History
The house dating from c.1700, was originally built built by Capt., later Vice-Admiral Francis Hosier(1673–1727), on wasteland adjacent to Greenwich park. The House then had a superb view and easy access to London by road and river. Admiral Hosier occupied the house from 1700-1727. He had made his fortune through trade at sea and both the ship he served on as a lieutenant and his own ship were called the Neptune. Hosier died of yellow fever at sea in 1727, during the disastrous Blockade of Porto Bello off Panama.
In 1748 the lease of the house was inherited by the 4th Earl of Chesterfield. He was a politician, diplomat, man of letters and wit who eventually became Secretary of State. He added the splendid bow windowed gallery for entertaining and displaying his art treasures. Chesterfield wrote that the view from the gallery gave him "three different, and the finest, prospects in the world".
In 1782, the next purchaser was Richard Hulse(1727–1805), 2nd son of Sir Edward Hulse, 1st Bt., physician to George II and Elizabeth Levett. He was High Sheriff of Kent in 1768 and a JP. He held the office of Deputy Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company between 1799 and 1805. He lived at sometime at Baldwins, Kent, and died unmarried without progeny. Hulse added a room with a bow window on the north side to balance Chesterfield's gallery and this is how the house appears today.
The house was later passed to the Crown and in the early 19th century became the residence of Princess Sophia Mathilda of Gloucester.
It was first used as the official residence of the Ranger of Greenwich Park in 1816, when it was called Chesterfield House. The first Ranger of the park was Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, who was appointed in 1690. At first, the Rangers resided at the Queen's House, Greenwich.
The London County Council acquired the house in 1897, and restored it.
In the 20th century it became a council sports and social club and was later used to display collections of musical instruments and Jacobean portraits.
Read more about this topic: Ranger's House
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