Plaque

Friends of Russell Square Newsletter no 1 contains a lovely story about Philip Feril Renault Saillard (1839-1916) who lived in this house. He had invested in an ostrich farm (the feathers being highly fashionable) and one of his birds died from a diamond becoming stuck in its throat. Thus Saillard discovered that his farm held diamond-bearing rocks and his fortune was made.  With this he built his mansion, Buchan Hill in Sussex, which now houses Cottesmore School (where the ostrich/diamond story is well told). Neatly, Saillard's other home, this house in Russell Square, now (2022) houses another school, École Jeannine Manuel.