The two villas share many elements of design, including symmetry and a harmonious simplicity.  Printed by J Arthur Dixon Ltd. Undated, photographer unknown. RBS/OBJ/WL 

Postcard of a photograph of the tetrastyle hallway of Marble Hill House in Twickenham. The villa was constructed between 1724 to 1729 by Roger Morris, who oversaw the building of nearby White Lodge during the same period. The decorative use of interior columns is also a feature of White Lodge in Richmond Park. Printed by J Arthur Dixon Ltd. Undated, photographer unknown. RBS/OBJ/WL

Coronation portrait of George II, King of Great Britain, studio of Charles Jervas, 1727. NPG 368 © National Portrait Gallery

Coronation portrait of Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Queen of Great Britain and consort of George II, studio of Charles Jervas, 1727. NPG 369 © National Portrait Gallery

The Salon of White Lodge now features copies of the coronation portraits of King George II and Queen Caroline, studio of Charles Jervas (1727), by kind permission of the National Portrait Gallery. Originally a ‘presence chamber’ and banqueting hall, the grand two-storey room dominates the piano nobile (main floor) of the building. Records indicate that it was known as the Great Dining Room by the 1750s, and called the Drawing Room in the 19th century. It has been a dance studio of The Royal Ballet School since 1955. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Postcard featuring a photograph of the room on the first floor of White Lodge, originally used as George II’s bedchamber; the interior arch supported by elaborate Corinthian columns created an alcove that screened the King’s bed from the rest of the room. Photographed in 1923, reissued as a postcard by Country Life Ltd. c1956. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0307

Detail of the plasterwork in the groin-vaulted alcove, which was in place by at least 1752. (Hewlings, 2009) It formed a plasterwork ‘canopy’ over the bed of King George II, in the room at White Lodge originally called the Bedchamber and Alcove. In the Monarch’s bedroom, an interior arch supported by elaborate Corinthian columns created an alcove, which screened the King’s bed from the rest of the room. In later centuries, it was used as a Smoking Room, or Library. It is now a ballet administration office at The Royal Ballet School. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

The original ‘closet’, also called the Little Bedchamber, at White Lodge. This rather plain room is located directly opposite the King’s bedchamber across a small hallway, and would have been occupied by an attendant companion to the King. Only those of noble birth and good standing at Court fulfilled such important and coveted roles as ‘gentleman of the bedchamber’. Their duties included helping the King to wash and dress. The room is now the ‘post room’ of The Royal Ballet School. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

The Frontispiece of Andrea Palladio’s I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura [Four Books of Architecture], first published in 1570. The statesman, Robert Walpole, who oversaw the completion of the building works at White Lodge, was one of the subscribers who helped to pay for this English translation of 1738. Its publication greatly influenced the ‘English Palladian Style’ of architecture, of which White Lodge is an outstanding example. By kind permission, Dover Publications

Detail of the tetrastyle Doric portico on the West façade of White Lodge, showing part of the four supporting columns. Such features were inspired by the work of Andrea Palladio (1508–1580), an Italian architect whose work spanned the period between the European Renaissance and the Baroque, and hugely influenced English architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Detail of the tetrastyle Doric portico on the West façade of White Lodge. Such features were inspired by the work of Andrea Palladio (1508–1580), an Italian architect whose work spanned the period between the European Renaissance and the Baroque, and hugely influenced English architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Detail of the carved masonry decorating the exterior guttering and rain pipes of the main villa of White Lodge. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of one of several wrought iron balconies which embellish the exterior of the main villa of White Lodge and probably date to the late 18th century.  Similar balconies also feature on the West-facing exteriors of both Crescent wings, which were built in the first decade of the 19th century. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Several late 18th century wrought iron balconies embellish the exterior of the main villa of White Lodge; the balcony seen here features on the exterior of the South Crescent wing, and dates to the first decade of the 19th century. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Photograph of the fine ceiling plasterwork in the Queen’s bedchamber, which is on the principal floor of White Lodge. The monarchs’ chambers were situated opposite each other on either side of the banqueting room (later known as the Salon). Photo: Country Life Ltd. Printed in Tunbridge Wells c1960. RBS/PHO/8/5

Painting by Claude Lorraine (1600–1682), La Campagna Romana [‘the countryside around Rome’], oil on canvas, 1639.  ‘Claude had no Classical education…He appears to have read Latin poetry only in translation, yet his pictures fixed the image of its landscape indelibly on the European mind.  The ‘Classical landscape’ was virtually his creation, and the idea of landscape as one of the higher art forms in the West was largely due to him.’ (Honour & Fleming, 1991). Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, online collection (65.181.12)

Etching and engraving by William Hogarth, from The Analysis of Beauty Plate 2, published by William Hogarth, 5 March 1753.  The dancers in the foreground demonstrate beauty and grace, with various degrees of grotesque clumsiness depicted among the other revellers. The image is framed by drawings analysing the aesthetic effect of curved lines in nature, ideas that strongly impacted on English landscape and garden design in the 18th century.  Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, online collection (365314)

Frontispiece and title page from an anonymous volume, possibly written by John Lewis, Two Historical Accounts of the Making – New Forest in Hampshire…and Richmond New Park in Surry [sic] (London: M Baxter Brown, 1751). Left: print of Richmond Park showing the breaching of the Park walls by the ‘bound-beating party’ on 16 May 1751. Right: the title page includes a defiant poem by Thompson, ending with the line: ‘N’er yet by Force was Freedom overcome’. The Hearsum Collection BK0068

Print of an engraving by R Field, from a commemorative painting by T Stewart (1793), portrait of John Lewis of Richmond (1713–1792). The Hearsum Collection PR0208

Plaque commemorating John Lewis (1713–1792), the Richmond Brewer who secured public rights of access to the Park in 1758. Issued by the Friends of Richmond Park, The Royal Parks. Photo: Robert Wood

Original 18th century Entrance Tokens, used to gain privileged access to Richmond Park. Some are stamped with the royal cypher ‘GR’ [or ‘George Rex’, meaning King George] and with the Order of the Garter motto ‘Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense’, topped by the Royal Crown. Some are personalised with the token holder’s name. The Hearsum Collection OB0022/OB0044

Page from Colen Campbell’s Vitruvius Brittanicus or The British Architect, Fourth Edition (London: Woolfe and Gandon, 1767); this expanded issue included new designs by John Woolfe and James Gandon. Architectural plan showing the ‘ground plan’ [Ground floor] of two new wings for White Lodge, ‘His Majesty’s Lodge in Richmond Park’; labelled ‘R[oger] Morris Arch[itec]t and S[tephen] Wright arch[itect]t’. The Hearsum Collection DC0346

Page from Colen Campbell’s Vitruvius Brittanicus or The British Architect, Fourth Edition (London: Woolfe and Gandon, 1767); this expanded issue included new designs by John Woolfe and James Gandon. Architectural plan showing the ‘principal floor’ [first floor] of two new wings for White Lodge, ‘His Majesty’s Lodge in Richmond Park’; labelled ‘R[oger] Morris Arch[itec]t and S[tephen] Wright arch[itect]t’. The Hearsum Collection DC0347

The cantilevered torsional Portland stone staircase, which was installed in the first floor Entrance Hall of White Lodge by Princess Amelia in 1751/2.  This photograph dates to the residency of The Royal Ballet School at the Lodge, from 1955. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/WL

Detail of the balustrade of the cantilevered torsional Portland stone staircase, which was installed in the first floor Entrance Hall of White Lodge by Princess Amelia in 1751/2. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Interior arches in the first floor Entrance Hall of White Lodge. The arches appear to serve no structural purpose; they are made of painted wood and may be completely hollow.  Their function is largely aesthetic, lending grace and interest to an otherwise plain area situated at the centre of the piano nobile (main storey) of the building. Interiors with such inbuilt features were influenced by the British designer, Inigo Jones (1573–1652), whose work was much admired by the creators of the English Palladian style. Also visible are plumbing pipes installed in the early 20th century. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of the coved ceiling of the Salon at White Lodge, an interior feature favoured by the architect, Roger Morris. The grand two-storey room was originally a ‘presence chamber’ and banqueting hall, called the Great Dining Room by the time of Princess Amelia’s residence. It dominates the piano nobile (main storey) of the building. Interiors with coved ceilings and decorative plasterwork were influenced by the British designer, Inigo Jones (1573–1652), whose work was much admired by the creators of the English Palladian style. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of the Delft-tiled fireplace at White Lodge, situated in a small room at the end of a Crescent corridor, adjacent to the King’s Pavilion (later called Windsor Pavilion after the birth of Edward VIII, the future Duke of Windsor, took place there in 1894). Dutch Delft tiles were used in English interiors throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. This charming fireplace was boarded up at one time, date unknown, and was rediscovered during building refurbishments, c2005/6. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

The back stair at White Lodge, primarily for the use of domestic servants, was installed by Princess Amelia: ‘between June and December 1751 she spent £482 [equivalent to around £40,000 today] on alterations to the garret and roof and on a new back stair…under the supervision of Stephen Wright’ (Hewlings, 2009). The electrically-operated goods lift visible on the right alcove was probably installed in the early 20th century. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Painting of Golding Constable’s Kitchen Garden by John Constable, oil on canvas, 1815.  It shows a typical kitchen garden, similar to the one in Richmond Park that provided for the residents of White Lodge until well into the 20th century. In the days before grocery shops became common and easily accessible, household provisions were either delivered by tradesmen or they were home-grown. Ipswich Borough Council Museums and Galleries, Suffolk. Source: Wickimedia/commons

The fireplace in the second-largest room of White Lodge, which originally served as a reception room, called the Great Room; later it became the Dining Room, eventually becoming known as the Nelson Room (see Timeline entry for 1805). It is now the staff common room of The Royal Ballet School. The wood and plasterwork fire surround probably dates to the residency of Lord Bute (from 1761–1792), during the reign of George III (r1760–1820). The surround is in an 18th century Germanic style, but its exact provenance is unknown. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Detail of the fireplace surround in the Nelson Room at White Lodge. The plasterwork of the fire surround was painted to resemble wood, and decorated with emblems alluding to the arts and nature, highly typical of the 18th century. These include musical instruments, a dramatic mask, oak leaves and acorns, also vine leaves and grapes. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Detail of the fireplace surround in the Nelson Room at White Lodge. The plasterwork of the fire surround was painted to resemble wood, and decorated with emblems alluding to the arts and nature, highly typical of the 18th century. These include this owl, often used as a symbol of wisdom, who perches opposite the image of a foolish monkey. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of the fireplace surround in the Nelson Room at White Lodge. The plasterwork of the fire surround was painted to resemble wood, and decorated with emblems alluding to the arts and nature, highly typical of the 18th century. These include this monkey, often used as a symbol of foolishness, who crouches opposite the image of a wise owl.  Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Central decorative panel of the fireplace surround in the Nelson Room at White Lodge. When the BBC Antiques Road Show came to White Lodge in September 2013, the programme’s experts suggested that this might be an older panel incorporated into the design of the 18th century fireplace.  Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

‘Plan of His Majesty’s Park call Richmond New Park in the County of Surry [sic]’ drawn by the cartographer, Thomas Richardson in 1771. White Lodge is marked as the ‘New Lodge’; the ‘Old Lodge’ was not demolished until 1839–41. The map was undertaken by King George III’s Surveyor General, Peter Burrell. The Hearsum Collection MA0069 © The National Archives

An 18th century recipe for ‘Boiled Haunch of Venison’, originally published in John Farley (1783), reproduced in Maxime McKendry and Arabella Boxer (ed), Seven Hundred Years of English Cooking, Revised Edition (London: Treasure Press, 1983).

The second floor landing above the Entrance Hall of White Lodge, reached via Princess Amelia’s cantilevered torsional Portland stone staircase, built in 1751/2. It leads to the ‘four or five rooms’ mentioned by George III in his letter to the Earl of Bute, 20 April 1764. There are indeed five modestly sized rooms on this upper floor of the main villa, plus two very small adjoining closets or ante-chambers. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of a decorative wrought iron panel set in an arched door lintel; located in the inner hall of White Lodge on the first floor, the door leads to the Long Gallery on the East side of the main villa (now the Reception area of The Royal Ballet School). Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

1. Detail of door lintel with triangular pediment; located in the inner hall of White Lodge on the first floor, the door opens into a second much smaller hallway, which leads directly to the King’s Chamber (now used as an office of The Royal Ballet School). Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Monument to Caroline Mathilde (1751–1775), which stands in the French Garden at Celle. It was created in Caroline’s memory after she died from scarlet fever at the tragically early age of 23. Made of Crottendorf marble, this charming sculpture is located near the East Gate of the garden. Photo: Rabanus Flavus. Source: Wickimedia/commons

The fireplace in the Salon at White Lodge, which dates to the early years of the reign of George III (reigned 1760–1820). The wooden mantelpiece includes a central monogram ‘GRC’, featuring the initials of George III Rex [Latin for King George the Third] and his consort, Queen Charlotte, whom he married in 1761. Photographer unknown, undated, c1955. RBS/PHO/WL

Detail of the central monogram ‘GRC’, featuring the initials of George III Rex [Latin for King George the Third] and his consort, Queen Charlotte. George III reigned from 1760–1820. He married Charlotte in 1761; she died two years before him in 1818. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Photograph showing one of the chimneypieces on the second floor of White Lodge. Made from grey and brown marble, with a severe ironwork lining, this simple fireplace could be one of those that Lady Mary Coke had described as ‘paltry’ in 1768. The room was formerly used as a bedroom; it is now an office of The Royal Ballet School. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of one of the chimneypieces on the second floor of White Lodge. Made from grey and brown marble, this simple fireplace could be one of those that Lady Mary Coke had described as ‘paltry’ in 1768. Close inspection shows that the ironwork lining the fireplace was decorated with a classical urn.  Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Queen Charlotte’s Cottage at Kew Gardens, built sometime between 1754 and 1771. Its exact provenance is unknown: the cottage may have been given to Queen Charlotte on her marriage to George III in 1761, and adapted for her private use as a picnic place; or it might have been built especially for the Queen, as a charming rustic retreat (Knowles, 2014). Image source: Wikimedia/commons PRL42 (2008)

Detail of the brickwork in one of the corridors (or tunnels) dating to the 1750s, recently exposed during ongoing maintenance work. These corridors were covered c1816 by earth banked against the East-facing side of both quadrant corridors of White Lodge. They are particularly difficult to maintain due to their subterranean location, and give a strong indication of the ‘dilapidation’ that would rapidly ensue if all parts of the building were not constantly monitored. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Exterior view of the first floor quadrant corridors, which were built on either side of the central main villa in the first decade of the 19th century, to form the distinctive crescent-shaped ‘wings’ of White Lodge. Metal pegs can be seen embedded in the walls; they were used to train wires which supported climbing plants. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)  

View of the porte-cochère [covered entrance], which was added by Lord Sidmouth in 1816; known as the East Portico, it completed the new main entrance to the building. It was designed to allow a small horse-drawn carriage to pass beneath it, so that occupants could alight without getting wet in bad weather. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

The brass lantern that hangs centrally in the porte-cochère [covered entrance] of the East Portico at White Lodge. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of the ornate plasterwork ceiling of the Nelson Room at White Lodge, which was completely refurbished during the early 1800s. The second largest room of the house, it was earlier a drawing room, called the Great Room; it had become the Dining Room of the Lodge by the time of Lord Sidmouth’s residency. The new plasterwork used Classical motifs in keeping with the English Palladian style of the 18th century building. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of the decorative plasterwork ceiling of a former boudoir of White Lodge, which was completely refurbished during the early 1800s. The room was originally called the ‘privy chamber’, or private drawing room, eventually becoming The Duchess of Teck’s Boudoir in the late 1900s. The new plasterwork used Classical motifs, such as the acanthus leaf, in keeping with the English Palladian style of the 18th century building. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Detail of an interior door of the main villa at White Lodge, with original 19th century brass fittings. This door leads from the ante-room of the ‘privy chamber’, or private drawing room (which eventually became The Duchess of Teck’s Boudoir in the 1860s) through to the drawing room, which had become the Dining Room of the Lodge by the time of Lord Sidmouth’s residency (1801-44). Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Drawings by James Gillray, depicting (bottom left) William Pitt ‘the Younger’ in heated discussion with the Irish statesman Edmund Burke, whose Bill of Economical Reform was supported by Pitt in his maiden speech to Parliament in 1781. Above, the politicians Lord North and Charles James Fox are seen declaiming; they had briefly formed a Parliamentary coalition, immediately before Pitt became Prime Minister in 1783. Reproduced in W M Thackeray, The English Humourists of the Eighteenth Century (London: MacMillan and Company, 1904). RBS/AHDL/WL

Aquatinted print of a garden design by Humphry Repton, illustrating his plan for the West Front of White Lodge. The transformed garden was concealed beneath two flaps, opened here to reveal Repton’s proposal for arched trellises on either side of a gravel path. The paths were laid, but the trellises were never constructed, although photographs of the garden during the early 20th century indicate that some were later created on the North-side of the grounds. Published by J Taylor, 1 February 1816. The Hearsum Collection PR0221

Detail of an aquatinted print of a design by Humphry Repton, depicting the West Front of White Lodge, before the gardens were enclosed against the deer and cattle. In the background, a bull can be seen pursuing a frightened young couple. Published by J Taylor, 1 February 1816. The Hearsum Collection PR0221

The grounds at White Lodge seen from the North West, early 20th century. Background: the Queen’s Pavilion (North crescent wing), and the main villa. Foreground: a rectangular pond in a sunken garden, a brick gazebo, and Repton’s Yew garden. These are seen through arched trellises, which reference Repton’s design of 1816. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/WL

Postcard featuring a photograph of the formal Yew Garden to the North of White Lodge.  This formed part of the original garden design by Humphry Repton. Photographed in 1923, reissued as a postcard by Country Life Ltd. c1956. The Hearsum Collection PC0014

The gardens at White Lodge: the gravel paths today still follow the same layout as those in Repton’s original plan for the gardens of White Lodge, c1805. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Print after a painting showing the death of Admiral Horatio Nelson on board his ship, HMS Victory, at the battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, by Samuel Drummond. Image source: Wellcome Library, London. Photo: V0006922 [Creative Commons]

The Nelson Room at White Lodge, where copies of portraits of Lord Sidmouth and his friend, Admiral Lord Nelson, hang on the walls, by kind permission of the National Portrait Gallery, London.  The room is now the Staff Common Room of The Royal Ballet School. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

The door plaque outside the ‘Nelson Room’ at White Lodge today. It is not known when Addington’s Dining Room first began to be named in memory of Admiral Lord Nelson.  It is possible that it was soon after his heroic death at Trafalgar, which took place within weeks of his last visit to White Lodge in September 1805. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Aquatinted print of the interior of the third and largest theatre to stand at Drury Lane, designed by Henry Holland and opened in 1794, when Richard Brinsley Sheridan was Manager of the Theatre. He held the post from 1776, until the destruction of the building by fire in 1809. Published by J Hill and Harraden Aquatint Engravers, c1808. Source: Microcosm of London, Plate 32

Lithograph depicting a social gathering with music and dancing, dated 1839. Lord Sidmouth’s lively party, held for Sir Walter Scott at White Lodge in 1828, would have looked very similar to this informal occasion. RBS/WIL/ILL/20/54

Coloured lithograph depicting the ‘Celebrated Pas de Quatre’ composed by Jules Perrot, first performed at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London, on July 12 1845, by the leading ballerinas of the day, L-R: Carlotta Grisi, Marie Taglioni, Lucile Grahn and Fanny Cerrito. Cerrito had earlier danced a Pas de Deux (with Fanny Elssler) in London at the personal request of Queen Victoria; this may have been the inspiration for Perrot’s acclaimed Pas de Quatre. Lithograph by M&N Hanhart after J Brandard, undated. RBS/WIL/ILL/020/140

The gazebo in the garden of White Lodge. The exact date of this semi-enclosed brick ‘pagoda’, with its curved roof and arched Venetian windows, is unknown. It may have been installed during the residency of Mary, Duchess of Gloucester c1844-57. The Victorian coach-house and stables of the 1840s can just be seen in the background. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Photograph entitled ‘Mrs Langtry with Lyre’, studio portrait by William Downey, dated August 1885. Lillie Langtry was perhaps the most beautiful and celebrated of many actresses who became notorious for entering into an intimate liaison with the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Photographer unknown. The National Archives (UK). Source: Flickr/commons

Newscutting from The Illustrated London News Supplement, 17 April 1858, p 397. Contemporary sketch of White Lodge illustrating an unattributed article announcing that ‘His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, will shortly occupy the White Lodge (the Ranger’s), Richmond Park.’ The Hearsum Collection DC0147

Detail of a newscutting from The Illustrated London News Supplement, 17 April 1858, p 397. Contemporary sketch of White Lodge captioned ‘The White Lodge (the Ranger’s), Richmond Park.’ The view is of the East Portico Entrance, and shows the simple iron railings designed to prevent the deer from wandering too close to the buildings. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Postcard featuring a photograph of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Queen Victoria, May 1860.  Victoria and Albert stayed at White Lodge in early 1861, while mourning the loss of the Queen’s mother, which took place just nine months before Prince Albert’s own death from typhoid on 14 December 1861. Photo: John Jabez Edwin Mayall, album carte-de-visite. NPG x26104 © National Portrait Gallery

Page from The Graphic, 30 January 1892, p 156. Unattributed article about the architecture of White Lodge, and the residence of the Teck Family. Above: photographs of the three sons of the Duke and Duchess Teck, the Princes Adolphus, Francis and Alexander of Teck. Centre and below: illustrations of the Stables of the Lodge, and the ‘Smoking Room’, also known as the Library (originally George II’s bedchamber). The Hearsum Collection DC0358

An unusual mosaic representation of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, thought to have been commissioned by the Duke of Teck to decorate a sunken garden that once lay to the South-East of White Lodge (later the site of the Frederick Ashton ballet studio, built in 1970). The mosaic now adorns the central grass reservation in front of the East-facing main entrance to White Lodge. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Page 2 of 2: letter from Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, to Mr Colman, dated 16 February 187X (the full date is not written). The Duchess asks Mr Colman to help with the establishment of an unidentified local charity in the neighbourhood of Richmond ‘for which funds are urgently needed’. The Hearsum Collection DC0351

Page 1 of 2: signed letter from Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, to Mrs Bliss, dated 10 January 1889.  She thanks Mr and Mrs Bliss for conveying good news about the welfare of Ellen, ‘at which I do indeed rejoice for the child’s and her poor widowed mother’s [sake]’. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Page 2 of 2: letter from Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, to Mrs Bliss, dated 10 January 1889.  She thanks Mr and Mrs Bliss for helping a young girl named Ellen, noting their ‘kindly efforts on her behalf’, and ‘for the Christmas cards you so kindly sent her’. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Photograph of the Duke of Teck’s collection of blue and white porcelain plates, which hung on the dining room wall in special mounts, artfully designed in the form of a ‘true lover’s knot’. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/WL

Detail showing the false book spines that decorate the doorway into the Library at White Lodge, also called the Smoking Room.  When closed, the door blends in with the bookcase, and seems to disappear. The imitation-volume titles include Original State Papers, Vols. I – III, and other political works. Just beyond the door can be seen the Duke of Teck’s Dressing Room, now the post-room of The Royal Ballet School. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

One of several magnificent camellia japonica bushes thought to have been planted during the residence of the Tecks at White Lodge. This fine specimen still flourishes outside the window of the Blue Room, as the Duchess of Teck’s former boudoir was known, now an office of The Royal Ballet School. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL (2017)

Page from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 13 January 1883, p 141. Drawings illustrating animal husbandry carried out by the Keepers of Richmond Park. (Above) a deer enclosure near White Lodge provided food and shelter for the animals during exceptionally severe winter conditions; (below) a Park Keeper with deer outside the South Easterly perimeter of White Lodge. The Hearsum Collection DC0339  

Book illustration depicting Arthur, 2nd Duke of Wellington KG, Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant Victoria VRC (1807–1884). From a lithograph by H Fleus. Publication unknown. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Photograph of the monogram of King George V and Queen Mary (the central ‘R’ stands for ‘Rex’, meaning ‘King’ in Latin). This adorns the grand external staircase leading from the Drawing Room (or Salon) of White Lodge down into the gardens. The stairs were installed c1922, in preparation for the residence of the Duke and Duchess of York following their marriage, which took place on 26 April 1923. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL (2017)

Back of a Senior Service brand cigarette card (from a collectable set of illustrated cards. These were introduced to packets of cigarettes in 1875, and remained popular until the 1940s). The text shows how closely Queen Mary was associated with her parents’ home at White Lodge. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Front of a cigarette card (from a collectable set of illustrated Senior Service cigarette cards), showing an aerial view of White Lodge in Richmond Park during the 1940s. The text on the back of the card shows how closely Queen Mary was associated with White Lodge: ‘at one time the residence of Queen Mary’s mother, it was the birthplace in 1894 of the Duke of Windsor.’  RBS/OBJ/WHI 

Detail of a drawing from life by Margaret Rolfe, depicting a dancing lesson taught by the great Paris Opera ballerina, Marie Taglioni (1804–1884), at No 6 Connaught Square, London. Taglioni is adjusting the pose of Princess May, watched by Rolfe, who is shown in a white dress, en pointe. The dialogue captions capture the girls’ discussions about a forthcoming party. Watercolour and ink, c1877–80. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Detail of a lithograph of Marie Taglioni in the title role of Flore et Zéphire (1796). Originally choreographed by Charles-Louis Didelot in London, the ballet remained popular well into the 19th century. Taglioni regularly appeared in London during the 1830s, and the teenaged Princess Victoria became a devoted ‘fan’. She wrote in her diary that Taglioni ‘danced as if she flew in the air, so gracefully and lightly’, and referred to her idol as ‘the goddess of the dance’ (Bevan, 1954). Lithograph by Lane after Chalon, c1831-8. RBS/HAS/ILL/1/1

Lithograph of Marie Taglioni performing a révérence, or curtsey, in the ballet Flore et Zéphire (1796). Originally choreographed by Charles-Louis Didelot in London, the ballet remained popular well into the 19th century. Taglioni was renowned as the preeminent Prima Ballerina of the Paris Opera and as an international guest star. Print published by J Dickinson, New Bond Street, London, 7 August 1831. Printed by C Hullmandel. RBS/HAS/ILL/1/4

Lithograph of Marie Taglioni in her most celebrated creation, the title role of La Sylphide (1832), a ballet choreographed especially for her by Filippo Taglioni, her father, who was a renowned European ballet master. Lithograph by C Motte after a drawing by A Devéria. Print published by Cattier, Rue Tiquetonne, Paris.  RBS/HAS/ILL/2/10

Photo of Francesca Hayward and Teo Dubreuil (centre) when students of The Royal Ballet School, passing on the Taglioni Handshake to their younger counterparts. Both Hayward and Dubreuil went on to graduate from White Lodge and the Upper School to join The Royal Ballet Company. They were the first links in the chain, having received the Taglioni-Queen Mary Handshake directly from its original recipient, the dancer Leo Kersley, when he visited White Lodge on his 85th birthday in May 2005. Photo: Marius Arnold-Clarke RBS/PHO/WL (2005)

Photograph of Georgina Parkinson as the Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary, in The Royal Ballet’s production of Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling (1978). The ballet tells the true story of the tragic events surrounding the royal hunting lodge of Mayerling, where the Empress Elizabeth’s son and the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary, killed himself and his teenaged mistress in a suicide pact. Photo: Roy Round. RBS/PHO/002/132

Drawing of Ellen Terry as Rosamund and Henry Irving as Thomas Becket in a ‘royal command performance’ of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s historical drama, Becket (1893), given at the request of Queen Victoria in 1893. Her Majesty can clearly be seen in the front row of the audience. Illustration by Walter Wilson. Reproduced in Ian Bevan, Royal Performance: the Story of Royal Theatregoing (London: Hutchinson, 1954). RBS/AHDL/WL

Page from The Illustrated London News, 19 December 1891, p 793. Illustration by R Taylor from a photograph, showing Princess Mary, The Duchess of Teck, and her daughter, Princess May, on the ‘verandah’ [conservatory] at White Lodge, Richmond Park. Photo: Russell, Baker Street. The Hearsum Collection DC0338

Postcard featuring a photograph of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck. The postcard is titled ‘Home photograph’, and the picture was taken in the Drawing Room of White Lodge. It is inscribed in an unknown hand ‘Mother dear, 1890’. Photo-publisher: Byrne & Company, Richmond. Source: Wickimedia/commons

Mounted photograph of White Lodge, view of the East front, annotated ‘pre 1890’. The central reservation in front of the East Portico entrance is planted with low shrubs; the iron perimeter fence still stands today. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PH0166

Detail of the East-facing exterior wall of one of the curved quadrant corridors, which form the distinctive symmetrical ‘wings’ flanking the Lodge. The pegs were used to train wires supporting the magnolias and other greenery that adorned the building. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

The main coach-house entrance in the Victorian Stable buildings of White Lodge (c1847), showing an old mounting block which remains in place to this day. The archway may be a survivor of the original Georgian stables: the loft above served as living quarters for the grooms, coachmen and stable boys. Since 1955 these Stable buildings have been used as academic classrooms by The Royal Ballet School; a ship’s bell was hung to call students to their lessons, although its function is purely decorative today. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Entrance to the Victorian Stable block of White Lodge, built c1847; the gates were designed to be wide enough to admit a coach and horses. Since 1955 these stable buildings have been used as academic classrooms by The Royal Ballet School. The current Science Laboratory can be seen to the right. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)  

The Victorian Stable block of White Lodge, built c1847. The traditional ‘chocolate square’ floor tiles were designed to accommodate the horses’ hooves, and are a reminder of the original function of this attractive walled yard. Since 1955 these Stable buildings have been used as academic classrooms by The Royal Ballet School. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

The back ‘service’ staircase at White Lodge, showing the electronic goods lift (installed c1900) which extends from the basement cellar up to the second floor of the building. It was designed to move heavy loads of coal, wood, water and other household necessities. The goods lift remains intact, although it is no longer in operation. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

This narrow staircase, concealed behand a door on the second floor of White Lodge, leads to some modest rooms in the roof of the main villa, which were originally allocated as servants’ living quarters. A small round window in the centre of the Eastern gable of White Lodge looks out from one such room, affording splendid views of the entrance carriageway and of Richmond Park beyond. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

This small round window, which is an attractive feature of the Eastern gable of White Lodge, looks out from one of the original servants’ rooms in the roof of the building, affording splendid views of the entrance carriageway and of Richmond Park beyond. Photo: Katie Davison. RBS/PHO/WL(2017)

Page for ‘the month of December, from the Illustrated London Almanack for 1894, p 46. With a photograph of Sheen Cottage [or Sheen Lodge].  The Hearsum Collection DC0204

Postcard featuring a photograph of Sheen Gate, showing the Gatekeeper’s house, (which should not be confused with Sheen Cottage, sometimes called Sheen Lodge). Postmark dated 25 September 1921. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0074

Photograph of the boudoir of Princess May illustrating an unattributed article about her fondness and long association with the room. From a portfolio of photographs entitled Beautiful Britain, the scenery and the splendours of the United Kingdom (The Werner Company: Chicago and London, 1894). Photo: Werner Co. The Hearsum Collection DC0225

Page from The Illustrated London News, 30 June 1894, p 808, captioned ‘White Lodge, Richmond, where our future King was born, June 23, 1894’. Illustrated with a montage of drawings depicting (top) the view of Wimbledon Common from White Lodge; and (clockwise) ‘A Shady Seat’ beneath a tree to the South of the Lodge; the East Entrance and Queen’s Pavilion; ‘Princess May’s Balcony’ and Sitting Room. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Article from The Illustrated London News, 30 June 1894, p 807, headed ‘Birth of a Royal Prince’, recording that Edward VIII was born at White Lodge at 10 pm on Midsummer’s Eve, and that both grandmothers, the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Teck, were present at the birth. The Duke of York was in the house accompanied by his father-in-law, the Duke of Teck, with his two brothers-in-law, Princes Adolphus and Francis of Teck; the baby’s father, the Prince of Wales, had been in the house all afternoon, but left at 7 o’clock. The Home Secretary, the Right Hon. H H Asquith, remained at the Lodge until an hour after the birth. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Drawing reproduced in The Illustrated London News, 30 June 1894, p 807, captioned ‘Scene at York House, St. James’s Palace, after the birth of the Prince’. The accompanying article describes that: ‘Hundreds of visitors make personal inquiries either at York House, St. James’s Palace, or at White Lodge, Richmond Park, where close approach to the mansion is prevented by a temporary fence, and a marquee has been erected at the entrance gate to receive and answer those who call. The Queen [Victoria] on Tuesday came from Windsor to see the Duchess of York [Princess May] and the babe, and she must be a happy woman to-day.’ RBS/OBJ/WHI

Commemorative photograph of the Christening of Prince Edward at White Lodge, annotated with the date, 1894. One of a series of celebrated images of the occasion, known as ‘The Four Generations’, it shows the infant Edward on the lap of his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria; flanked by his grandmother, the Princess of Wales, later Queen Alexandra; and his mother, the Duchess of York, later Queen Mary.  The photograph was taken at the Southern end of the Long Gallery entrance vestibule. Photo: W & D Downey, London. The Hearsum Collection PH0372

Back of a commemorative photograph of the Christening of Prince Edward at White Lodge, 1894; with typed information from an auctioneer’s catalogue. Photocard: W & D Downey, London. The Hearsum Collection PH0372

Photograph of the West Front and gardens of White Lodge, reproduced in an unidentified publication (1896). Photo: Cassell & Co., Lim. The image caption gives a brief outline of several notable royal inhabitants of the Lodge since 1727. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Page from Supplement to The Graphic, October 30 1897, headed ‘The Late Duchess of Teck’. Above: portrait of Princess Mary Adelaide (November 27 1833 – October 27 1897) from a photograph by Russell and Sons, Baker Street. Below: The Duchess in the Drawing Room at White Lodge, with her husband the Duke, and their daughter, Princess May, from a photograph by Reginald Walpole, Craigie.  The Hearsum Collection DC0226

Colour-tinted postcard featuring a photograph of the Richmond Gate entrance to Richmond Park. To the right of the Park entrance (clearly visible in the postcard) stands the stone memorial water-fountain, erected in 1901, in memory of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck. Postmark dated 24 June 1904. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0460

Colour-tinted postcard featuring a photograph of the Richmond Gate entrance to Richmond Park; two riders on horseback can be seen (centre). To the right of the Park entrance (clearly visible in the postcard) stands the stone memorial water-fountain, erected in 1901, in memory of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck. Postmark dated 10 June 1916. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0435

Newscutting featuring a photograph of the stone memorial water-fountain, erected in 1901, in memory of Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.  The image shows the original position of the memorial outside Richmond Park: it was later moved closer to Richmond Gate, where it still stands today. Photographer unknown. Digital image, source unknown.

Digital copy of a newscutting from The New York Times, 24 April 1901. Unattributed article headed ‘The Lease of White Lodge’, about the granting of White Lodge to Mrs Hartman. The article points out the financial resources needed to maintain the Lodge and highlights the personal wealth of Mrs. Hartman. Source: The New York Times

Colour-tinted postcard featuring a photograph of the approach to the entrance of Richmond Park at the Richmond Gate, around the time that Eliza Emma Hartman was resident at White Lodge (1901-1909), undated. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0607

Colour-tinted postcard featuring a photograph of Richmond Park, near Kingston Gate, during the time that Emma Hartman was resident at White Lodge (1901-1909). Postmark dated 15 February 1906. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0007

Colour-tinted postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge, Richmond Park, annotated with the date, 8 April 1906. The view from the South East, showing the East Portico entrance; the exterior walls of the Crescent wings are heavily covered with foliage; the central reservation is planted with three trees. Published by Stengel and Co. London. The Hearsum Collection PC0311

Colour-tinted postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge, undated, early 20th century. From around 1805 the view of the Lodge from Richmond Park was obscured by fencing and trees, until a central Main Gate was installed in 2007, restoring the view of the great West Front of the building from the Park. Published by Misch and Co. The Hearsum Collection PC0672

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge from the South East, showing the East Portico main entrance to the villa, early 20th century. For many years, the view of the Lodge from Richmond Park was obscured by fencing and trees, affording its residents seclusion and privacy. The Hearsum Collection PC0087

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge from the South East, c1906. For many years, the view of the Lodge from Richmond Park was obscured by fencing and trees, affording its residents seclusion and privacy. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0093

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge from the South East, c1906. For many years, the view of the Lodge from Richmond Park was obscured by fencing and trees, affording its residents seclusion and privacy. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0334

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge, an Easterly view from Richmond Park, early 20th century. For many years, the view of the Lodge from Richmond Park was obscured by fencing and trees, affording its residents seclusion and privacy. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0610

Postcard featuring a colour-tinted photograph of ‘an enclosure near White Lodge’, which may be a Park Keeper’s hut. Postmarked 3 February 1906. Photographer unknown. The Prince Regent Series, published R F H London. The Hearsum Collection PC0098

Colour-tinted postcard, dated 21 July 1908, featuring a photograph of Richmond Park, with a view from White Lodge looking down the avenue of Oak trees leading towards Richmond Gate, known as ‘The Queen’s Ride’. The image gives a sense of the relative remoteness of White Lodge, in the centre of the Park, and the difficulties such distances presented in connecting it to electric grid. Published by The Wrench Co. The Hearsum Collection PC0034

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge, Richmond Park, showing the East Portico entrance. Curiously, the windows of the Long Gallery have been re-touched to appear as if they are curtained. Postmark dated April 1915. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0073

Postcard featuring a photograph of the grounds of White Lodge, Richmond Park, showing the formal Yew Garden (here called the Terrace Gardens), with the Victorian stable block visible on the right. Undated, early 20th century. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0089

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge, view of the main façade from the South West, with the original three-arch entrance just visible behind the foliage in the picture. The exterior staircase leading from the Salon into the gardens, now such a familiar feature of the Lodge, was not built until c1922. The Hearsum Collection PC0705

Postcard featuring a photograph showing the view of White Lodge from Pen Ponds. Photographer unknown. Postmark dated 30 September 1912. The Hearsum Collection PC0309

Postcard featuring a photograph of the South African Military Hospital in Richmond Park, founded in 1916 to treat South African soldiers wounded during World War I. The site covered 12 acres between Conduit Wood and Bishop’s Lodge near Richmond Gate. Information from: hearsumcollection.org.uk/deer-in-the-city/whats-on/test/richmond-park-and-the-first-world-war/. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0104

Drawing by William Hatherell, depicting wounded veterans of World War I, at the Richmond Gate entrance to Richmond Park, 1920. The disabled men were residents of the Star and Garter Home, which can be seen just beyond the gates to the left. Information from: hearsumcollection.org.uk/deer-in-the-city/whats-on/test/richmond-park-and-the-first-world-war/. Photo: Jon Spence. The Hearsum Collection DC0378

News article from the Daily Chronicle, 2 April 1924, headlined ‘Young Inventor Wins £25,000 in One Night’. The article reports on the secret experiment carried out at Pen Ponds, Richmond Park during World War I, trialling a ‘Zeppelin Destroyer’ invented by Mr Grindell-Matthews. Photographer unknown. Photograph of a page from an unknown publication

Portrait of Prince Albert Duke of York, later King George VI (b1895, r1936–1952) by the Hungarian artist, Philip de László, 1931. Royal Collection Trust/All Rights Reserved

Page from an unknown article (published c1926), p57, entitled ‘Royal Honeymoon’; featuring a photograph of the ‘Duke and Duchess of York strolling through the wooded grounds of Polesdon Lacey, Surrey, where the first part of their honeymoon was spent.’ The second part of the couple’s honeymoon took place in Scotland. Photographer unknown. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Page 1 of 2 from Country Life, 21 April 1923, p 525. Article about the forthcoming marriage of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon to Albert, Duke of York, headed: ‘Bridesmaids at The Royal Wedding’. Photograhers individually credited. The Hearsum Collection DC0380

Page 2 of 2 from Country Life, 21 April 1923, p 527. Article about the forthcoming marriage of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon to Albert, Duke of York, giving the history of White Lodge and featuring photographs of the grounds: (top) view from the formal Yew Garden; (centre) view from the sunken garden showing arched trellises; (bottom) the newly-built exterior staircase. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection DC0380

Page from The Graphic, 31 March 1923, p 430. Article entitled ‘The Duke of York’s Future Home: the House and Gardens Specially Photographed’. Clockwise from top left: ‘The gardens, seen through the terrace arch’; ‘The charming house in its delightful surroundings’ (East entrance); ‘A lily-pond in the lovely gardens’; ‘The fireplace in the drawing-room’; ‘An old summer-house’. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection DC0219

Postcard of White Lodge in Richmond Park, ‘the residence of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of York’, showing the great West Front with the newly-built exterior staircase leading from the Salon to the gardens, c1923. Photo: Sport and General. The Hearsum Collection PC0065

Photograph of the grand exterior staircase, which was added to the West Front of White Lodge c1922, in preparation for the residence of the Duke and Duchess of York. Almost a century later, the splendid Y-shaped symmetrical stairway has become an established and highly distinctive feature of the building. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Photograph of the grand exterior staircase, added to the West Front of White Lodge c1922, in preparation for the residence of the Duke and Duchess of York. Seen here from a side angle showing its depth, the stairway obscured the original three-arch entrance to the building. The 1725-7 features remained intact beneath the brickwork of 1922-3, which effectively enclosed the archways and covered loggia, forming a room (now used as a physiotherapy centre for The Royal Ballet School).  Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Photograph showing detail of the central monogram ‘GRM’ on the external stairway of White Lodge, which features the initials of George V Rex [Latin for King George the Fifth] and his consort, Queen Mary. George V reigned from 1910–1936, and was thus the monarch when the stairs were built in c1922. George had married Mary of Teck in 1893; she spent much of her early life at White Lodge, where she was known as Princess May. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Postcard featuring a photograph of the great West Front of White Lodge as it looked during the residency of the Duke and Duchess of York, c1923–27. DPS Series, London WC1. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection PC0665

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge, Richmond Park, South West view, showing the great West Front with the newly-built exterior staircase leading from the Salon to the gardens. Photographed in 1923, reissued as a postcard by Country Life Ltd. c1956. The Hearsum Collection PC0094

Postcard featuring a photograph of the formal Yew Garden in the grounds of White Lodge, Richmond Park. Photographed in 1923, reissued as a postcard by Country Life Ltd. c1956. The Hearsum Collection PC0609

Postcard featuring a photograph of White Lodge, Richmond Park, North East view, showing the East Portico Entrance. Photographed in 1923, reissued as a postcard by Country Life Ltd. c1956. The Hearsum Collection PC0306

Photograph of the same exterior staircase of White Lodge as it is today, where in 1926 the Duchess of York sat with the infant Princess Elizabeth in her lap. Two students of The Royal Ballet School can be seen passing by on their way to lessons. Photo: Jacob Schulelewis. RBS/PHO/WL(2015)

Page from an unknown article (published c1926), p58, featuring a photograph entitled ‘Their First Daughter’ and showing the ‘Duke and Duchess of York with the Princess Elizabeth, born on April 21st, 1926’. The second image is entitled ‘Eager to See the Baby Princess: crowd rush Royal car as it Leaves Buckingham Palace after the christening of Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. May 29th, 1926.’ Photographers unknown. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Photograph of the Duchess of York with the infant Princess Elizabeth in a perambulator in the grounds of White Lodge. Royal Collection Trust/All Rights Reserved

Postcard featuring a photograph of the Duke and Duchess of York with their eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, aged about two. The family had moved out of White Lodge in the summer of 1927, when the future Queen Elizabeth II was around 14 months old. Photo: Marcus Adams. Issued by Raphael Tuck & Sons “Real Photograph” Postcard No 3976A, Royal Portrait Series. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Photograph of the Duke and Duchess of York at the time of their engagement in January 1923, reproduced in an unknown publication issued to mark their Coronation, on 12 May 1937, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Photo: Central News. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Front of a cigarette card (from a collectable set of illustrated Wills’s Cigarettes cards), showing the sundial that stood in the garden on the West side of White Lodge during the first part of the 20th century. The text on the back of the card describes the sundial as being of the ‘armillary sphere type’ with a ‘skeleton globe formed of metal rings. The time is recorded by the shadow falling on the broad ring of metal.’ Issued by the Imperial Tobacco Company (of Great Britain & Ireland) Ltd.  RBS/OBJ/WHI 

Back of a cigarette card (from a collectable set of illustrated Wills’s Cigarettes cards). The front shows the sundial that stood in the garden on the West side of White Lodge during the first part of the 20th century; the text on the reverse notes: ‘walking through the delightful gardens one finds it difficult to realize that London is so near’ – thus illustrating one of the major attractions of Richmond Park for increasing numbers of visitors. Issued by the Imperial Tobacco Company (of Great Britain & Ireland) Ltd. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Press photograph of Lord and Lady Lee giving a housewarming garden party at White Lodge on 20 May 1929. The couple can be seen serving tea to their special guests, some of the many wounded soldiers, sailors and airmen who had served in WWI (1914-18), and possibly during the earlier Boer War (1899-1902). Print stamped on the reverse: The Times and Acme Newspictures. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/WL

Photograph of Sadler's Wells Theatre, which re-opened on 6 January 1931, after a successful five-year campaign lead by Lilian Baylis to refurbish the 18th century theatre, which had stood dark and in disrepair since World War I. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/19/1

Reproduction of a news cutting from the New York Post, Wednesday 4 January 1939. The article appears in a social gossip column by Dixie Tighe, and is headed ‘Going Places’. It describes the lavish parties held by the socialite, Nora Reynolds Albertini, who applied to the Crown Estate for permission to reside at White Lodge. Source: www.fultonhistory.com

Photograph of the Number 10 Section (Technical and Experimental), 24 Company, Bomb Disposal R E, stationed at Grove Park, Chiswick. Annotated (on reverse) ‘The end of a Hermann [bomb], photographed at Sterilizing Pit, Richmond Park, Winter of 1942/3’. Photo: Walter L Westcott. The Hearsum Collection PH0128

Photograph of the Phantom Regiment Squad training in Richmond Park, driving in armoured vehicles, 1941. Annotated ‘HQ’ [Headquarters]. Photographer unknown. Digital copy from an original held by Colonel D T W Gibson c2006. The Hearsum Collection PH0055

Letter from David Niven, writing in Vaud, Switzerland, sent to Philip Warner in Camberley, Surrey, dated 19 March 1982. Niven, who was a popular and famous film star – both during and after the war – writes to his friend about his experiences with the Phantom Regiment in Richmond Park during World War II. The Hearsum Collection DC0001

Photograph of Marshal Tito (left) seated beside Princess Margaret (centre) and her husband, Lord Armstrong-Jones (right). The image probably dates to the 1960s, and shows one of many occasions where the British made diplomatic overtures to the Communist leader, who had been a World War II ally of the West. Photographer unknown. Source: Wickimedia/commons

Letter from Mrs P M Walker to The Royal Ballet School, dated July 2009, explaining that the Marler and Marler Estate Agency (which still remains at No 6, Sloane Street, Knightsbridge, after 150 years) was discreetly marketing White Lodge (“under the counter”) to suitable potential tenants. Her husband, Colonel Walker, had been commissioned to find suitable premises for The Royal Ballet Junior School; he must have been delighted with his chance discovery. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Newscutting from the Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 18 December 1991: obituary of Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Walker. The article credits the distinguished army veteran with having ‘set up the Royal Ballet Junior School at White Lodge, Richmond Park’, and records that he was engaged by the Royal Opera House for this purpose during the early 1950s. The obituary was enclosed in a letter, sent to The Royal Ballet School by Lt-Col Walker’s widow, Pat, in July 2009. RBS/OBJ/WHI

Photograph of the East façade of White Lodge, showing fire damage to the North side of the roof. A fire engine can be seen parked in front of the Lodge, with water hoses and ladders clearly visible in the photograph.  Dated 28 December 1955. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/8

Photograph of a ballet class with teacher, Audrey Harman, c1956.  The photographer (unknown) is seen reflected in the mirror.  The Salon was the only ballet studio at White Lodge until 1957.  The image shows that the Salon wall hangings were either covered or removed; the walls appear patchy (possibly following water damage after the fire).  The parquet floor is still visible; it was later replaced by a wooden ‘sprung’ floor more suitable for dancing. RBS/PHO/4/2/4

Photograph of a dormitory in a Crescent Wing of White Lodge, c1957. The School Matron presides, as girls settle down for the night. At that time, the students were allowed only five personal objects to keep on their bed or bedside table; the girl in the foreground has a china goose, a framed picture and some cuddly toys. Nowadays, there are no such restrictions! Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/5

Photograph of White Lodge students coming out of an academic classroom, located in the former Stable block area of the buildings, c1956. Note that some of the students carry small shoulder-bags. These feature in many School photographs of the time, and were the way in which the girls kept their pencil cases and handkerchiefs with them during the day; presumably, the boys just used their pockets!  Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph c1957, showing White Lodge students eating in the School canteen, which was originally housed in the Loggia on the lower ground floor of the building. Note the whitewashed brickwork, which has since been restored to its original unpainted state. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph of White Lodge students c1960, in the underground Crescent passages of the building known to the School as ‘The Tunnels’. Note the whitewashed brickwork, electric cables and floorcoverings, which may have pre-dated the residency of the School. The 18th century flagstones and original red bricks have since been uncovered and restored.  Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph of students with the Headmistress, Leila McCutcheon, in the East Portico entrance of White Lodge, c1957.  The girls are dressed for ballet class, in tunics, woollen tights and cotton socks; with their hair tucked into hairnets, and secured with tied headscarves held in place with hairpins.  The three trees, planted in the late 19th century, still occupied the central grassy reservation in front of the Lodge at that time. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph of Lesley Collier (centre) with fellow students of The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge in Richmond Park, enjoying milk and biscuits at break-time, c1958. They are seated in the Long Gallery, by the East Portico entrance. Collier went on to become a Principal ballerina of The Royal Ballet (between 1972–95), and a répétiteur [rehearsal coach] for the Company. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/6/7

Photograph c1957, showing a music lesson for students of White Lodge in the ‘Nelson Room’, formerly the reception chamber, then dining room, of the Lodge. Note that the 18th century plaster and wood fireplace was then whitewashed; it has since been restored to its original polished wood appearance. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph c1960, showing an art lesson taking place outside in the Yew Garden at White Lodge, around the central pond. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph of boys playing croquet in front of the West façade of White Lodge c1960. At that time, girls in the School still outnumbered the boys, although that situation was steadily changing; since the early 1990s there has been an equal number of girls and boys in the School. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph of the Director of The Royal Ballet School, Arnold Haskell (centre), chatting to some students in the grounds of White Lodge. The great Cedar of Lebanon, visible in the background, is the same tree which Princess May, later to become Queen Mary, recalled playing beneath as a child almost century earlier. RBS/PHO/4/6

Photograph of Ninette de Valois (just visible in the background, right) standing in the Yew Garden of White Lodge, c1964. De Valois was the Founder of the Royal Ballet School and Companies; after her retirement as Director of The Royal Ballet in 1963, she assumed the role of Supervisor of the School. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/8

Formal portrait of Ninette de Valois by her brother, the theatre photographer, Gordon Anthony,  taken before the Sadler’s Wells Ballet Company’s first tour to the USA and Canada (1949/50). De Valois was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in January 1951, in acknowledgement of her extraordinary contribution to British culture. Photo: Gordon Anthony © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. RBS/NDV/PHO

Postcard showing the West Front of White Lodge. One of a series of collectable cards labelled ‘The Royal Ballet School – White Lodge – Richmond’ issued c1960.  These publicised the occupancy of the famous Richmond landmark by the former Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, which became The Royal Ballet School in 1956. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/8/3

Postcard showing the East Portico Entrance to White Lodge. One of a series of collectable cards labelled ‘The Royal Ballet School – White Lodge – Richmond’ issued c1960.  These publicised the occupancy of the famous Richmond landmark by the former Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, which became The Royal Ballet School in 1956. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/8/3

Postcard showing the Inner Hall of White Lodge, with the painting of Tamara Karsavina by de Glehn in pride of place. One of a series of collectable cards labelled ‘The Royal Ballet School – White Lodge – Richmond’ issued c1960.  These publicised the occupancy of the famous Richmond landmark by the former Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, which became The Royal Ballet School in 1956. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/8/5

Postcard showing the Long Gallery entrance to White Lodge, with bronzes of L-R Margot Fonteyn, Ninette de Valois, Arnold Haskell and Alicia Markova. One of a series of collectable cards labelled ‘The Royal Ballet School – White Lodge – Richmond’ issued c1960.  These publicised the occupancy of the famous Richmond landmark by the former Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, which became The Royal Ballet School in 1956. Photographer unknown. RBS/PHO/8/5

Blazer badge for the School uniform of The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge in Richmond Park, c1956. The machine-embroidered fabric design incorporates the iconic image of the West Front of White Lodge. RBS/OBJ/CLO/40

Page from The Illustrated London News, 10 August 1957, p 243. Headed: ‘Opened to the Public for the First Time: The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge, Richmond’. Photographs: (top) visitors in the gardens of White Lodge attending the official opening of the School on 31 July 1957; (below right) Margot Fonteyn, who presided over the opening, with Lord Soulbury, Chairman of Governors, The Royal Ballet School, at the East Portico (below left) and in the Entrance Hall. Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection DC0366 © The Mary Evans Picture Library

Page 1 of 4 from The Illustrated London News, 19 January 1957, p 98. Unattributed article entitled ‘At White Lodge, Richmond Park: Scenes in the Sadler’s Wells Lower School’, with photographs of School life at White Lodge. Clockwise from top left: students in the Long Gallery warming up for their ballet class; students dressing for ballet class; girls’ ballet class in the new Pavlova dance studio (built 1957). Photographer unknown. The Hearsum Collection DC0357© The Mary Evans Picture Library

Page from The Illustrated London News, 24 December 1960, p 1160. Heading: ‘From Maths to Sculpture: a Full Life At The Royal Ballet School’. Photographs, clockwise from top left: a maths class; a biology lesson; boys’ gymnastics; Leila McCutcheon, the Headmistress; an art class; lunchtime. Photos: Houston Rogers © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Article: The Hearsum Collection DC0360 © The Mary Evans Picture Library

Page from The Illustrated London News, 24 December 1960, p 1161. Heading: ‘The Making of Dancers: Class in Action at The Royal Ballet School’. Photographs show (above) girls’ ballet class; (below) students learning a folk dance called ‘Princess Margaret’s Fancy’. The boy in the centre is Anthony Dowell, later a Principal dancer and Director of The Royal Ballet. Photo: Houston Rogers © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Article: The Hearsum Collection DC0360 © The Mary Evans Picture Library