A grand mews house that was home to Henry Tate’s art collection before he gifted it to the Tate Gallery is on the market for £1.8million.
Henry Tate Mews is part of the former mansion in Streatham, south west London, that belonged to the sugar merchant in the late 1800s for 25 years.
What is now an impressive Grade II* listed double height reception room was his billiard room where he displayed famous Pre-Raphaelite works of art including John Everett Millais’ Ophelia.
The five-bedroom house, which is on the market with Hamptons, also has shared access to the beautiful six acres of gardens that include an orchard, folly and a listed grotto.
The house was built in the 1830s and Sir Henry bought it in 1874 and lived in it until his death in 1899, aged 80.
A grand mews house that was home to Henry Tate’s art collection before he gifted it to the Tate Gallery is on the market for £1.8million
Henry Tate Mews is part of the former mansion in Streatham, south west London, which features an impressive Grade II* listed double height reception room
The room was his billiard room where he displayed famous Pre-Raphaelite works of art including John Everett Millais’ Ophelia
Portraits hang on the walls to link back with the mansion’s rich history, and a spiral staircase takes guests up to a mezzanine floor overlooking the main reception room
The mezzanine in the home features a sofa and large TV, and windows and exposed beam detailing overhead gives the section of the room a bright, airy look
This house has 3,455 square foot of accommodation focused around the double height living room with a mezzanine floor up a spiral staircase.
It also features a modern kitchen, utility room, with five double bedrooms and four bathrooms upstairs. There is a double garage and off-street parking and access to the six acres of parkland gardens.
Sir Henry was an industrialist who made his money as a sugar refiner. In 1889 he offered his collection of British 19th century art to the nation on the condition they be displayed in a suitable gallery.
He tried to bequeath 65 paintings to the National Gallery but the trustees turned it down due to lack of space.
A campaign was started to create a new gallery dedicated to British art and the gallery, now known as Tate Britain, was built and opened in 1897 with an £80,000 donation from Tate. He was made a baronet the following year.
In 1889, Sir Henry offered his collection of British 19th century art, which he kept inside the home, to the nation on the condition they be displayed in a suitable gallery (the mansion’s patio garden, pictured)
The mansion is on the market with Hamptons and features five bedrooms in the property. One has been decorated with a blue floral palette with matching curtains and bedsheets
A long path, lined with statues and shrubbery leads to the grand white building, which has 3,455 square foot of accommodation
In the hall there is a cabinet filled with books and various brown wooden decorations which tie in with the oak bannister and neutral colour palette
Hamish Scott from Hamptons said that in ‘unofficial terms’ this home was the Tate Gallery before the gallery opened as the sugar merchant would hang the art work in this room
The home, which was built in the 1830s, features four bathrooms upstairs. The sleek, modern design features a bath-shower combination and mirrored panels around the wall above the toilet
After his death, in the 1920s, his sugar company Henry Tate & Sons merged with Abram Lyle & Sons to become Tate & Lyle.
After his death his Park Hill home became a nunnery until 2000 when it was redeveloped into housing.
Hamish Scott from Hamptons said: ‘The house itself was built in the 1830s but Henry Tate bought it in the 1870s.
‘The living room of this property, number 12, was the billiard room which was where he used to hang all his paintings until he took them from this room down to the Tate Gallery.
‘So in very unofficial terms this was the Tate Gallery before the gallery opened.
‘The current owners have been there about eight years, they stumbled across it by mistake when they were looking for a place for their daughter in one of the cottages built in the grounds when the property was redeveloped.’
One of the property’s five bedrooms boasts double doors to enter and a large double bed, with plenty of room for wardrobes and storage
Surrounding the house, there is vast amounts of land, as well as a bridge which stretches over a dip in the ground
The home boasts access to the six acres of parkland gardens, which Hamptons described as ‘unusual’ and ‘special’ for being so close to London
The property boasts privacy on the stretch of land, accessible by a driveway, and has off-street parking, as well as a double garage
He added: ‘They spotted this was also on the market and were just blown away by it as it was such an unusual property.
‘They’ve been very happy there but are now looking to downsize. It also sits in six acres of parkland which is private to the residents.
‘It’s very unusual to get that sort of land close to the city, let alone in central London. It’s really quite special.’
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