Formerly called Paddenswick House (manor) a house had stood on this site since the C12th. The C13th manor which had a moat was rebuilt in 1650. In 1747 the house was renamed Ravenscourt by the owner Thomas Corbett who had a raven in his family coat of arms. Lancelot "Capability" Brown first laid out the grounds of Paddenswick House (or manor) so must have done so before the house changed its name when he was just 34 years old. A later, owner George Scott who was a builder (constructed nearby St Peter’s square) commissioned Humphrey Repton to lay out the park at some time around the decades surrounding 1800.
There are records that refer to a further remodelling of the house in the 1830s by John Willoughby for Lord Paddenswick. Willoughby doesn’t appear in the directory of British Architects for this decade, but it is possible he was a speculative builder, as he was gifted land on the edge of Ravenscourt Park which he built on in a style similar to that of the main house (many of these houses surviving today). The land surrounding the house became a public park in 1888 and by 1889 the house had become a new public library. The house was destroyed following a bombing raid in 1941. The stable block survives today as a café.
This view shows the east main entrance front.
There are records that refer to a further remodelling of the house in the 1830s by John Willoughby for Lord Paddenswick. Willoughby doesn’t appear in the directory of British Architects for this decade, but it is possible he was a speculative builder, as he was gifted land on the edge of Ravenscourt Park which he built on in a style similar to that of the main house (many of these houses surviving today). The land surrounding the house became a public park in 1888 and by 1889 the house had become a new public library. The house was destroyed following a bombing raid in 1941. The stable block survives today as a café.
This view shows the east main entrance front.
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