Kingswood House, formerly known as King's Coppice, is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

West Dulwich West Dulwich ( ) is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between Sou ...

, at the southern tip of the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It is now used an arts and community centre called Kingswood Arts. In 1811 William Vizard, the

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

Caroline of Brunswick Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her ...

in her future failed divorce from

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, was granted a 63-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

for Kingswood Lodge. When Vizard returned to his native

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

in 1831, others were granted the property leases. From 1891 the house was owned by

John Lawson Johnston John Lawson Johnston (1839 – 24 November 1900) was a Scottish entrepreneur and the creator of Bovril. He was born in 29 Main Street, Roslin, Midlothian. A memorial plaque is on the property and can be seen above the door. The plaque was put t ...

(inventor of

Bovril Bovril is a thick and salty meat extract paste, similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar and as cubes and granules. Its appearance is similar to the British Marmite and ...

) who extended the house and remodelled the facade including adding battlements. Johnston acquired the nickname Mr Bovril and because of its

castellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

features Kingswood became known locally as Bovril Castle. Some remaining garden features from this era are thought to have been installed by

James Pulham and Son James Pulham and Son was a firm of Victorian landscape gardeners and terracotta manufacturers which exhibited and won medals at London's Great Exhibition of 1851 and 1862 International Exhibition. History James Pulham and Son was founded by Jam ...

. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Kingswood was used as a convalescent home for wounded Canadian soldiers. At this time it came to the notice of Lady Vestey who was doing social work in connection with the soldiers housed there. In 1919 her husband Sir William Vestey was granted an 80-year lease and in 1921 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

he became

Baron Vestey Baron Vestey, of Kingswood in the County of Surrey, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1922 for the shipping magnate Sir William Vestey, 1st Baronet. He was the co-founder of the Blue Star Line. Vestey had alread ...

of Kingswood in the

County of Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking. The cou ...

. Kingswood was the Vesteys' main home until William's death. Harold at Kingswood House

In 1954 it was decided by the then

Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell Camberwell was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. Camberwell was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey, governed by an administrative vestry from 1674. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of ...

to turn the building into a library and community centre, for the benefit of

Kingswood Estate The Kingswood Estate is a modern architecture, modernist housing development located in Sydenham Hill, West Dulwich in South London. Comprising 789 homes, the estate is sited on the former grounds of Kingswood House. History 19th century The hi ...

residents, and in 1956 the council acquired the site by

compulsory purchase Compulsion, Compulsive, Compelling, or Compulsory may refer to: Psychology * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compu ...

. Lord Vestey's estate had by then been developed into a large residential area, with the grounds occupied by houses, flats and shops. In 1965 it became the property of the

. It underwent substantial refurbishment in the 1980s and 1990s, and was subsequently used for conferences, meetings and civil marriages. In the grounds in front of Kingswood House there are still some remains of the Pulham features. In 2005 a tapestry was made by over 100 local residents depicting the history of the house. In 2011 a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

was erected on the side of the building to commemorate John Lawson Johnston and his residence there.

Library

From 1956 to 2020, whilst run as a public building by the local council, the house housed a public library. An opening ceremony was hosted by actor

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

and the then Camberwell mayor Alderman John Evans, who used the opportunity of the library to read up on Ustinov, saying: "I looked up 'Who’s Who' and anyone who wants to know something about our distinguished visitor can find it in the library." It was remarked at the ceremony that the house was now "as it should be", for the community and "not something reserved for one select and privileged family". In the 1960s, the house was used to store the then Camberwell borough's library service reserve stock collection. In 1993 the library was threatened with closure, with the suggestion that it could move into a space at the Seeley Drive shops. The community ran a Save the Library campaign, gathering 720 signatures in a petition. Between 2014 and 2019 the library's funding was cut to nearly half, from £23,885 to £12,618. The library in the house closed in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, a new Kingswood Library opened opposite the house at a shop unit on Seeley Drive.

Present day

In 2022
Kingswood Arts
took over the venue as an arts centre. The whole building has now been restored and opened to the public as a performing arts centre, with a cafe and regular events, starting from April 2023.

References

External links

http://www.fokwh.co.uk Friends of Kingswood House website]
Kingswood Arts
Kingswood Arts website

Library

Present day

References

External links

Further reading