Appeals: London Historic Park Buildings At Risk

A photograph of the Orangery, Clapham Common, London, which will be on display at the exhibition 'London Historic Park Buildings At Risk', which opens on Monday at the Temple, Gunnersbury Park, west London. The exhibition is being organised jointly by English Heritage and the recently founded Temple Trust, which hopes to raise funds from the event in order to start work on its first project, restoring the nearly derelict Princess Amelia's Bath House, also in Gunnersbury Park, writes Joanna Gibbon.

The orangery, which was used as a summer and banqueting house during the 19th century, was designed by Dr William Burgh of York in 1793 for the grounds of what was Thornton House, now a housing estate. It illustrates the plight of many small historic buildings, in parks and public places, which have fallen into disrepair. The Temple Trust's primary aim is to preserve neo-

classical and Palladian temples and villas which are derelict and at risk from further damage. Some are ornamental buildings while others are functional, but amongst those that have not disappeared completely, many are badly damaged and in urgent need of help. The trust will concentrate at first on buildings in public parks and other open spaces with public access.

Since April, the trust has occupied the Temple, a Grade II* listed building in the grounds of Gunnersbury Park, which is thought to have been designed by Sir William Chambers (1723-96) for George II's daughter Princess Amelia, who lived at Gunnersbury in the 18th century. The Bath House is in the Strawberry Hill Gothick manner and contains a flint grotto. About pounds 70,000 is needed for essential repairs.

During the rest of the year, the Trust is holding a series of fund-raising exhibitions at the Temple. These include: 'Hogarth', a selection of prints by the satirist and his followers, from 25 July to 8 August; 'Captured Moments', black-and-white photographs of London by Frances Neale, from 11 to 29 August; 'Botanical Prints', a collection of 18th- and 19th-century botanical prints, from 1 to 14 September; and 'The Grand Tour', an exhibition of casts from the British Museum's classical sculpture collection, some of which have not been shown before, from 19 September until January 1995.

For further information, contact: the Temple Trust, 8 Lichfield Road, Kew Gardens, Surrey TW9 3JR, telephone 081-940 2658.

(Photograph omitted)