The exterior of Englemere House, Berkshire, 1906 (c)

Photograph, 1906 (c).

Englemere House near Ascot in Berkshire was built in the early 19th century. It was the home of Field Marshal Lord Roberts (1832-1914) from 1903 until his death in 1914. From 1971 until 2013 the house was the head office of the Chartered Institute of Building.

The photograph shows two pieces of artillery mounted in the garden. The first more visible gun is associated with the service of Lord Roberts' son, Lieutenant The Hon Frederick Hugh Sherston Roberts. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross; he died from wounds sustained while trying to retake this gun at Colenso in 1899.

The second, hidden behind the pergola, is one of the six guns of the Elswick Battery, used during the Boer War (1899-1902). To help the war effort it was melted down for scrap during the Second World War.

The reflection of the photographer is just visible in the glass window.

From an album of 12 interior and exterior views of Englemere House, Lord Roberts' house in Ascot, Berkshire.