Isle of Wight Photo
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Isle of Wight Osborne House
Queen Victoria's house near Cowes
Northern end of the island
Brought in 1845, with an estate of about 1000 acres from Lady Blachford
The house was too small, and was demolished.
The present house was designed by Prince Albert, with advice from the builder Thomas Cubitt **
It is modeled on an Italian villa overlooking the Bay of Naples
Osborne House was started in June 1845, and finished 15 months later, although the servants accommodation was not completed until 1851
In 1861, Osborne was the place that the Queen went to mourn the death of Prince Albert
During the next 40 years of her reign, she tried to keep the house, and grounds, unaltered in memory of Albert
Since her death the house, and grounds, have been kept as near as possible as they appeared when Prince Albert was alive
King Edward 7th presented the house to the nation
In 1904 it was opened to the public, except for Queen Victoria's private apartments
In 1954, Queen Elizabeth gave permission for these apartments of her great-great-grandmother to be opened to the public
** Probably the first modern builder as we understand the term, as he not only built single houses, but entire streets, and estates. A Victorian property developer