The Duc d’Orléans, Twickenham
The Duc d’Orléans contemplates domestic oblivion in his suburban riverside palace
I am exiled, a soon-to-be
fragment of a space,
in a nowhere place
I am an eight-sided folly
and a temple of golden curlicues
The gods look down on me
from their stiff, meringue clouds
in their ceaseless blue sky
of otherwhere bliss
I am a loiterer in the garden,
a speaker of French in the topiary walkways
to the briefness of butterflies,
to the flow-away river
Translate me, translate me
into a gold-scaled fish –
a poisson d’or not a poisson d’avril
that can swim unnoticed
all the way home
TWICKENHAM
Orleans House was once the home of the exiled Louis-Philippe, Duc d’Orléans, 1813-1815, who gave the house its name. Largely demolished in the 20th century, its splendid octagon room was saved and glitteringly restored.
Twickenham is known for its Rugby Stadium which offers tours, but the area is also great for shopping especially Church Street which has independent boutiques, cafés and restaurants and has markets and seasonal events.
Historic Houses of Twickenham
There is plenty of history around Twickenham with four interesting houses to visit.
- Located on the Thames opposite Eel Island, is Orleans House Gallery with its amazing Octagon room.
- Strawberry Hill House, Britain's finest example of Georgian Gothic Revival architecture
- Marble Hill House borders the Thames between Richmond and Hampton Court. It was begun in 1724 for the remarkable Henrietta Howard, mistress of King George II.
- JMW Turner, one of England’s greatest painters, built Sandycombe Lodge near once-rural Twickenham, to his own designs, c. 1813.
