The Limes at 123 Mortlake High Street was built around 1720. The facade and porch are of a later date. Former residents include: the Franks Family, Jewish Merchant Bankers who came to Mortlake from New York in 1754 and led the English Ashkenazi Jewish Community for more than a century; Lady Byron, wife of the poet; and Quintin Hogg, founder of the Polytechnic movement.
From 1895 until damaged by enemy bombing in 1940, it was the seat of local government. The seven acre grounds once belonging to the house have been entirely built over. The interior has been converted to flats, but the outward appearance is much as it was when it became the subject of two works by JMW Turner (1755-1851) painted while on an extended visit in 1827. Both are now in the United States. One featuring the riverside terrace gardens (left) is in the National Gallery, Washington DC; the other, a side view of the house facing onto the river and featuring the Lime trees after which the house was named is in The Frick Museum, New York.