The White House . . .

. . . Appleby.

One of the grandest houses in the town, it towers above the others on the main street and stands out because of its whitewashed exterior and its ogee-headed windows and entrance. It is an 18th Century Gothic style three-storey house, built in the early years of that century and then remodelled later by John Robinson to make it ‘fit for a Gentleman’s family’. John Robinson was Mayor of Appleby in 1760, MP for Westmorland in 1764 and in 1770 he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. 

However, whilst an MP, John Robinson was accused of bribing electors and his accuser, unable to name him directly in Parliament, said: “I could name him as soon as I could say Jack Robinson”.