[3] Originally the home of the lords of the manor of Swakeleys, the diarist Samuel Pepys visited the house twice.

Following a long period of decline, the house was purchased in the 1980s by a group of local residents and restored as part of its conversion to offices.

[4] John Charlton later took ownership of Swakeleys but a relative of his was subsequently killed during the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, while fighting on the side of Richard III.

The victor of the battle, Henry VII, subsequently granted Charlton's widow a life interest in the manor, although he gave possession to Sir Thomas Bourchier.

The main routes leading to the house have since become the residential streets Swakeleys Road (then Back Lane), The Grove and The Avenue.

Within the room is a wooden screen made for Sir James Harrington in 1655 by woodcarver John Colt and painted to resemble stone.

[15] In the Dining Room, the panelling is believed to be from the original house, which Sir Edmund was so impressed by that he had it incorporated into the new building.

[6] He visited the house twice to collect money on behalf of Charles II from Sir Robert Vyner who was a well-known goldsmith.

On one occasion, Sir Robert showed Pepys the body of a black boy who had worked at the house and died of tuberculosis.

[6] After the house became empty in 1923, workmen unsealed a cupboard near the servants' quarters where it was believed the body was stored, though they found no trace of it.

An inquest was held which refused to return a suicide verdict as the coroner believed such a ruling would stigmatise the Clarke family.

The gardens are quaint and trim, laid out in something of the old-fashioned style and a long avenue of elms adorns the front of the house to the south."

[21] Humphrey John Talbot bought the house to avoid it being demolished and eventually sold it to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sports Association in 1927, upon the condition he could remain as a tenant on the first floor.

In 1984, a 25-year lease was negotiated with the Bristol-Myers Squibb company and the house was opened to the public for three days a year.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb lease expired in 2009 and Swakeleys was sold to new owners who wished to reduce public access to one day a year, as part of Open House London.

[28] In 2014, the new owner of Swakeleys, CES Properties (Ickenham), received planning permission from Hillingdon Council to convert the house back into a single large residence,[29] including 23 en-suite bedrooms, a party pavilion and a stable.