Templemere - a short history
Queen Henriette

Templemere stands on land which formed part of Oatlands Chase surrounding the Royal palace at Oatlands in Tudor times.

In 1669, when Queen Henriette, widow of Charles II died, the ruined palace and its land reverted to the Crown. It passed through several royal hands including the 7th Earl of Lincoln who built Oatlands House on the site (now the Oatlands Park Hotel).

In 1730, following the death of his father and elder brother, Henry Pelham-Clinton became the 9th Earl of Lincoln and, in 1768, became the 2nd Duke of Newcastle under Lyme.

The grounds were altered for the new Duke by landscape architect William Kent to include a circular temple above the original Broadwater lake, based on the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli.

William Kent

The Oatlands Estate was subsequently bought by the Duke of York, son of George III, but when he died later owners sold the land off in various lots. Large houses were built on each lot, on the ridge overlooking the Broadwater, each with extensive grounds. The 19th century Templemere house incorporated the Temple of Vesta.

The house and the temple were still intact in 1928, when it came up for auction by Hamptons and Sons and some time later, the whole of the current Templemere estate came into the ownership of Donald Wilson and later Robert and Ruby Wilson. In March 1961 they sold it to SRL Investments Ltd, who through Span Developments created the present estate.

© Templemere Residents’ Society Ltd 2010
Oatlands Palace
Temple of Vesta lithoprint
Temple of Vesta, Tivoli