page_title: Ham House
section_title: William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart
hierarchical_section_title: Ham House / History / William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart
caption_attribution_description: English: Front of Ham House in Richmond, West London. This is a photo of listed building number 1080832.
context_page_description: Ham House is a historic house with formal gardens set back 200 metres from the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in London. It is claimed by the National Trust to be "unique in Europe as the most complete survival of 17th century fashion and power." The house itself is designated on the National Heritage List for England as a Grade I listed building. Its park and formal gardens are listed at Grade II* by Historic England in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
context_section_description: In 1626, Ham House was leased to William Murray, whipping boy and close childhood friend of Charles I. Murray's initial lease was for 39 years and, in 1631, a further 14 years added but this did not give long term security of tenure for Murray's family. When George Cole had to sell his property in Petersham as part of the enclosure of Richmond Park in 1637, he made over the remaining leases of the Manors of Ham and Petersham to Murray. Murray sought to obtain the freehold but both this and a further bid in 1641 were unsuccessful. The neighbouring Manor of Canbury (Kingston) was also granted to William in 1640, but, in 1641, he passed it to Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin, a relative of his wife. William and his wife, Catherine, extensively redecorated and refurbished the interior of the house, many features of which survive to this day including the great staircase.
  Prior to the outbreak of the English Civil War, Murray shrewdly transferred ownership of the house to his wife for the duration of her life and thereafter to his four daughters, to be held in trust. The principal trustee was Lord Elgin who, as an important Scottish Presbyterian and Parliamentarian supporter, thus afforded the estate and family a degree of political protection.
  During the Civil War, the house and estates were sequestrated, but persistent appeals by Catherine regained them in 1646 on payment of a £500 fine.
  Thus Catherine skillfully defended ownership of the house throughout the Civil War and Commonwealth, and, despite Murray's close ties with the Royalist cause, the house remained in the family's possession. Catherine died at Ham on 18 July 1649 (Charles I was executed on 30 January of the same year). The parliamentarians sold off much of the Royal Estate, including the Manors of Ham and Petersham. These, inclusive of Ham House, were bought for £1,131.18s on 13 May 1650 by William Adams, the steward acting on behalf of Murray's eldest daughter, Elizabeth and her husband Lionel Tollemache, 3rd Baronet of Helmingham Hall, Suffolk. Ham House became Elizabeth and Lionel's primary residence, as Murray was predominantly exiled in France.
caption: Front of house
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