Cannon Hall at 14 Cannon Place,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London is a grade II* listed building that dates from around 1720. The house is the former home of the actor

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he m ...

, his wife Muriel Beaumont, and their three children, the writers

Angela du Maurier Angela Busson du Maurier (1 March 1904 – 5 February 2002) was an English actress and novelist who also wrote two volumes of autobiography, ''It's Only the Sister'' (1951) and ''Old Maids Remember'' (1965). Her sister was the novelist Daphne du ...

and

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geor ...

and the painter

Jeanne du Maurier Jeanne du Maurier (27 March 1911 – 12 January 1997) was an English artist. She was the third daughter of Sir Gerald du Maurier and Muriel Beaumont, and sister of writers Daphne and Angela du Maurier. Life Jeanne du Maurier was born on 27 Ma ...

The house

Cannon Hall is located at 14 Cannon Place, Hampstead, London. It was built around 1720Hampstead: Hampstead Town.
British History Online. Retrieved 30 June 2015. and extended and altered in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The house is detached, of three storeys of brown and red brick, with six bedrooms and grounds of slightly less than half an acre (0.18ha). The total plot size is 0.45 acres (1,807 sq m). In addition to the bedrooms and living rooms, the house includes a billiards room, library, study, conservatory and indoor swimming pool.''Cannon Hall''.
Glentree, 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2015
Archived here.
/ref> The house has been a

grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

since 1950. Cannon Hall, A

History

Sir Gerald Du Maurier 1873-1934 Actor Manager lived here from 1916 until his death

The land was originally known as Rous's Buildings, probably in reference to Joseph Rous who followed John Duffield as lessee of the Wells Estate, and was originally a much larger area that went as far as Well Road and Christchurch Hill and included three other houses. One of the Hampstead lock-ups was located in the garden wall adjoining

Cannon Lane A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during ...

until it was closed following the formation of the

Metropolitan Police Force The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

by Sir

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

in 1829. A

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

also sat in the stable block and the house was occupied by a number of magistrates at different times, one of whom was James Marshall, who lived at Cannon Hall in the 1870s. Sarah Holford, a widow, leased the house from at least 1752, and probably from as early as 1745, as a print was published of the Long Room "from Mrs. Holford's garden" in that year. In 1780, the house was occupied by Sir Noah Thomas (1720–92),

physician-in-ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair ...

to King George III. Sir James Cosmo Melvill (1792–1861), of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, bought Cannon Hall around 1838, the year in which he became chief secretary of the company. The cannons which he placed around the site gave it the name Cannon Hall from then on. Actor-manager Gerald du Maurier purchased the house in 1916 and lived there with his wife Muriel Beaumont and three daughters until his death in 1934.Daphne du Maurier's childhood home in Hampstead for sale.
Julia Flynn, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', 1 October 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2015. The house has a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

in his memory, erected by the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. The author Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989) was aged about 9 when her father bought the house, and she grew up there with her sisters Angela (1904–2002) and Jeanne (1911–1996). File:Sir Noah Thomas (1720-92).jpg, Sir Noah Thomas by George Romney, 1781 File:James Cosmo Melvill.jpg, James Cosmo Melvill by Eton Upton Ellis, c. 1853 File:GeraldDM1205 228x390.jpg, Gerald du Maurier

In film

Cannon Hall featured in the film ''

Bunny Lake is Missing ''Bunny Lake Is Missing'' is a 1965 British-American psychological drama film, directed and produced by Otto Preminger. Filmed in black-and-white widescreen format in London, it was based on the 1957 novel ''Bunny Lake Is Missing'' by Merriam ...

'' (1965), starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

and directed and produced by

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

; the house was given the fictional address 30 Frogmore End. It was also featured in the film ''

Tenet A tenet is a synonym for axiom, one of the principles on which a belief or theory is based. Tenet may also refer to: Media * Tenet (band), a heavy metal band * TENET (ensemble), an American early music vocal and instrumental group * ''Tenet'' (f ...

'' (2020), starring

John David Washington John David Washington (born July 28, 1984) is an American actor and former professional football player. He played college football at Morehouse College and signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2006. Professionally, Washi ...

and directed and produced by

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...

Sale

In 2014 the property was placed on sale with an asking price of £32 million.For sale: Daphne du Maurier's childhood home in heart of Hampstead.
Prudence Ivey, '' Ham & High Property'', 29 September 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2015. In 2015 it sold for £28 million, one of the highest prices realised for a private home in London that year.Daphne du Maurier’s childhood home in Hampstead is sold for £28 million.
Adrian Hearn, ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 22 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.

References

{{coord, 51.5601, -0.1751, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Grade II* listed houses in London Houses completed in 1720 Houses in Hampstead 1720 establishments in England