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By the standards of the day, the house John and Amelia Harris moved into with
their eight children was a veritable mansion. It was set on a piece of high
ground overlooking the forks of the Thames, near the District court house, which
still stands today. Within a few years, terraces were created down the side of
the bank to provide a picturesque view and a pleasant walk to the river.
In its early years the house was known as Eldon Terrace. At the north end of the
property was a mill race, a deep ditch filled with water that ran along the base
of the hill from the nearby Blackfriars Mill. A small dock was built here at the
turn of the century, from which boats were taken onto the river.
Two more children were born at Eldon House, bringing the number to seven girls
and three boys. Some of the girls were reaching maturity soon after a garrison
of British soldiers was established in London. By 1851, four of the girls had
married officers and left home. Following her husband’s death in 1850, Amelia
continued to live in the house. Their eldest son, John Fitzjohn, married in 1859
and intended to live at Eldon House. However, he succumbed to a lingering
illness two years later. His brother Edward and Edward’s wife, Sophia, remained
at Eldon House with Mrs. Harris.
In the late 1870s, after Edward and Sophia had been in residence for several
years, they decided to build a large addition, including a a formal drawing
room, a new kitchen and more space for the servants. Eldon House generally had
five
servants: a cook, two housemaids, one parlourmaid and a gardener. Edward also
installed steam heating in the 1880s. Deepening financial problems nearly cost
Edward his house in the late 1880s. His brother George was forced to sell his
own house and moved with his family, including his wife Lucy into Eldon House in
order to help Edward with his debts.
Several
years after George and Lucy took sole possession of the house, Lucy received a
large inheritance from her grandmother in England. Over the next decade they
were able to make a number of improvements to the property and grounds,
including rebuilding the terraces and converting the lighting from gas to
electricity in 1896.
Architecturally, Eldon House was influenced by the Georgian and Regency styles
of the early 19th century. Structurally, it is a sheathed frame (hewn timber)
shelter on a brick foundation. The hall forms the central axis of a formal and
symmetrical plan: the library and morning room are on one side, the dining room
and back hall on the other.
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