Come in from the cold at one of London’s charming, festive or simply offbeat heritage properties. Words: ALEXANDRA WENHAM
Sir John Soane’s Museum
The 18th century architect’s impressive personal home was designed to make maximum use of natural light and houses a vast collection of antiquities, including a genuine Egyptian sarcophagus in the basement.
On the first Tuesday of every month, there is a special candlelit opening from 6-9pm (spooky!), but expect long queues.
» 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2 (020-7440 4263; www.soane.org), Free. Tube: Holborn
Handel House Museum
The home of Baroque composer George Frederic Handel from 1723 until he died in 1759, this is where he composed great works Messiah, Zadok The Priest and Music For The Royal Fireworks.
Now a museum celebrating Handel’s life and work, the house has even more musical history attached to it: incredibly, the upper floors were also once home to Jimi Hendrix from 1968 to 1969.
» 25 Brook St, W1 (020-7495 1685; www.handelhouse.org). £5. Tube: Bond Street
Geffrye Museum Portraying the changing styles and tastes in British interiors over the past 400 years, this collection of quintessentially English living rooms is home to an array of textiles, paintings and furniture from 1600 to the present day.
Go on, make a date and check out the chintz.
» Kingsland Rd, E2 (020-7739 9893; www.geffrye-museum.org.uk). Free. Tube: Liverpool Street.
Dennis Sever’s House
More time capsule than museum, this authentic 18th-century weavers’ home, recreated by artist Dennis Sever, is a feast of the senses.
Visitors must use their imagination to transport themselves back to 18th-century England.
As you enter each room, imagine that members of the family of weavers have just exited and you’re likely to find half-eaten food on the tables, chairs rocking and even live birds chirping in cages.
More adult’s playground, due to the level of imagination required, therefore children are prohibited.
Visit in December to see the house decked out in all the splendour of Christmas.
» 18 Folgate St, E1 (020-7247 4013; www.dennissevershouse.co.uk). £8-15. Tube: Liverpool Street
Sutton House
Built in 1535 by Sir Ralph Sadleir, a courtier of King Henry VIII, the oldest house in east London tells the story of five centuries of history and boasts an authentic interactive Tudor kitchen with objects for visitors to touch and smell.
The original oak-panelled rooms boast carved fireplaces, while the charming grounds include a quaint internal courtyard.
The house is perfect for a variety of events, including Christmas carol concerts, Halloween ghost tours, exhibitions by local artists, monthly family days and even Black History Month activities.
» Homerton High Street, E9 (020-8986 2264; www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-suttonhouse) £2.80 Rail: Hackney Central or Hackney Downs
The best of the biggest
Eltham Palace
A former residence of Henry VIII, the palace lay neglected for 500 years when the royals moved to Greenwich.
But when wealthy textile magnates Stephen and Virginia Courtauld bought it in 1933, they transformed it into a veritable Art Deco masterpiece.
Hailed as a design mecca of its time, some of the innovative ideas that abound here include concealed electric lighting, centralised vacuum cleaning and an internal loudspeaker system that pumps music throughout the entire house.
Add to this Virginia’s magnificent gold-leaf and onyx bathroom, the lacquered ‘ocean liner’ style veneer walls and built-in furniture, and you can easily see why the mansion was renowned as an entertainer’s paradise.
Eltham Palace hasn’t cut its royal ties entirely, though — it’s now home to The Royal Blackheath Golf Club.
» Court Yard Rd, Greenwich, SE9 (020-8294 2548; www.elthampalace.org.uk), £8.10. Rail: Eltham
House Hunting
Historical Hampstead
As well as Keats House (020-7435 2062, keatshouse@cityoflondon.gov) — the pretty cottage where the poet wrote Ode To A Nightingale, fell in love with Fanny Brawne and eventually died of tuberculosis — this stunning corner of the capital is home to a host of National Trust and historical properties, including 2 Willow Road (01494-755 570, www.nationaltrust.org/main/w-2willowroad) — the home of modernist architect Erno Goldfinger, which houses a large collection of modern art;
Fenton House (01494-755 563, www.nationaltrust.org/main/w-fentonhouse) with its 300-year-old apple orchard and walled garden; Grade 1-listed Burgh House (www.burghhouse.org.uk) with its quaint buttery garden café; and let’s not forget beautiful Kenwood House (020-8348 1286, www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.12783), which hosts concerts in the summer and in winter its grounds make for many a jaunty amble.
Set aside a whole weekend and visit them all!
Tube: Hampstead.
Come in from the cold at one of London’s charming, festive or simply offbeat heritage properties. Words: ALEXANDRA WENHAM
Sir John Soane’s Museum
The 18th century architect’s impressive personal home was designed to make maximum use of natural light and houses a vast collection of antiquities, including a genuine Egyptian sarcophagus in the basement.
On the first Tuesday of every month, there is a special candlelit opening from 6-9pm (spooky!), but expect long queues.
» 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2 (020-7440 4263; www.soane.org), Free. Tube: Holborn
Handel House Museum
The home of Baroque composer George Frederic Handel from 1723 until he died in 1759, this is where he composed great works Messiah, Zadok The Priest and Music For The Royal Fireworks.
Now a museum celebrating Handel’s life and work, the house has even more musical history attached to it: incredibly, the upper floors were also once home to Jimi Hendrix from 1968 to 1969.
» 25 Brook St, W1 (020-7495 1685; www.handelhouse.org). £5. Tube: Bond Street
Geffrye Museum Portraying the changing styles and tastes in British interiors over the past 400 years, this collection of quintessentially English living rooms is home to an array of textiles, paintings and furniture from 1600 to the present day.
Go on, make a date and check out the chintz.
» Kingsland Rd, E2 (020-7739 9893; www.geffrye-museum.org.uk). Free. Tube: Liverpool Street.
Dennis Sever’s House
More time capsule than museum, this authentic 18th-century weavers’ home, recreated by artist Dennis Sever, is a feast of the senses.
Visitors must use their imagination to transport themselves back to 18th-century England.
As you enter each room, imagine that members of the family of weavers have just exited and you’re likely to find half-eaten food on the tables, chairs rocking and even live birds chirping in cages.
More adult’s playground, due to the level of imagination required, therefore children are prohibited.
Visit in December to see the house decked out in all the splendour of Christmas.
» 18 Folgate St, E1 (020-7247 4013; www.dennissevershouse.co.uk). £8-15. Tube: Liverpool Street
Sutton House
Built in 1535 by Sir Ralph Sadleir, a courtier of King Henry VIII, the oldest house in east London tells the story of five centuries of history and boasts an authentic interactive Tudor kitchen with objects for visitors to touch and smell.
The original oak-panelled rooms boast carved fireplaces, while the charming grounds include a quaint internal courtyard.
The house is perfect for a variety of events, including Christmas carol concerts, Halloween ghost tours, exhibitions by local artists, monthly family days and even Black History Month activities.
» Homerton High Street, E9 (020-8986 2264; www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-suttonhouse) £2.80 Rail: Hackney Central or Hackney Downs
The best of the biggest
Eltham Palace
A former residence of Henry VIII, the palace lay neglected for 500 years when the royals moved to Greenwich.
But when wealthy textile magnates Stephen and Virginia Courtauld bought it in 1933, they transformed it into a veritable Art Deco masterpiece.
Hailed as a design mecca of its time, some of the innovative ideas that abound here include concealed electric lighting, centralised vacuum cleaning and an internal loudspeaker system that pumps music throughout the entire house.
Add to this Virginia’s magnificent gold-leaf and onyx bathroom, the lacquered ‘ocean liner’ style veneer walls and built-in furniture, and you can easily see why the mansion was renowned as an entertainer’s paradise.
Eltham Palace hasn’t cut its royal ties entirely, though — it’s now home to The Royal Blackheath Golf Club.
» Court Yard Rd, Greenwich, SE9 (020-8294 2548; www.elthampalace.org.uk), £8.10. Rail: Eltham
House Hunting
Historical Hampstead
As well as Keats House (020-7435 2062, keatshouse@cityoflondon.gov) — the pretty cottage where the poet wrote Ode To A Nightingale, fell in love with Fanny Brawne and eventually died of tuberculosis — this stunning corner of the capital is home to a host of National Trust and historical properties, including 2 Willow Road (01494-755 570, www.nationaltrust.org/main/w-2willowroad) — the home of modernist architect Erno Goldfinger, which houses a large collection of modern art;
Fenton House (01494-755 563, www.nationaltrust.org/main/w-fentonhouse) with its 300-year-old apple orchard and walled garden; Grade 1-listed Burgh House (www.burghhouse.org.uk) with its quaint buttery garden café; and let’s not forget beautiful Kenwood House (020-8348 1286, www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.12783), which hosts concerts in the summer and in winter its grounds make for many a jaunty amble.
Set aside a whole weekend and visit them all!
Tube: Hampstead.
