Kenwood House sits at the northern edge of Hampstead Heath, and is a lovely example of the stately home so favoured by the wealthy and titled members of British society. The house dates to the 1700s and was bought by William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, in 1754. He arranged for Robert Adam to remodel the structure, building on a library and a portico.

At the end of the 1700s, George Sanders was contracted to add to the structure yet again, this time adding a kitchen, brewery and offices as well as two entire wings on the north side.

The home remained in the Mansfield family until 1925 when it was purchased by Lord Iveagh, also known as Edward Guinness and part of the famed brewing Guinness family. The furniture had previously been sold from the house, making it a blank canvas to feature Lord Iveagh’s collections of paintings. When he died in 1927, he left the house, the estate and part of his art collection to English Heritage and they now manage the building and grounds.

There are more than 150,000 visitors a year to Kenwood and it is estimated that more than a million visit its grounds during the course of the year.

Paintings of note are important works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Turner. On the first floor, be sure to see the Suffolk Collection which is 41 paintings, primarily family portraits, collected by the Suffolk and Berkshire families since the 1500s.

Many of the paintings are full length portraits of lords and ladies in their elaborate and sumptuous Stuart and Elizabethan costumes. There are also portraits of James II, Sir Thomas More and Charles I.

The grounds are extensive and well kept at Kenwood; you can also enjoy many outdoor sculptures by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.

Kenwood has in recent years been the site of many outdoor concerts held on the grounds to help defray the cost of maintaining the house which amounts to more than a million pounds a year.

Visiting Kenwood House

Hampstead Lane, Hampstead, NW3 7JR

Telephone: 020 8348 1286

Email customers@english-heritage.org.uk

Opening Times

1st April to 31st March: 11.30am-4pm | Closed 24-26 December & 1 January

Ticket Prices

Adult FREE, Child FREE | Free, donations appreciated. Tours £3 (Adults), £2 (Concs), £1.50 (Children under 16)

Photo courtesy: myeralan

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