Visit to Syon House

On Monday 14 September 2026 a group from The Arts Society Gravesend visited Syon House and Gardens in Brentford. Syon House has a link to Gravesend as it was the place from where Princess Pocahontas departed on her journey to return to America. She and her husband lived in a house in the grounds of Syon House under the patronage of the owners, the Percy family, while in England.  The house no longer exists. Unfortunately, she never reached home as she contracted an illness enroute and died and was subsequently buried in Gravesend.

It was another hot sunny day and after a welcome drink on arrival we split into 2 groups for a   guided tour of the house. The five rooms designed and installed by Robert Adams were magnificent. The house has barely been lived in since the rooms were designed so they looked like they were newly installed, with gold glistening, the decorated ceilings pristine, furniture sparkling and paintings clear to see (no coal soot to darken everything). Truly wonderful, after the five Adams rooms we saw some of the rest of the house, which the family lived in on the rare occasions they stayed. A very detailed and fascinating tour. 

Then it was time for lunch with plenty of time afterwards for a stroll round the gardens and the magnificent conservatory.  Many thanks to Pam Childs Kelly for organising it.