I apologise for leading everyone into thinking all that rain would stop in May - it did for
about 10 days, but has been back in full force ever since. I can't remember the last day without rain, I'm going insane. I swear English kindergartners must answer 'grey' when asked "What colour is the sky?"
The National Trust
The National Trust (NT) is a independent charity dedicated to the protection and preservation of historic buildings and monuments and well as coast line and countryside throughout England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The NT has 13 properties in London, ranging from a pub to stately homes to an oversized bathtub. Although many of the properties are not located in central London, journeying to them should be considered as they are frequently near other points of interest or pleasant "village-like" areas.
If you intend on visiting many properties, it may be worthwhile getting a NT membership, which allows free admission to the sites. Details are available at any NT location.
Blewcoat School Gift Shop / Information Centre
23 Caxton Street
St James's Park Tube
Phone 0207 222 1234
Free
Built and used as a school for poor children until 1926, the building is now the National Trust's Gift Shop and information centre.
Carlyle's House
24 Cheyne Row, Chelsea
Sloane Square Tube
Phone 0207 352 7087
Admission Fee £3.50
The Queen Anne home of Victorian writer Thomas Carlyle. The home became a museum a mere 15 years after his death, and is almost exactly as it was in his lifetime, complete with his personal belongings. Famous guests of Carlyle's include Dickens, George Eliot, Chopin, Darwin, Browning, and Tennyson. The property is near the famous Cheyne Walk, and another NT property, Lindsey House.
Eastbury Manor House
Barking
Upney Tube
Phone 020 8507 0119
Admission Fee £1.80
An Elizabethan manor house. The property is leased to the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham and used for arts and heritage activities.
Fenton House
Windmill Hill, Hampstead
Hampstead Tube
Phone 020 7435 3471
Admission Fee £4.20
A late 17th century house noted for its outstanding collections of porcelain and early instruments. The property also features a walled garden with a scented boarder. If you're an experienced musician, it is possible to audition to use the early keyboard instruments (one of which is a harpsichord that Handel played). For £10, demonstration tours of the instruments take place the first Thursday in each month from April to October at 2pm.
George Inn
77 Borough High Street, Southwark
London Bridge Tube
Phone 020 7401 2056
Free
Of great note to BootsnAll readers who want to feel they're seeking out history and culture, yet really just want to have fun, this is the NT property for you: It's a working pub! Dating from 1677, this is the only remaining galleried inn in London. The property was famous as a coaching inn during the 17th century and was even mentioned by Dicken's in Little Dorrit.
Ham House
Ham, Richmond
Richmond Tube (followed by a long, but great walk along the river tow path)
Phone 020 8940 1950
Admission Fee £5
Built in 1610 and enlarged in the 1670s, Ham House features one of the finest Stuart interiors in the country. The house is very picturesque and the property also features fine gardens. The property is also rich in history, as it was a stronghold of royalists (not to mention the daughter's love affair with Oliver Cromwell). This fabulous property makes a part of a great day out in Richmond.
Lindsey House
99/100 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea
South Kensington Tube
Phone 01494 528051
Free
Part of the Cheyne Walk - a street of Queen Anne and Georgian houses that housed many famous artists and writers during the 19th century. This property has one of the best 17th century exterior in London. There is also a garden.
Morden Hall Park
Morden Hall Road, Morden
Morden Tube
Phone 020 8648 1845
Free
It's a park. But it features waterways, ancient hay meadows, old estate buildings not to mention an impressive avenue of trees. The former workshops are now used by craftsworkers.
Osterley Park House
Jersey Road, Middlesex
Osterley Tube
Phone 0194 755566
Admission Fee £4.20
The park is one of London's largest estate parks and features classical garden buildings and ornamental lakes. The house itself was originally built in 1576, but was revamped by Robert Adam in 1761. In fact, the house features one of the most complete examples of Adam's work, including plasterwork, carpets, and furniture. The 16th century stables are still in use.
Rainham Hall
The Broadway, Rainham
Rainham train station
Phone 01494 528051
Admission Fee £2.10
A Georgian house built to a symmetrical plan.
'Roman' Bath
5 Strand Lane
Temple Tube
Phone 020 7641 5264
Admission Fee 50p
Entrance to bath is only by appointment on Wednesdays, however it is possible to see inside through a window on the pathway. There seems to be a lot of doubt that this really is Roman. It was restored in the 17th century and contains a 15 foot tub and a natural spring.
Sutton House
2 & 4 Homerton High Street, Hackney
Hackney Central Train
Phone 020 8986 2264
Admission Fee £2.10
Built in 1535, this is the oldest house in London's East End. The property includes an exhibit of the history of the house and the people that lived there, from merchants to Huguenots silk-weavers to Victorian schoolmistresses to Edwardian clergy to 1980s squatters.
2 Willow Road
2 Willow Road, Hampstead
Hampstead or Belsize Park tubes
Phone 020 7435 6166
Admission Fee £4.20
Designed and built by Erno Goldfinger in 1939, this was his art deco home for over 60 years. This is one of the country's most important modernist architecture sites, and also includes artwork by Henry Moore, Max Ernst, Duchamp, and Man Ray. Ian Fleming lived nearby and developed a great dislike for Erno Goldfinger and his modernist art and architecture, and decided to name a character in one of his books after him.
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Europe Insiders page.
