Great House (Ege University Rectorate)

Great House (Ege University Rectorate)

The Great House, whose ownership was transferred to the Giraud family, who was related to the Whittall family in the 1930s, was expropriated in 1960 and transferred to the Turkish Republic Finance Treasury, and then passed into the ownership of Ege University. The building still serves as Ege University Rectorate Administrative Building.

The history

It is known that there was a monastery at the beginning of the 18th century in the area where the Ege University Rectorate is located today. The house, which was first built as a single-storey house on this land by a Dutch immigrant, was bought in the 1820s by James Whittall, one of the partners of the famous Whittall Company, who settled in Izmir for commercial purposes in 1817. The house, which was owned by his brother Charlton Whittall after his death, was expanded in the following years, added floors and became known as the 'Great House.' The Great House hosted many important names in different dates due to the position of the Whittall Family in social and political life. Sultan Abdulaziz (1863), the Duke of Edinburgh, Alfred Ernest Albert, and George Frederick Ernest Albert (1886), who came to the British throne with the name George in 1910, and the Greek Prince Andrew (1921) are some of these important guests. The Great House, whose ownership was transferred to the Giraud family, who was related to the Whittall family in the 1930s, was expropriated in 1960 and transferred to the Turkish Republic Finance Treasury, and then passed into the ownership of Ege University. The building still serves as Ege University Rectorate Administrative Building.