Woodland House is a large detached house at 31 Melbury Road in the Holland Park district of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. Built from 1875 to 1877 in the Queen Anne style by the architect

Richard Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

, it is a

Grade II* 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 ...

listed building. Commissioned by the painter

Luke Fildes __NOTOC__ Sir Samuel Luke Fildes (3 October 1843 – 28 February 1927) was a British painter and illustrator born in Liverpool and trained at the South Kensington and Royal Academy Schools. He was the grandson of the political activist Mar ...

, Woodland House is next to

William Burges William Burges (; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoc ...

's Grade I listed

Tower House A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

. Originally 11 Melbury Road, the house was renumbered as 31 Melbury Road in 1967. It was the second of two houses in Melbury Road designed by Shaw, the first, 8 Melbury Road, was designed for another painter

Marcus Stone Marcus Stone (4 July 1840 – 24 March 1921) was an English painter. Stone was born in London, and was educated at the Royal Academy. Life Marcus Clayton Stone was the son of Frank Stone ARA. Marcus was trained by his father and began to ...

. Fildes and Stone were artistic rivals and each naturally regarded their own Shaw-designed house as superior. Of the construction of Woodland House Fildes wrote in November 1876 that "The house is getting on famously and looks stunning ... It is a long way the most superior house of the whole lot; I consider it knocks Stone's to fits, though of course he wouldn't have that by what I hear he says of his, but my opinion is the universal one." Fildes moved into the house in October 1877 and it remained his home until his death there in February 1927.* In 1959, the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

commemorated Fildes at Woodland House with a blue plaque. Woodlands House was later the home of the film director

Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...

. His father purchased the lease for the property after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and, buying the outstanding lease from his father in 1972, Winner lived at the house until his own death at the house in 2013. It was subsequently purchased by the singer

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

Location

The development of Melbury Road in the grounds of

Little Holland House Little Holland House was the dower house of Holland House in the parish of Kensington, Middlesex, England. It was situated at the end of Nightingale Lane, now the back entrance to Holland Park and was demolished when Melbury Road was made. Nu ...

created an

art colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

in Holland Park, the inhabitants of which became known as the

Holland Park Circle The Holland Park Circle was an informal group of 19th-century artists based in the Holland Park district of West London. George Frederick Watts, Frederic Leighton, Valentine Prinsep, Luke Fildes, Hamo Thornycroft and William Burges are consider ...

. Shaw congratulated Fildes on acquiring "such a delicious site" in May 1875. The site was recommended to Fildes by Val Prinsep, it is at the bend of Melbury Road, with vistas to the south and west, adjoining Holland Lane (now Ilchester Place) on the east. The garden spans and contains tropical and native trees. The gardens of Woodland House and the adjoining

both contain trees from the former

Design

Woodland House was designed by architect

. Shaw was well acquainted with members of the art establishment, being friends with

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

and

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of commo ...

. The choice by Fildes and Stone of Richard Norman Shaw as the architect of their houses was an important symbol of their ambition to become academicians, members of the Royal Academy of Arts, and of the art establishment themselves.Dakers 1999, p. 158. The imposing houses and studios that Shaw designed would impress potential patrons. All of the "studio-houses" of the Holland Park Circle were built with red bricks, a colour that stood in contrast to the white stucco that had been traditionally used in the surrounding area. Shaw had prepared preliminary designs of Woodland House by August 1875, and building began early in 1876, with construction being undertaken by W. H. Lascelles. The initial cost of building the house was £4,500.Dakers 1999, p. 169. Fildes and his family moved into the house in the Autumn of 1877. Fildes house was larger than

's, and costlier to build.Dakers 1999, p. 167. Shortly after Fildes had commissioned Shaw to design his house, Fildes' grandmother,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, had died, leaving him her property. Facing south, Fildes large artists studio was at the rear of the house and was lit by a skylight and six tall windows grouped in pairs of two. This arrangement was found not to provide the necessary light and the middle pair of windows was redesigned as a single, large, four-light, window. The studio was initially and . A winter studio was added in 1880, followed by a glass studio in 1885, situated above a nursery. When

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

came to sit for a state portrait he described the studio as "one of the finest rooms in London". In 1893 ''

The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...

'' described Fildes' house as "that of the artist – everything has its own artistic place and corner; nothing fails to harmonise, nothing comes short of gaining the effect wanted". The interior was noted by the ''Strand Magazine'' to contain predominantly Sheraton style furniture with "Venetian and Flemish black-framed mirrors, Hispano-Moresque pottery, Venetian brass and copper-ware ... blue-and-white Nankin and Delft (porcelain)". Fildes' children's bedrooms were hung with wallpapers designed by Morris & Co. and

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...

. Under Fildes' the hallway was encrusted with crimson and gold, and after passing through crimson curtains a visitor ascended stairs lined with brass plates, paintings from the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

and tapestries. Michael Winner's father bought the house on a long lease after the

. He divided the property into three flats, erecting walls and installing false ceilings in the process. Winner restored the original layout of the house even sourcing contemporary bricks from demolished buildings. A

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

was also reinstated on the roof as well as the original wrought iron gates. Under Winner the house had 47 rooms and some 2,000 lightbulbs. Amenities included a Jacuzzi, swimming pool, steam room, and cinema. Winner hired the services of interior designer

Tessa Kennedy Tessa Georgina Kennedy (born 6 December 1938) is a British interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities and many European hotels, restaurants and clubs. Her elopement with society portrait painter D ...

to help him renovate the house, originally wishing Woodland House to look like the "home of a country vicar", but by the finish of the work Winner described it as "completely over the top" and said it resembled the "house of a lottery winner".

Michael Winner

After Fildes death, the house was occupied in turn by the retired soldier

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Charles Forbes Blane, the manufacturer Edward Barford and the merchant banker, Walther Augustus Brandt. Film director

's parents acquired Woodland House after the Second World War, when his father paid £2,000 for a 17-year lease on the house. When his parents emigrated to France in 1972 Winner purchased Woodland House from them to avoid a punitive

gift tax In economics, a gift tax is the tax on money or property that one living person or corporate entity gives to another. A gift tax is a type of transfer tax that is imposed when someone gives something of value to someone else. The transfer must ...

. At the time of Winner's purchase of the house from his parents, Woodland House was divided into three flats, two of them subject to rent-control, with 17 years remaining on the leasehold. Winner subsequently negotiated a new leasehold in 1972 for £150,000, extending the lease to the 2040s. Winner was an art collector, and a connoisseur of British illustration. His art collection included works by Jan Micker,

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

Edmund Dulac Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac; 22 October 1882 – 25 May 1953) was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. Born in Toulouse he studied law but later turned to the study of art at the École ...

, E. H. Shepard,

Arthur Rackham Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) was an English book illustrator. He is recognised as one of the leading figures during the Golden Age of British book illustration. His work is noted for its robust pen and ink drawings, ...

Kay Nielsen Kay Rasmus Nielsen (March 12, 1886 – June 21, 1957) was a Danish illustrator who was popular in the early 20th century, the Golden Age of Illustration which lasted from when Daniel Vierge and other pioneers developed printing technology to the ...

and

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was ...

. It also included almost 200 signed colour-washed illustrations by

Donald McGill Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

. In 2008 he announced his intention to bequeath the house as a museum, but discussions with Kensington and Chelsea council stalled after they were unable to meet the £15 million cost of purchasing the

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

of the property, which expires in 2046. The freehold is owned by the Ilchester Estate. Informal discussions had taken place with the curator of the

Leighton House Museum The Leighton House Museum is an art museum in the Holland Park area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. The building was the London home of painter Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830–1896), who commi ...

, situated in the adjacent street and also owned by the council. Winner had wished to greet future visitors to Woodland House as a talking waxwork statue, uttering a variation on his catch phrase, "Calm down, dear, I'm only a dummy". Woodland House was informally for sale for four months before Winner publicly announced it was for sale for £60 million in August 2011. The value of Woodland House had previously been estimated by Winner as £35 million in 2006 and later at £100 million in 2008. Winner died at Woodland House in January 2013. He was survived by his wife, Geraldine.

Robbie Williams

Woodland House is currently owned by the singer

. Since purchasing the house for £17.5 million, Williams has undertaken significant renovations, some of which have led to planning conflicts with his neighbour at

The Tower House The Tower House, 29 Melbury Road, is a late-Victorian townhouse in the Holland Park district of Kensington and Chelsea, London, built by the architect and designer William Burges as his home. Designed between 1875 and 1881, in the French Go ...

, the

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

guitarist, Jimmy Page.

References

Bibliography

* *Dakers, Caroline. (1999) ''The Holland Park Circle: Artists and Victorian Society''

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

{{Commons category, Woodland House Houses completed in 1877 Artists' studios in London Grade II* listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Grade II* listed houses in London Houses in Holland Park Queen Anne Revival architecture in the United Kingdom Richard Norman Shaw buildings 1877 establishments in England