Fenton House is a 17th-century merchant's house in

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 ...

in North London which belongs to the National Trust, bequeathed to them in 1952 by Lady Binning, its last owner and resident. It is a detached house with a walled garden, which is large by London standards, and features a sunken garden, an orchard and a kitchen garden.

Features

The interior houses the

Benton Fletcher Major George Henry Benton Fletcher (22 October 1866 – 31 December 1944) was a collector of early keyboard instruments including virginals, clavichords, harpsichords, spinets and early pianos.Waitzman, Mimi. '’The Benton Fletcher Collectio ...

collection of early

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

instruments, some of which are often played for visitors during operational hours, and collections of paintings (including the collection of Peter Barkworth and loans of Sir William Nicholson paintings), Meissen, English and Chinese porcelain, 17th-century

needlework Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...

pictures and

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

. It also has fine portraits of King William IV (when Duke of Clarence) and his mistress Dorothea Jordan, as well as portraits of two of their illegitimate sons, Frederick FitzClarence and Adolphus FitzClarence, and one of William IV's brother George IV. The brick mansion, with 1693 inscribed on its chimney breast which is consistent with the date of its core and most of its walls, has a 300-year-old orchard, where around 30 varieties of apple trees flourish. ;19th century remodelling by a Riga merchant Philip Fenton, a

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

merchant, bought the house in 1793 and in the 19th century ordered much of the remodelling. This comprised alterations to the interiors and roof, the addition of an ornate portico and the pediment, new window frames and glazing. The sides of the building feature

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

d flat areas (parapets) above the standard decorative ledge (

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

) which date from the 18th century. The building has original staircases with twisted balusters. Main rooms have original panelling, corner cupboards and decoratively carved marble fireplaces. ;Small west projection It has a west extension adding no more than 5% to the building dating to about 1936, believed in the listing research of 1950 to have been commissioned by Lady Binning.

Gallery

Fenton House, formal garden - geograph.org.uk - 1271939.jpg Fenton House, Hampstead - geograph.org.uk - 1271918.jpg Statue in the garden of Fenton House, Hampstead - geograph.org.uk - 1483666.jpg Fenton House Lawn.JPG

References

;Notes ;References

External links

*
Wikidata List of Paintings on view at Fenton House
{{authority control Grade I listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Grade I listed houses in London Grade I listed museum buildings Historic house museums in London Houses completed in the 17th century Houses in Hampstead Museums in the London Borough of Camden Music museums in London Musical instrument museums in England National Trust properties in London Orchards