PARKS.
Richard, Earl of Cornwall, made a park at
Isleworth before 1264, when a crowd from London
broke down the pale and felled trees and did other
damage in the manor. (fn. 55) The park was later repaired
and may have contained the hundred acres of wood
that lay in Isleworth manor in 1300. (fn. 56) Richard of
Cornwall also made a warren, which the Hundred
Rolls of 1275 imply was near Hounslow, perhaps on
the heath, but later the warren seems to have been
part of the park: it covered 133 acres in the mid14th-century. (fn. 57) Pasture in the park and warren was
sometimes sold to the tenants in the 14th century,
but in 1384, for instance, it was consumed by the
wild beasts and mares of the lord. (fn. 58) In 1415 Henry
V founded Syon Abbey in his warren in the parish
of Twickenham. The area he granted to the monastery
was bounded on the east by the Thames, and on the
south by a ditch newly dug for the purpose, but on
the west by the old ditch which had presumably
bounded the park. (fn. 59) Few buildings were probably
erected by the abbey since it soon moved to a better
situation north of Isleworth, and the old site seems
to have once more become a warren. In 1463 the
abbess's warren next to the old monastery was leased
to William Yorke, and in 1483 his widow held it.
Later the warren was kept in hand by the abbey or
leased with Isleworth manor. (fn. 60) Henry VII built
his new palace of Richmond across the river in
1501, (fn. 61) and between then and 1506 he added the
Isleworth warren, which Syon granted him in exchange for property elsewhere, to the park at Richmond. (fn. 62) In 1517 it was alleged that this resulted in
the inclosure of 80 acres of arable in Twickenham, (fn. 63)
but it is clear that most of the new park had been inside the abbey's warren. Since the park later extended northwards into Isleworth parish, it is likely
that what additions were made to it at this time were
mostly on that side. (fn. 64) Two meadows (about 20 a.) on
the Twickenham side were also inclosed in the park
though they remained Syon's property until the
Dissolution. (fn. 65) In 1573 the park contained 87 acres of
rough pasture and brush, and two lodges. (fn. 66) It was
then about to be leased to Edward Bacon, possibly
the brother of Francis Bacon, (fn. 67) who later lived there
and held the estate himself. (fn. 68) Elizabeth I may have
visited Twickenham Park, as it was now generally
called, in 1592 or 1593. (fn. 69) A later tenant was Lucy,
Countess of Bedford (d. 1627), the patron of John
Donne. (fn. 70) The Park was granted with Richmond to
Henrietta Maria in 1629 and was sold to Sir William
Russell in 1632. (fn. 71) It had continued to be leased
meanwhile, but in 1640 the freehold and lease came
together into the hands of Sir Thomas Nott. (fn. 72) The
estate remained in the possession of persons of rank
throughout the 18th century, coming in the end to
Lord Frederick Cavendish (d. 1803). (fn. 73) He was said
to have made improvements both to the house and
grounds, though opinions seem to have differed
about the amount of alterations to the house.
According to one writer of 1797 it was substantially
Elizabethan, though one front had been rebuilt, and
most of the rooms were very small. Another, in 1795,
said that it contained several handsome apartments
and a noble staircase. (fn. 74) The estate was sold in lots in
1805 and the house was afterwards demolished. (fn. 75) It
had stood exactly on the boundary of the parishes of
Isleworth and Twickenham. (fn. 76)
By 1506 Syon Abbey had another park in Isleworth, which lay by the Brent (fn. 77) and was known by
the 16th century as Syon Park. (fn. 78) It covered about
100 acres between Syon Lane and the Brent some
way north of the London Road. In 1607 a few strips of
land which had clearly once been part of an open field
lay on its south: (fn. 79) farther north, however, lay other
inclosures which may have been medieval assarts
from the waste, so that it is difficult to guess what
was its state before the abbey inclosed it. (fn. 80) The park
continued to form part of the manorial estate after
the Dissolution, and was committed to the custody
of Sir Francis Knollys in 1560. In 1602 it was leased
to the Earl of Northumberland, to whom the freehold
was granted with the manor in 1604. (fn. 81) In 1607 there
were some small buildings in the park adjoining
Syon Lane, which were replaced or altered, probably
in the next 30 years, to become a single house called
Syon Park. (fn. 82) William Gouge (1578-1653), an eminent puritan minister, may have been one of the
lessees of the park and house. (fn. 83) Later they were held
by Sir Orlando Gee (1609-1705), who was trustee of
Elizabeth Percy, heiress of the last Earl of Northumberland, and a benefactor of Isleworth church. (fn. 84) By
the late 18th century the park was used as farm-land
and the house, or another on the site, was called Syon
Park East Farm or Syon Hill East Farm. It was
demolished when the Great West Road was built. (fn. 85)
The parks attached to the great houses of Osterley
and Syon are discussed below, along with the houses.