Visit William Morris’s Red House in Bexleyheath. Owned by the National Trust and was built and lived in by the designer/artist/writer, it was the family home for 140 years.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/red-house
Hogarth bought the house to act as his family’s country refuge, a weekend and summer home, away from the noise of his other home in what is now Leicester Square.
http://www.hounslow.info/arts-culture/historic-houses-museums/hogarth-house
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. It has been the family home of British kings and queens for almost 1,000 years. It is an official residence of Her Majesty The Queen, whose standard flies from the Round Tower when she is in residence.
Housing official residences of some of the biggest names in British politics, Downing Street is one of the most well-known locations in London.
https://www.gov.uk/government/history/10-downing-street#take-the-tour
Syon is one of the last great houses of London, and has been in the family of the present owners for more than 400 years. Profoundly historic, the House holds a wealth of art within its grand classical interiors, while the Park and Gardens feel like deep countryside, although barely nine miles from Charing Cross.
https://www.syonpark.co.uk/
A day out at Marble Hill is a real treat as this beautiful Palladian villa is set in 66 acres of outstanding riverside parkland near Richmond in West London.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/marble-hill-house/
From 1875, 18 Stafford Terrace was the home of Punch cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne, his wife Marion, their two children and their live-in servants.
Queen Charlotte’s Cottage was built as a one-storey building between 1754 and 1771 within the grounds of Richmond Lodge (which now form the western half of Kew). It was located within an oval ring of pheasant pens, at the end of a paddock known as the New Menagerie.
The Geffrye Museum explores the home and the way people live. The collections show how homes have been used and furnished over the past 400 years, reflecting changes in society and behaviour as well as style, fashion and taste.
As its Halloween why not visit 50 Berkeley Square, which is a reportedly a haunted townhouse on Berkeley Square in Mayfair, in Central London. In the late 19th Century, it became known as “The Most Haunted House in London”.
Visit William Morris’s Red House in Bexleyheath. Owned by the National Trust and was built and lived in by the designer/artist/writer, it was the family home for 140 years.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/red-house
Hogarth bought the house to act as his family’s country refuge, a weekend and summer home, away from the noise of his other home in what is now Leicester Square.
http://www.hounslow.info/arts-culture/historic-houses-museums/hogarth-house
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. It has been the family home of British kings and queens for almost 1,000 years. It is an official residence of Her Majesty The Queen, whose standard flies from the Round Tower when she is in residence.
Housing official residences of some of the biggest names in British politics, Downing Street is one of the most well-known locations in London.
https://www.gov.uk/government/history/10-downing-street#take-the-tour
Syon is one of the last great houses of London, and has been in the family of the present owners for more than 400 years. Profoundly historic, the House holds a wealth of art within its grand classical interiors, while the Park and Gardens feel like deep countryside, although barely nine miles from Charing Cross.
https://www.syonpark.co.uk/
A day out at Marble Hill is a real treat as this beautiful Palladian villa is set in 66 acres of outstanding riverside parkland near Richmond in West London.
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/marble-hill-house/
The house gives an insight into the personal lives of the Sambourne family, and also provides a rare example of what was known as an 'Aesthetic interior' or 'House Beautiful' style.
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/museums/18staffordterrace1.aspx
Queen Charlotte’s Cottage was built as a one-storey building between 1754 and 1771 within the grounds of Richmond Lodge (which now form the western half of Kew). It was located within an oval ring of pheasant pens, at the end of a paddock known as the New Menagerie.
Previously known as the Menagerie (later the New Menagerie), it became home to exotic creatures from the furthest reaches of the British Empire, including a pair of black swans, buffaloes and the first kangaroos to arrive in England, which successfully bred here. George III also kept an example of the now extinct quagga, an animal similar to a zebra, at the Menagerie.
George III bestowed Richmond Lodge and estate to Queen Charlotte as part of their marriage settlement. From the early 1770s the cottage (or at least its interior décor) was a source of pride for the Queen.
In August 1774, the London Magazine described the cottage as a “pretty retreat”. When exactly the crude red brick building acquired an extension and its first floor ‘picnic room’ (accessed by a curving staircase) is not clear, but incidental evidence points to the mid- to late-1770s.
This main room, with bamboo motif door mouldings and pelmets, has painted convolvulus and nasturtium ‘growing’ up its walls. These may have been added by Queen Charlotte’s artistic third daughter, Princess Elizabeth.
Despite considering it a 'favourite place', George III did not return to Kew after 1806, and the Georgian royal family stopped using the cottage in 1818.
In 1845, fencing was replaced by open rustic trellis to reveal it to the public. However they couldn’t get close until Queen Victoria ceded the cottage and its 15 hectares of grounds to Kew in 1898 to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee. At this time furniture and pictures were removed and sent to Windsor Palace.
The late Princess Margaret, the present Queen's sister, used the cottage in 1996 for a private party.
The Geffrye Museum explores the home and the way people live. The collections show how homes have been used and furnished over the past 400 years, reflecting changes in society and behaviour as well as style, fashion and taste. A series of period rooms lead visitors on a walk through time from 17th century oak furniture and panelling, past muted Georgian elegance and eclectic Victorian style, to 20th century modernity and contemporary living.
These rooms are complemented by a sequence of period gardens and a walled herb garden which illustrate the role of the garden in home life and how domestic gardens have changed over time.
The Geffrye is a much-loved gem in the lively and creative Hoxton area - historically a centre for furniture-making and market gardening. Set in 18th-century almshouse and surrounded by gardens, it is often described as an oasis in the heart of the city.
As its Halloween why not visit 50 Berkeley Square, which is a reportedly a haunted townhouse on Berkeley Square in Mayfair, in Central London. In the late 19th Century, it became known as “The Most Haunted House in London”.
From 1770 to 1827 it was the home of British Prime Minister George Canning, commemorated by a plaque on the house today. The house was then bought by the Viscount Bearstead, who rented the property to one Mr Myers.
Since 1937 the building has been occupied by Maggs Bros, a firm of antiquarian book dealers. In 1998 the building was thought to be the oldest unaltered building in London.
Situated on Regents Canal, in an old ice cream warehouse is the Canal Museum. It opened in 1992 charting the history of London inland waterways from the 18th century. It also offers boat trips though Islington Tunnel.
Hogarth bought the house to act as his family’s country refuge, a weekend and summer home, away from the noise of his other home in what is now Leicester Square.
The Hogarths extended the house and enjoyed the fruit trees and nut walk in the walled garden. Stepping through the gate you will see the ancient mulberry tree - the Hogarths are said to have made mulberry pies for the Foundling children who stayed with them.
Hogarth had a ‘painting room’ at the bottom of the garden where he was working until a few days before his death.
The restoration project steering group from the William Hogarth Trust has undertaken extensive research into the history of the Grade I listed house and its occupants. This provides the information for the new displays.
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. It has been the family home of British kings and queens for almost 1,000 years. It is an official residence of Her Majesty The Queen, whose standard flies from the Round Tower when she is in residence.
The Queen spends most of her private weekends at Windsor and takes up official residence for a month over Easter (March to April), known as Easter Court. The Queen is also at Windsor for one week each June, when she attends Royal Ascot and the service of the Order of the Garter.
Windsor is still very much a working royal palace. The Castle is used regularly for ceremonial and State occasions. It is here that The Queen often hosts State Visits from overseas monarchs and presidents. St George’s Hall makes a spectacular setting for a State Banquet, when a single table, stretching the length of the hall and seating 160 people, is decorated with porcelain, and silver-gilt from the Royal Collection.
Occasionally The Queen hosts a ‘dine and sleep’, when Her Majesty invites important figures, such as political leaders, Ambassadors, High Commissioners or the heads of Commonwealth nations, to have dinner at the Castle, before showing them a special display of items from the Royal Library. The guests then spend a night at the Castle and depart after breakfast the following morning.
St George’s Chapel within the Castle Precincts is the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter, the oldest order of chivalry in the world. Founded at Windsor by Edward III in 1348, its Knights still attend a Service of Thanksgiving in the chapel of their patron, St George, processing in their robes and insignia through the Castle Precincts. Today, the Order consists of The Queen, The Prince of Wales and 24 Knight Companions. There are also Royal Knights and Foreign or ‘stranger’ Knights. St George’s Chapel remains an active centre for worship, with daily services open to all.
Housing official residences of some of the biggest names in British politics, Downing Street is one of the most well-known locations in London. Number 10 Downing Street is known the world over as the home of the Prime Minster and although today it’s hard to get a good look at the street (thanks to security additions over the years), Downing Street still remains as one of the most visited sites in the capital city.
The most famous on the street, Number 10 is the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury. Now-a-days the job of First Lord of the Treasury is always held by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom which means it is the Prime Minister who lives in this house. The majority of our Prime Ministers, dating back to the very first, (Robert Walpole) have called Number 10 home since the creation of the job in the 1720’s.
The building itself is made up of over 100 hundred rooms – only part of which is actually residential. There is a private residence on the third floor and a private kitchen in the basement. Everything in between is offices, conference rooms, reception halls, sitting rooms, dining rooms, etc. These rooms are all in constant usage – Foreign dignitaries are entertained here and the Prime Minister and his government base the majority of their work at Number 10.
The front door to Number 10 is most likely the most famous feature of the building. Large, shiny and black and bearing ‘10’ in large brass numbers, the door is most likely one of the most photographed in the world! Originally, the door was made of Georgian black oak; it is today made of blast-proof steel and takes a reported eight men to lift it. The original door can be seen by the public – it is on display in the Churchill Museum at the Cabinet War Rooms!
10 Downing Street is located in the City of Westminster just a short walk away from the Palace of Westminster and Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.
Syon is one of the last great houses of London, and has been in the family of the present owners for more than 400 years. Profoundly historic, the House holds a wealth of art within its grand classical interiors, while the Park and Gardens feel like deep countryside, although barely nine miles from Charing Cross.
Syon House is the last surviving ducal residence complete with its country estate in Greater London. Take a look round the Duke of Northumberland’s London home, view the magnificent State and Private Apartments and enjoy the spectacular Great Conservatory and 40 acres of gardens.
Refreshments are available from the Garden Kitchen Restaurant in the Wyevale Garden Centre.
