Rangers House

This place was once a home to Princess Sophia Matilda, niece of King George III, who lived here from 1815 until her death in 1844. The red brick Georgian villa standing at the edge of Greenwich Park is Rangers House, a mansion with a history as rich as the treasures it now holds. Vice Admiral Francis Hosier built this elegant residence around 1723 after making his fortune at sea. Above the front door, a carved Neptune still watches over visitors, a tribute to Hosier's naval career.

The house gets its name from the Ranger of Greenwich Park, a ceremonial royal appointment that came with no real duties but offered this beautiful home as an official residence. In 1748, the 4th Earl of Chesterfield purchased the property and transformed it. He added two curved gallery wings specifically to display his art collection, creating the symmetrical facade you see along Chesterfield Walk near Blackheath.

The mansion now houses the Wernher Collection, nearly 700 medieval and Renaissance masterpieces gathered by diamond magnate Sir Julius Wernher. From jeweled treasures to Dutch Old Master paintings, the collection fills twelve ornate rooms. Walk through the grounds and you will cross the Greenwich Meridian, the line that marks zero degrees longitude and established the world's time standard.