Pembroke Lodge, a magnificent Georgian Mansion with spectacular views across the Thames valley to Windsor and Surrey - began life, sometime prior to 1754, as a humble cottage of one room, occupied by a molecatcher whose sole duty was to reduce the peril presented to huntsmen by moles. 

This cottage was enlarged to form a dwelling with four principal rooms and renamed Hill Lodge.  It was granted to the Countess of Pembroke, a "close friend" of King George III at her request in 1787.  Between 1788 and 1796 she extended the building to form the entire Georgian Wing and part of the North Wing.

In 1847, Queen Victoria granted the Lodge to Lord John Russell, the Prime Minister, who conducted much Government business from here.  Lord John was much taken with the Lodge - "an asset that could hardly be equalled, certainly not surpassed in England."

Earl Russell died here on 28 May 1878.  His daughter Lady Agatha Russell left a memorial, still standing in the Rose Garden, "Pembroke Lodge 1847 - 1902 - In loving memory of my Father and Mother, Lord and Lady Russell and of our supremely happy home at Pembroke Lodge."

Other previous occupiers include Bertrand Russell, the philosopher and mathematician, between 1876 and 1894 - and during World War II, the Phantom Squad, GCHQ Liaison was regimented to Pembroke Lodge for its headquarters. Members of the Squad went on to become Privy Councillors, Law Lords, Judges, MPs, a Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and actors - including one David Niven who remarked in a letter, "these were wonderful days which I would not have missed for anything."

Richmond Park provides 2,500 acres of classic English parkland. The Lodge is in one of the finest locations, on high ground with spectacular views to the West. Pembroke Lodge has eleven acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, including King Henry VIII Mound, with many wonderful photographic locations.