Fairfax House

Oil painting by Henrie Pitcher depicting Fairfax House. 1880s

Urban landscape from across the street from Fairfax House. The façade of the house is at a slight angle with the high street disappearing into the picture at the right edge. Fairfax house is a red brick building with Dutch gables and tall chimneys. There is ivy covering the right part of the 3-story building.

Several people can be seen walking along the road, including a woman and a little child and a men with an umbrella or stick. There is also a horse driven carriage.

Fairfax House was a grand 17th-century mansion located on Putney High Street, Wandsworth. Believed to have been built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it was reputedly visited by the Queen herself for dinner on one occasion. The house featured a spacious lawn with trees said to have been planted by Bishop Juxon.

During the English Civil War, Fairfax House played a significant role as the residence of General Thomas Fairfax, commander of the New Model Army. In 1647, it became a focal point for the Putney Debates, where army officers and soldiers—including Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell—gathered to discuss radical ideas about democracy and voting rights. These meetings, held in nearby Putney Church, were a landmark moment in British constitutional history.

Despite its historical importance, Fairfax House was demolished in 1887 amid urban redevelopment