Kensington

10 historic London homes that are now museums…7. Sambourne House…

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The former home of famed Victorian illustrator and photographer Edward Linley Sambourne, this property at 18 Stafford Terrace in Kensington has been preserved as a museum.

Sambourne, famed for, among other things, the cartoons he produced for Punch magazine, moved into the property in 1875, shortly after his marriage to Marion Herapath in 1874, and the couple, who would have two children – Roy and Maud – lived there for the rest of their lives.

PICTURE: Jhsteel (licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

After moving in, Linley, inspired by the grand houses of his artistic friends in the so-called Holland Park circle such as Nick Fildes, Marcus Stone and Colin Hunter, set about redecorating the property in what was then the popular Aesthetic style. He installed stained glass windows, Morris & Co wallpapers and Chinese ceramic vases and over the next 35 years purchased ceramics and furnishings specifically for the property.

While Sambourne adopted many of Aesthetic elements in his decorative scheme such as the stylised motifs inspired by nature and the muted colour palette, he didn’t particularly follow the style’s call for restraint and the house quickly became home to a growing collection of furnishings and objects (in fact an inventory take in 1877, just two years after the couple moved in, shows the home already contained more than 50 vases, 70 chairs and around 700 framed pictures). 

Sambourne, who was said to have been “skilled at making a great show on a limited budget”, couldn’t afford to create a purpose-built studio and worked in various parts of the house, initially in the morning room, which he had extended to meet his needs, and later in the upstairs drawing room. After their daughter Maud married and left the property, he converted the former nursery on the top floor into a studio.

After the deaths of Linley in 1910 and Marion in 1914, their bachelor son Roy moved in and lived there until his own death in 1946. The house then passed to Maud (now Maud Messel), although she didn’t live there, and on her death passed to her daughter Anne Messel.

Anne had married Ronald Armstrong Jones in 1925 and then, following a divorce, Michael Parsons, sixth Earl of Rosse in 1935, giving her the title of Countess of Rosse. She inherited the house in 1960 – the same year her son Antony married Princess Margaret and received the title of Earl of Snowdon.

Lady Rosse, who had proposed the house be preserved as it had been in Linley’s day, subsequently negotiated the sale of the property to the Greater London Council in 1980 and in turn it was leased to the Victorian Society, which she had co-founded in 1957. It was subsequently opened as a museum.

In 1989, after the Greater London Council was abolished, ownership of the house transferred to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (the lease to the Victorian Society meanwhile, ended in 2000). In 2022, the house, now Grade II*-listed, was re-opened to the public after a significant renovation and refurbishment project.

Alongside the decor, furnishings and ceramics, the house displays a number of the cartoons Sambourne drew for Punch as well as drawings he did for other projects, such as Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies, and some of his collection of more than 30,000 photographs used to aid his production of cartoons (not all of which apparently are suitable for public consumption). Sambourne’s “detective camera” which allowed him to photograph subjects surreptitiously is also there.

WHERE: Sambourne House, 18 Stafford Terrace (nearest Tube stations are Kensington (Olympia) and High Street Kensington); WHEN: 10am to 5:30pm, Wednesday to Sunday; COST: £11 adult/£9 concession/£5 child (six to 18-years-old/five and under free); WEBSITE: www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/sambourne-house

London Pub Signs – The Churchill Arms, Kensington…

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The Churchill Arms decorated for Christmas in 2015. PICTURE: Loco Steve (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

It’s Christmas in London and for such a festive occasion, one pub immediately springs to mind – The Churchill Arms.

The name is certainly not a mystery and doesn’t really have anything to do with the Christmas theme. It stems from, of course, wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill – or rather, his grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, John and Frances Anne Spencer-Churchill, who were patrons here and which, in honour of Churchill and them, saw the pub so-named after World War II.

Churchill remains a theme in the interior where a good deal of related memorabilia can be found – including wartime posters, pictures of the man himself and a (fake) plaque commemorating Churchill’s use of the pub for his wartime broadcasts (there’s even a celebratory night held each year around Churchill’s birthday).

The pub, which is located at 119 Kensington Church Street, dates from 1750.

But in recent times, it’s become famous for its stunning Christmas light displays which this year reportedly feature some 80 Christmas trees and 22,000 lights. The pub is also known for its extraordinarily profuse flower displays which cost thousands of pounds each year and which have even won at none other than the Chelsea Flower Show.

It also holds the claim to fame of being the first London pub to serve Thai food when it did so as far back as 1988.

A Fullers pub, for more head to www.churchillarmskensington.co.uk.

This Week in London – Open House London; The British Army in Germany; and, Christine Granville’s Blue Plaque…

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• It’s Open House London this weekend and, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, this programme features a host of documentary films, online events and self-led walking tours. Highlights from the festival, which runs over Saturday and Sunday with some additional events taking place until 27th September, include online tours of the HM Treasury in Whitehall (pictured) and Dorich House Museum in Kingston-upon-Thames, a self-guided walking tour of Fosters + Partners buildings in London’s centre, and the chance to visit Rochester Square in Marylebone. The programme features a series of collections of related events – such as those related to ‘colonial histories’ or ‘architecture for the climate emergency’ – to help make it easier for people to access. For the full programme of events, head to https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk. PICTURE: HM Treasury Building taken from the London Eye (Dave Kirkham/licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0/Image cropped)

• The work and lives of the more than million British Army soldiers who have served in Germany following World War II is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the National Army Museum in Chelsea next Tuesday. Foe to Friend: The British Army in Germany since 1945 charts how the Army helped to rebuild a broken nation in the aftermath of the war, provide protection during the Cold War and, later, how they used Germany as a base to deploy troops all around the world. It will include stories of family life as well as those involving espionage and massive military training exercises. The free exhibition can be seen until 1st July, 2021. For more, see www.nam.ac.uk.

• Christine Granville, Britain’s first and longest-serving female special agent, has been honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque. The plaque is located at the 1 Lexham Gardens hotel (previously known as the Shelbourne Hotel) in Kensington which was Granville’s base after the war. Granville, who was once described by Churchill as his “favourite spy”, was born in Warsaw as Krystyna Skarbek. She joined  British intelligence after Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and undertook missions including skiing over the snow-bound Polish border in temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius, smuggling microfilm revealing Hitler’s plans to invade the Soviet Union across Europe and rescuing French Resistance agents from the Gestapo (in fact, it’s said she was also the inspiration for Vesper Lynd, a spy in Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale). Christine Granville was one of her aliases she had been given during her time with intelligence and it was a name she decided to keep after the war. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/.

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London Pub Signs – The Windsor Castle, Kensington…

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The story goes that this Kensington pub – which sits on the brow of Campden Hill – was given its name because on a clear day it was possible to see the crenellated towers and walls of that royal residence from the windows on the upper floor.

Whether or not that’s the case remains a matter of some speculation – perhaps the pub was simply named after the salubrious royal abode for its cachet.

The Grade II-listed pub, at 114 Campden Hill Road just to the east of Holland Park, dates from the 1820s when customers apparently included farmers taking their livestock to Hyde Park for market day.

It is said to have been remodelled in the 1930s but, according to its listed building entry “retains a substantial proportion original fabric” as well as, given the remodelling, “exemplifying the ‘Old English’ phase of inter-war pub design”.

The original features of the pub, which also has a walled garden, include wooden screens which separate what were the original bars – Campden, Private and Sherry (the name of the latter apparently comes from a drink once served here called the Hunter). The screens are fitted with small doors, the tiny size due to the fact they were originally intended only for use by bar staff.

There’s a story that the bones of philosopher and author Thomas Paine – he of Rights of Man fame – are buried in the cellar. The bones of Paine, who had died in America where he’d been one of the Founding Fathers, were apparently shipped back to his birthplace of England by MP and social reformer William Cobbett – he had intended to give them a fitting burial on his native soil but that never took place. Instead, when his son inherited them, he is said to have sold his skeleton to the landlord to settle his tab.

Not to be confused with other ‘Windsor Castles’ in London including one in East Finchley and another in Marylebone.

For more, see www.thewindsorcastlekensington.co.uk.

PICTURE: Ewan Munro (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

LondonLife – Victorian London in photographs…

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Above is a view along Fleet Street in the City of London in 1890, looking east towards Ludgate Hill and St Paul’s Cathedral. It’s one of many early photographic views of London on show in a free exhibition which can be seen in Aldgate Square until Sunday (12th August). Presented by the City of London Corporation’s London Metropolitan Archives, Victorian London in Photographs includes the earliest photograph in the LMA collection (see last Thursday’s entry for that). If you miss it at Aldgate Square, the display will be in Paternoster Square next to St Paul’s Cathedral from 14th to 23rd August. For more on the London Metropolitan Archives, follow this link. ALL PICTURES: London Metropolitan Archives, City of London Corporation

Above – Residents pose for the camera in Market Court, Kensington in 1868.

Above – Following the success of the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851, the Crystal Palace was relocated to Sydenham Hill. This photograph by Philip Henry Delamotte taken between 1852 and 1854 shows the South Transept during construction.

Above – Work progresses on the masonry and suspension chains during the construction of Tower Bridge in 1892. 

View of Iron Wharf and Bull Wharf, with St Paul’s Cathedral in the background. The photograph was taken from Southwark Bridge. Anonymous photographer, c. 1855.

LondonLife – Terraced houses, Kensington…

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PICTURE: Christian Vasile/Unsplash

LondonLife – Looking toward The Orangery, Kensington Palace…

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Now an elegant place to have lunch or afternoon tea, The Orangery was originally built in 1704-05. Its construction came at the behest of Queen Anne – the younger sister of Queen Mary II, she had ascended to the throne after the death of Mary’s husband King William III in 1702 following a fall from a horse (Mary had died of smallpox at Kensington Palace in 1694). Queen Anne used the building for parties in summer and in winter, thanks to underfloor heating, as a conservatory for plants (two engines were later fitted to the building to lift the orange trees kept there in colder months). The building’s architect is thought to have been the renowned Nicholas Hawksmoor, clerk of works for Kensington Palace, but it was extensively modified by Sir John Vanbrugh. The building also contains carvings by Grinling Gibbons. For more, see www.orangerykensingtonpalace.co.uk. PICTURE: Vapor Kopeny/Unsplash

LondonLife – Remembering the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire…

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Floral tributes for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster outside the Notting Hill Methodist Church. PICTURE: ChiralJon/CC BY 2.0. (image cropped)

Treasures of London – The (new) Design Museum…

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design-museum1

The Design Museum’s new home in Kensington finally opened this week and it’s already been getting some rave reviews, hence why, despite its freshness, we thought we’d mention it in our Treasures of London feature.

The museum, which moved to its new premises after 25 years in Shad Thames, now occupies the former Commonwealth Institute building, which dates from 1962 and was designed by Robert Matthew. The building has recently undergone a £83 million makeover with the interiors designed by architect John Pawson.

The new museum has three times the space of the previous premises and features the only collection in the UK devoted exclusively to contemporary design and architecture. At the heart of the building is the Designer Maker User exhibition which, as the museum’s first free permanent display, occupies the top floor of the museum, and includes more than 1,000 items of 20th and 21st century design. At its entrance can be found a wall featuring more than 200 items from 25 countries nominated by the general public including a Bible, Coca-Cola can and a £5 banknote.

design-museum2

Inside, the Designer section focuses on the thought-processes of designers and features a full-sized production of a gerberette used in the Richard Rogers-designed Centre Pompidou in Paris as well as models and images of the works of the late architect Zaha Hadid, David Mellor’s traffic lights, Kinneir and Calvert’s British road signage system and a full scale prototype for a new London Tube train designed by PriestmanGoode as well as Moulton bicycles and London Underground maps.

The Maker section, meanwhile, traces the evolution of manufacturing from Thonet bentwood cafe chairs and Model T Ford cars to robotic arms and 3D printing and includes objects at different stages of production – from tennis balls to the London 2012 Olympic Torch.

And in the User section, visitors will be led to explore the interaction between the consumer and brands that have become household names – Braun, Sony, Apple and Olivetti – as well as the impact of design on politics, fashion and music. Displays in the latter part include Gucci tennis shoes, the fashions of Vivienne Westwood and Christian Louboutin and the pioneering magazine The Face.

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As many as 500,000 people are expected to visit the museum in its first year. Along with permanent displays, also unveiled this week was the new exhibition, Fear and Love, featuring 11 new installations by world leading designers. They include The Pan-European Living Room by architecture practice OMA, Room Tone by fashion designer Hussein Chalayan, Pittsburgh-based designer Madeline Gannon’s “mechanical creature” Mimus, and a series of death masks called Vespers created using 3D printing technology Neri Oxman.

And running until 19th February is the Beazley Designs of the Year, a celebration of design that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year past. Categories include architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport.

WHERE: The Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High Street, Kensington (nearest Tube stations are Kensington High Street. Earl’s Court and Holland Park); WHEN: 10am to 6pm daily; COST: free (admission charges to special exhibitions); WEBSITE: http://designmuseum.org

PICTURES: Top – Gravity; Middle – Gareth Gardner; Bottom – Helene Binet. Courtesy The Design Museum.

LondonLife – The Serpentine’s 2015 Pavilion…

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Serpentine-2015This year’s Serpentine Pavilion, marking the 15th anniversary of the annual summer commission by the Serpentine Galleries in Kensington Gardens, is a polygonal multi-coloured structure designed by Spanish architects selgascano. Made from a fluorine-based polymer, the pavilion has multiple entry and exit points and takes as its inspiration the site itself as well as the way in which people move through London, notably via the web-like network of the London Underground. Say selgascano: “We sought a way to allow the public to experience architecture through simple elements: structure, light, transparency, shadows, lightness, form, sensitivity, change, surprise, colour and materials. We have therefore designed a pavilion which incorporates all of these elements.” The architects say the pavilion was also designed as a tribute to the previous pavilion commissions, designed by the likes of Frank Gehry, Oscar Niemeyer and Zaha Hadid. For more, see www.serpentinegalleries.org. PICTURE: © Iwan Baan

10 London sites associated with Sir Winston Churchill – 5. London residences…

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Throughout his life – as a child, bachelor, husband and family man, Sir Winston lived in many properties in London (although, of course, a couple of the most famous properties associated with him – his birthplace, Blenheim Palace, and the much-loved family home, Chartwell in Kent – are located outside the city). But, those and 10 Downing Street aside, here are just some of the many places he lived in within London…

• 29 St James’s Place, St James: Having been born at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire and then having spent time in Dublin, at the age of five (1880) he came to live here with his family. He remained here until 1882 when he was sent off to school in Ascot (he later attended schools in Sussex and, most famously, Harrow School). The family, meanwhile, moved to a townshouse at 2 Connaught Place which backed on to Hyde Park.

• 33 Eccleston Square, Pimlico: The Churchills moved here in 1909 and it was here that their first two children Diana and Randolph were born in 1909 and in 1911. The family remained here until 1913. A blue plaque marks the property.

• Admiralty House, Whitehall: The Churchills first moved into Admiralty House – part of the Admiralty complex on Whitehall – in 1913 (from the aforementioned Eccleston Square) after Churchill was made First Lord of the Admiralty. They remained here until 1915 – years he would go onto to describe as the happiest in his life – before he resigned but returned in 1939 when he was once again appointed to the position.

• 2 Sussex Square, Bayswater: In 1920, the Churchills bought this property just north of Hyde Park which they kept until 1924 when they moved into 11 Downing Street (see below). The property is marked with a blue plaque.

• 11 Downing Street, Whitehall: The Churchills lived at 11 Downing Street when Sir Winston was Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 1925 to 1929. The property, located in Downing Street, is not accessible to the public.

• 11 Morpeth Mansions, Morpeth Terrace, Westminster:  The Churchill family lived at this Westminster address between 1930 and 1939 (prior to him becoming Prime Minister). The property is marked by a brown plaque.

• 28 Hyde Park Gate, Kensington: Churchill died in this Grade II-listed, mid 19th century property on the morning of 24th January, 1965. The couple moved in after the end of World War II and, while it’s not clear whether they fully vacated the residence when he was prime minister between 1951-55, it remained their property until his death 10 years later. The property next door, number 27, provided accommodation for his staff. The property is marked with a blue plaque.

This Week in London – Open House London this weekend; the Ming dynasty at the British Museum; John Constable at the V&A; and Totally Thames…

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The-Leadenhall-Building• Open House London is finally here with some 800 buildings across the city – some of them rarely accessible to the public – open for free this weekend, from grand historical institutions and modern skyscrapers through to ‘green’ schools, engineering projects, parks and gardens, and private homes. The weekend – which is being run this year under the theme of ‘revealing’ – also includes a programme of walks, engineering and landscape tours, cycle rides, a bus tour, childrens’ activities and expert talks as well as a moonlit ‘culture crawl’ through London on Friday night and into Saturday morning (a fundraiser for Maggie’s Centres). Among the buildings opening their doors in the festival – created by London-based architecture organisation Open-City – are the ever popular 30 St Mary Axe (aka ‘The Gherkin’), the Foreign and India Office in Whitehall, the Bank of England, Portcullis House and City Hall along with everything from The Leadenhall Building (aka ‘The Cheesegrater’ – pictured), and Temple Church in the City to the Admiral’s House in Greenwich, the Dutch Embassy in Kensington and the steam coaster, the SS Robin, in Tower Hamlets. As mentioned in a previous week, some visits required pre-booking so make sure you check the programme before heading out. For a full copy of the programme of events, see www.londonopenhouse.org. PICTURE: © R Bryant.

• A major new exhibition focusing on China during the “pivotal” 50 years of Ming Dynasty rule between 1400-1450 opens at the British Museum in Bloomsbury today. Ming: 50 years that changed China features some of the finest objects ever made in China – loaned from institutions in China and elsewhere – as it explores some of the “great social and cultural changes” that saw Beijing established as the capital and the building of the Forbidden City. It includes objects from the imperial courts along with finds from three regional “princely tombs”. Four emperors ruled during the period and the display will feature the sword of Yongle Emperor, “the warrior”, the handwriting of the Hongxi emperor, “the bureaucrat”, the paintings of the Xuande emperor, “the aesthete”, and portraits of the regents who ruled while the Zhengtong emperor was a boy. The exhibition runs until 4th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

• The work of 19th century artist John Constable and its debt to 17th century masters is the focus of a new exhibition opening at the V&A on Saturday. Constable: The Making of a Master – which features more than 150 works including celebrated pieces by Constable like The Hay Wain (1821), The Cornfield (1826) and Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831) as well as oil sketches, drawings, watercolours and engravings – will juxtapose his works with those of 17th century landscape masters like Ruisdael, Rubens and Claude. Among those of their works on display will be Rubens’ Moonlight Landscape (1635-1640) and Ruisdael’s Windmills near Haarlem (c.1650-62). The exhibition runs until 11th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk/constable.

• And don’t forget, Totally Thames continues to run throughout this month which an extensive programme of river-related events. Those on during the coming week include Londonist Afloat: Terrific Tales of the Thames, a series of discussion sessions on aspects of the River Thames being held aboard the HMS President and London’s River – The City’s Ebb and Flow, a guided walk along the river (held on every Saturday and Monday during September), and Hospital and Troop Ships – Transporting the walking and wounded in the First World War, an exhibition held aboard the HQS Wellington (open Sundays and Mondays in September). For the full programme of events, see www.totallythames.org.

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This Week in London – London’s garden squares open their gates; World War I comics; and, exploring the Science Museum’s garbage…

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• London Open Garden Squares Weekend will see more than 200 “hidden and little known” gardens swing their gates open to the public this Saturday and Sunday. Featuring 20 more gardens than last year’s event, the gardens range from classic London square parks to rooftop gardens, community allotments and ecology centres as well as gardens attached to restaurants and historic properties. They include Highbury Square – former home of the Arsenal Football Club, Barnsbury Wood – London’s smallest nature reserve, the Cordwainers community garden in Hackney, Garden Barge Square which will see a floating garden created on the decks of barges, the garden at the PM’s home of number 10 Downing Street, and The Roof Gardens, located above the former Derry & Toms department store in Kensington. One £12 ticket gains access to all gardens (excepting those with special conditions) while National Trust members are half-price and children under 12 go free. For more and a full programme of open gardens, head to www.opensquares.org.

• Comics created during World War I are the focus of a new exhibition which opened at the Cartoon Museum in Bloomsbury this week. Never Again! World War I in Cartoon and Comic Art features works by British cartoonists Alfred Leete, Bruce Bairnsfather, William Heath Robinson and Donald McGill and includes more than 300 images ranging from political and joke cartoons taken from newspapers and periodicals and children’s comics to comic cigarette cards and publications produced in the trenches by serving soldiers. There are also some more recent works such as the 1980s comic strip Charley’s War and drawings from the Horrible Histories series. The exhibition runs until 19th October. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.cartoonmuseum.org.

• Explore the world of garbage in this new exhibition opening at the Science Museum in South Kensington on Monday. The Rubbish Collection aims to use 30 days worth of the Science Museum’s waste to “expose the beauty, value and volume of what we call ‘rubbish'”. Visitors are able to take part by collecting, sorting and documenting the rubbish generated by the museum which will then be photographed by artist Joshua Sofaer before going on to be processed for recycling or to generate electricity. During a second phase of the exhibition, Sofaer will bring the rubbish back into the museum at different stages of processing. The exhibition is part of the museum’s Climate Changing programme. Runs until 14th September. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.

Around London – John Snow’s legacy; a spotlight on the music hall; Alice Kettle at the Queen’s House; and, Sydney Lee at the RA…

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• A new exhibition on the work and legacy of John Snow – who traced the source of a deadly cholera outbreak in the 1850s to a Soho water pump – opened at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine this week. Cartographies of Life & Death – John Snow and Disease Mapping – part of a series of events planned for the bicentenary of Snow’s birth – features both historical treasures, such as disease maps from the school’s archives, and new artworks inspired by science with the entire display presented as a disease mapping ‘detective trail’. There will be a pop-up water bar and street lectures and performances. Snow (1813-1858) is considered the founder of modern epidemiology, the study of patterns and causes of health and disease in populations. His work remain influential even today. Admission is free. The exhibition runs until 17th April at the school in Keppel Street. For more, see www.johnsnow.org.uk.

• A new installation at the V&A opening on Saturday will explore the rise – and fall – of the music hall. Music Hall: Sickert and the Three Graces picks up on artist Walter Sickert’s obsession with the New Bedford Music Hall in Camden Town and features film, music and objects presented in a ‘theatrical narrative’ which focuses on the world of the Edwardian Music Hall. Highlights include filmed extracts of Tanika Gupta’s specially produced play The Boy I Love (directed by Katie Mitchell) which takes its name from George Ware’s celebrated music hall song The Boy I Love is Up in the Gallery. Admission is free. The exhibition, which is in the Theatre and Performance Galleries of the V&A, runs until 5th January next year. For more see www.vam.ac.uk.

• Three specially commissioned artworks by British textile artist Alice Kettle will be unveiled today at the Queen’s House in Greenwich. The Garden of England – Royal Museums Greenwich’s first contemporary arts program – features Flower Helix (hanging in the Tulip Stairs), Flower Bed (a “textile garden” found in the North West Parlour), and Queen Henrietta Maria (a stitched portrait of the wife of King Charles I also found in the North West Parlour). The display is accompanied by a program of events – for more on them, see www.rmg.co.uk. Entry is free – the exhibition is on show until 18th August.

• On Now – From the Shadows: The Prints of Sydney Lee RA. This exhibition at the Royal Academy represents a reappraisal of the work of painter-printmaker Sydney Lee (1866-1949) and features more than 50 prints and two major paintings. Lee studied in Manchester and Paris before coming to London where he lived in a house and studio in Holland Park Road in Kensington. He was elected a Royal Academician in 1930 and served as Treasurer from 1932-1940. The first exhibition devoted to his art since 1945, the event coincides with the publication of the first book on Lee written by its curator Professor Robert Meyrick, head of the School of Art at Aberystwyth University. Runs until 26th May. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk.

Exploring London’s 10 most popular posts for 2012 – 8 and 7…

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8. Olympics Special – London bridges aglow. A piece showing how many of inner London’s bridges were illuminated at night during the Games.

7. LondonLife – The Queen visits the newly transformed Kensington Palace. Queen Elizabeth II pays a visit to mark the completion of a £12 million, two year renovation project at Kensington Palace.

Around London – At home in World War II; Hogwarts comes to London; Kew Steam Bridge Museum to be upgraded; and, V&A looks at British design…

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• A new exhibition in which visitors can experience life during the Second World War through the eyes of a London family opens today at the Imperial War Museum in London. A Family in Wartime explores the lives of William and Alice Allpress and their 10 children at their South London home during the war as the face events such as the Blitz and the evacuation of the city. The display includes firsthand audio accounts from members of the family, photographs and a detailed model of the family home at 69 Priory Grove. Two of the family’s sons served in the military during the war while three of the daughters joined the Women’s Voluntary Service. Artefacts on display include many everyday household items such as cookery books which gave advice on cooking with limited rations and stirrup pumps which people were encouraged to wear in case of incendiary bombs as well as newspaper clippings, propaganda posters and film footage. There will also be artworks depicting wartime living by artists including Henry Moore, Wilfred Haines and Leila Faithful. Admission is free. For more, see www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london.

• Hogwarts has come to London’s north with the opening of the new Warner Bros Studio Tour in Leavesden. The tour, which was launched this week, features sets, costumes and pros from the Harry Potter series of films and reveals how special effects and animatronics were used in the movies. Highlights include the chance to visit Hogwarts Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office and Diagon Alley as well as see Harry’s Nimbus 2000, the flying Ford Anglia owned by the Weasleys and Hagrid’s motorcycle. For more information, see www.wbstudiotour.co.uk.

• The Kew Bridge Steam Museum in London’s west has been awarded a £1.84 million Heritage Lottery Fund grant for a restoration project that will see new visitor facilities and more modern displays as well as new outdoor water-based actvities. Project Aquarius will also see outstanding repairs to the Grade I and Grade II listed buildings – described as the most important historic site of the water supply industry in the UK – completed. The museum, which opened 37 years ago, features four giant working Cornish steam pumping engines as part of its displays telling the story of London’s water supply and attracts some 15,000 visitors a year. For more, see www.kbsm.org.

• On Now: British Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age. The V&A’s major spring exhibition, this is a showcase of British design from the 1948 ‘Austerity Olympics’ to present day and features more than 300 objects – from the 1959 Morris Mini Minor to a model of the recently completed Zaha Hadid-designed London Aquatics Centre. Highlighting significant moments in British design, the exhibition looks not only at 60 years worth of fashion, furniture, fine art, graphic design, photography, ceramics, architecture and industrial design but also investigates how the UK continues to nuture artistic talent and the role British design and manufacturing plays around the world. Admission charge applies. Runs until 12th August. For more see www.vam.ac.uk.

We’re taking a break over Easter – posts will resume next Tuesday. In the meantime have a great Easter!

Around London – where did you go last weekend?

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Exploring London visited the home of 19th century artist Lord Frederic Leighton in Kensington last weekend as part of Open House London.

Built over a period of more than 30 years from 1864 until Lord Leighton’s death in the home in 1896, the house is a monument to the decorative arts with a series of intricately decorated halls and rooms including the superb domed ‘Arab Hall’ featuring tiles brought from Damascus in Syria and an overhanging lattice window from Egypt.

The house, which once hosted Queen Victoria as well as nineteenth century luminaries poet Robert Browning and artist William Morris, was preserved as a museum as far back as 1900 and is now in the care of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

WHERE: 12 Holland Park Road (nearest tube station is High Street Kensington); WHEN: 10am to 5.30pm, closed Tuesdays; COST: £5 adult, £1 concessions ( with free return entry within 12 months); WEBSITE: www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/museums/leightonhousemuseum.aspx

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