The main reason people visit Kenwood House is to see inside a stately home and admire the building’s architecture and interiors. Most of the building can be attributed to the remodelling done by the 18th-century Scottish architect, Robert Adam. The Great Library is the highlight of the house and many people also visit to admire the paintings by Gainsborough, Rembrandt, Turner and Vermeer that came from the private collection of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh.
This stately home in Hampstead is the former home of the aristocratic Murray and Guinness families.
Kenwood House dates from the early 17th century and William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield hired Robert Adam to remodel the house between 1764 and 1779 during which time the library and the building’s Ionic portico were added. The adjacent dairy was added by the 2nd Earl and Countess of Mansfield.
Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh (the great-grandson of the brewer Arthur Guinness) bought the house in 1925 and it was opened to the public in 1928, a year after his death when he bequeathed it to the nation.
Scenes from the films Notting Hill and Sense and Sensibility were filmed here.
What to see at Kenwood House
The main reason people visit Kenwood House is to see inside a stately home and admire the building’s architecture and interiors.
Most of the building can be attributed to the remodelling done by the 18th-century Scottish architect, Robert Adam. The Great Library is the highlight of the house and many people also visit to admire the paintings by Gainsborough, Rembrandt, Turner and Vermeer that came from the private collection of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh.
The house has 45.3ha (112 acres) of lovely gardens that include woodland, a dairy, sculptures by Barbara Hepworth, Eugène Dodeigne and Henry Moore and a sham bridge, dating from the 1750s. The gardens also offer breathtaking views of London.
The dairy was built in 1794–1796 by George Saunders for David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield and was used to produce the butter, milk and cream used in the house.
Visiting Kenwood House
Kenwood House is located off Hampstead Lane at the northern end of Hampstead Heath. Bus route 210 stops outside Kenwood House, running from Archway and Golders Green tube stations (both on the Northern line).
Entry to Kenwood House is free and it makes a lovely break from trudging between museums in central London.
There is a mobile app with four different audio tours that you can download from the App Store (for Apple iPhones) or the Google Play store (for Android phones). There is also an audio described app for blind and vision-impaired visitors and a British Sign Language app for deaf visitors.
There are two cafes on site: The Brew House Cafe and The Steward’s Room; but we recommend that you have a meal and a drink at the nearby Spaniards Inn pub, which is less than a 10-minute walk from the house.
You could easily spend 1½ hours exploring the house, although it is a half-day excursion after you include travel time to and from central London and a drink or two at the nearby Spaniards Inn.
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