Bushy House (National Physical Laboratory)

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Bushy House was built in 1663 by a courtier of Charles II, possibly as a place for the king to meet his mistresses. It was embellished by George Montagu, first Earl of Halifax of the second creation, nephew of Charles Montagu, who succeeded his uncle as Keeper, and the House was generally the Keeper's residence from then on. In 1797, the Keepership was given to William, Duke of Clarence, third son of George III, who lived there with his mistress, Dorothy Jordan, the leading comedy actress of the time. When it became apparent that William might succeed to the kingdom, he dumped Mrs Jordan in c1812, and married Princess Adelaide of Saxe Meiningen and brought her to Bushy House and the house was then expanded considerably in 1820-1832. In the mid nineteenth century, the Keepership appears to have disappeared. In 1896, the occupier of Bushy House died and it reverted to the Crown. Victoria exchanged it for two government houses in Pall Mall and the government then assigned it to the new National Physical Laboratory.
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