Encyclopedia:
Kenwood House,
Talk:Kenwood House
Kenwood House (also known as the
Iveagh Bequest) is a former
stately home in
Hampstead Heath in
London. It is run by
English Heritage.
The original house was early 17th century. The
orangery was added in about 1700. In
1754 it was bought by
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. He commissioned
Robert Adam to remodel it from 1764-1779. Adam added the library (one of his most famous interiors) to balance the orangery, and added the
Ionic portico at the entrance. In 1793-6 George Saunders added two wings on the north side, and the offices and kitchen buildings and brewery (now the restaurant) to the side.
It was donated to the nation by
Lord Iveagh, a member of the
Guinness family, when he died in 1927, and opened to the public in 1928. He had bought the house from the Mansfield family in 1925. Unfortunately the furnishing had already been sold by then, so the house is largely empty. Some furniture has since been added. The paintings are from Iveagh's collection. Part of the grounds were bought by the Kenwood Preservation Council in 1922, after there had been threats that it would be sold for building. In the late 1990s the house received approximately 150,000 visitors a year and an estimated 1 million people visited the grounds each year.
[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/kenwood_house_tourism.pdf Kenwood: Information for Tutors and Students of Tourism Studies, English Heritage booklet 2002 revision, page 5.]The film
Notting Hill was partly filmed here.
Paintings
Paintings of note include
* 'The Guitar Player' by
Johannes Vermeer* a late
Rembrandt self portrait
right|thumbnail|200px|Self-portrait by Rembrandt (1661) at Kenwood House *
Thomas Gainsborough, 'Portrait of Countess Howe' (see
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe)
*
Edwin Henry Landseer, 'Hunting in the Olden Times'
Other painters include
*
Joshua Reynolds*
Angelica Kauffmann*
John Crome *
George Morland*
Van Dyck*
William Larkin*
J. M. W. Turner*
Arthur Boyd Houghton*
Frans Hals*
Francois BoucherThere is also a collection of shoe
buckles,
jewellery and
Portrait miniatures.
Gardens
thumbnail|Monolyth-Empyrean Barbara Hepworth">[1953 by
Barbara Hepworth]
There are fine landscaped gardens around the house, originally designed by
Humphry Repton, contrasting to the more wild Hampstead Heath that surrounds the area. There is also a new garden by
Arabella Lennox-Boyd.
One third of the area is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest, the ancient woodlands. These are home to many birds and insects and the largest
Pipistrelle bat roost in
London.
There is a
Barbara Hepworth, a
Henry Moore and a
Reg Butler sculpture in the gardens near the house.
Classical music concerts by the lake are held in the summer and attract thousands of people every weekend to enjoy the music, scenery and spectacular fireworks. The concerts have been running for 55 years.
External links
*
http://www.picnicconcerts.com Kenwood Concerts - information on artists and tickets*
http://accessibility.english-heritage.org.uk/filestore/visitsevents/asp/visits/Details.asp?Property_Id=107 English Heritage website for the house*
http://www.gardenvisit.com/g/kenw.htm Kenwood Park - information on garden history*
http://accessibility.english-heritage.org.uk/default.asp?WCI=Node&WCE=7892 English Heritage website for the gardens*
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/kenwood_house_tourism.pdf English Heritage - information for tutors and students of tourism studiesReferences
*
The Buildings of England London 4: North. Bridget Cherry and
Nikolaus Pevsner. ISBN 0-300-09653-4.
*
Kenwood: The Iveagh Bequest. Julius Bryant. (English Heritage publication).
commons|Kenwood
coor title
Category:Buildings and structures in CamdenCategory:English HeritageCategory:Gardens in LondonCategory:Hampstead HeathCategory:Historic houses in LondonCategory:Grade I listed buildings in Londonde:Kenwood House
