It’s worth a visit to Hampstead Heath to see U.K. architect Erno Goldfinger’s striking and controversial 1939 design.

Situated at 2 Willow Road in London, this house was the first Modernist structure acquired by the National Trust.

Although the building it replaced was a dilapidated ruin, local council and residents fiercely opposed its construction. Author Ian Fleming, a Hampstead Heath neighbour, disliked the plans for 2 Willow Road so much he named a Bond villain after the avant-guarde architect. But Goldfinger’s creation has an enduring appeal.

Goldfinger and Contemporary Architecture

Goldfinger was born in Budapest in 1902 and studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He supported contemporary ideals but favoured structural rationalism – that is, wood must look like wood, steel like steel – over Le Corbusier’s white box approach.

Even so, Goldfinger tempered his plan by covering the concrete at in red brick and painting the metal windows white in order to maintain harmony with the surrounding Georgian houses.

Inside 2 Willow Road

Visitors enter this former family home through a small, dim foyer. An initally intimidating spiral staircase demonstrates Goldfinger’s attention to ergonomic detail. The treads are wide enough where needed and the risers are shorter than expected, making the climb easy.

The reason Goldfinger designed a tiny entry is evident once the main floor is reached. A wall of north facing windows captures light from the heath across the street all day and combined with the higher ceiling, creates a dramatic contrast.

Modernist Designs and Materials

The living room, dining room and Goldfinger’s office are all on this level. A series of folding and sliding doors allows them to become one large area for entertaining. These rooms are masculine and imposing, like the man himself. Walls are covered in oak or mahogany-veneered plywood or painted in colours from the palettes of artist friends like Max Ernst and Marcel Duchamp, whose works are displayed here.

Ingenious built-ins preserve the sense of pure volume in this space and the furniture, designed mainly by the architect himself, has an industrial edge.

The all-white master bedroom is on the top floor. Small windows create an intimate feel though the room is bare except for a low futon bed, a chair and a bank of bookcases. Capacious storage is hidden behind a wall of doors.

Goldfinger and His Plans for 1, 2 and 3 Willow Road

Along with charts marking the heights of the Goldfinger children as they grew, the upstairs nursery now contains models and floor plans of 1, 2 and 3 Willow Road. This historic house is sandwiched between two smaller terraced residences the architect built in order to fund the entire project. One was initially sold while the other was first rented and later sold.

National Trust Legacy of Goldfinger

Goldfinger died in 1987 and his wife Ursula stayed in the house until her death in 1991. The National Trust acquired the house in 1994 when the Goldfinger children left it to them via the Treasury, in lieu of paying inheritance tax. Most of the contents, including tea bags and Christmas pudding, were in the bequest. Magazines and drafting tools are lying about and it seems as though the family might return at any moment.

Since 2 Willow Road was opened to the public in 1996, acceptance and admiration of Goldfinger’s work has grown. The building that was once reviled is now a modernist jewel in the National Trust’s crown. Joint tickets are available with nearby 17th-century Fenton House.

For more information on how to enjoy any trip, download my eBook Travel Like a Flight Attendant. It’s filled with money-saving travel tips and advice I learned from my thirty years (and twenty million air miles) as a crew member.

Happy travels!

©2017 TRAVEL LIKE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT™

The Wallace Collection is a public museum in a stately London townhouse, filled with one of the greatest private collections of art ever bequeathed to the British nation.

The collection was amassed by five generations of one family, from circa 1760 to 1880 and is displayed in their historic former home, Hertford House. The mansion is tucked away on leafy Manchester Square in London’s west end, just behind busy Oxford Street.

Highlights of the Wallace Collection

Though the Wallace Collection is known for its superb 18th and 19th century French paintings and decorative art, the wealthy Marquesses of Hertford bought what they liked, not what they thought was fashionable. The result is something for almost everyone, from Rococo Sevres porcelain to 16thC Turkish Iznik pottery.

Medieval suits of armour, including a life-sized statue of a horse dressed for battle, are housed alongside crossbows, carved pistols and exotic jewel-encrusted daggers.

Paintings by Titian, Rembrandt and Rubens hang on the walls. The museum is also home to the famous Frans Hals painting The Laughing Cavalier.

The Marquesses of Hertford

Though the first four Marquesses of Hertford all engaged in buying fine art and decorative furnishings,the greatest collector of all was the neurotic and reclusive 4th Marquess, Richard Seymour-Conway. He spent the last thirty years of his life bidding through agents for works by the Old Masters.

Seymour-Conway willed the home and contents to his illegitimate son Sir Richard Wallace. The subsequent 1897 bequest of Sir Richard’s widow Lady Wallace was possibly the largest private gift ever left to the British nation.

Opening of the Wallace Collection to the Public

Hertford House was opened to the public on June 22, 1900. Lady Wallace stipulated that it be a closed collection, that is, nothing can be added or removed from the items donated in her will. Curators constantly work to present the collection in different lights. Galleries are updated and the museum also offers art classes and degrees and diplomas in art and design related fields.

Hertford House as Private Home & Public Museum

A tour of the Wallace Collection at Hertford House is like visiting a stately private home, which is a large part of its charm. Visitors can wander over creaky parquet floors to admire a charmingly feminine desk that was once owned by Marie Antoinette. Or you can listen to the only recorded music from the 18th century, courtesy of a 1763 musical clock attributed to Jean-Claude Duplessis, The Elder. The clock chimes 13 different tunes, one before each hour.

Everything seems so accessible, with few velvet ropes in sight. However, behind the restrained presence of the guards, high-tech protection for the Wallace Collection artifacts from both a security and conservation aspect, is hidden in the woodwork. Hertford House still acts like a private home, not a purpose-built museum, so that large numbers of visitors aren’t actively encouraged. Hence the sensation that you have discovered a hidden treasure in the heart of London.

Dining at the Museum Restaurant – The Wallace

An a la carte menu is offered in the light-filled courtyard restaurant, where a soaring atrium provides an elegant setting for lunch or dinner. Seasonal French cuisine is featured, along with a seafood bar, cheeses and pates.

Accessibility

The museum provides some parking for disabled patrons, (which should be booked in advance), lifts to all three floors, wheelchair-accessible washrooms, translations of English audio guides, large print text sheets, magnifying glasses and flashlights.

On certain occasions, tours are offered in British Sign Language and/or Sign Supported Language. Please refer to their website under “visiting/access” for complete information.

Visiting Hours and Admission

Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm year round, except for December 24th, 25th and 26th. Donations are recommended as admission is free.

National Trust Homes in London

Visitors to the Wallace Collection might also enjoy a tour of two other historic London homes, Fenton House and Two Willow Road. The Victoria and Albert Museum is also a top cultural destination in London.

For more information on how to enjoy any trip, download my eBook Travel Like a Flight Attendant. It’s filled with money-saving travel tips and advice I learned from my thirty years (and twenty million air miles) as a crew member.

Happy travels!

©2017 TRAVEL LIKE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT™

Visitors to National Trust Site Fenton House in London’s Hampstead Village will be transported into the bucolic past via glorious gardens, stately architecture and the melodies of prized early keyboards.

Wander down a quiet lane, away from the cafes and boutiques on the High Street. The entrance to Fenton House, circa 1686, is through an ornate metal gate, past lines of false acacia trees. This noble red and brown brick building is fitted with tall, white double-hung windows and massive chimneys that hover over the tiled rooftop.

 Famous National Trust Garden at Fenton House

Pass under the yew arbour into the award-winning garden. The grass is precisely mowed in alternating rows and the grounds are still “enclos’d with a substantial Brick Wall,” as listed on a 1765 notice of sale for Fenton House. Only now the wall is overgrown with ivy, bay and acanthus plants. At the end of the yard, benches appear in sunken gardens fragrant with lavender and rosemary. Magnificent mauve wisteria blossoms hang over pea gravel paths that are bordered by clipped boxwood.

Varigated holly bushes, pruned into cone shapes, become extravagant Christmas trees while a centuries-old orchard still produces more than thirty varieties of English apple.

Antique Keyboards from the Benton Fletcher Collection

Step inside to find that this merchant house is as elegant as the surrounding property. And Fenton House holds a special treat – an exceptional collection of early keyboards.

In 1952 Fenton House and a fine assortment of porcelain, paintings and furniture were bequeathed by owner and avid collector Lady Katherine Binning. However, according to the National Trust, beds and dressers were excluded from the will. These were taken by her heirs. The Trust filled the gaps with antique keyboards from the 1937 bequest of Major Benton Fletcher. All of the instruments are maintained in playing order and on a recital day, the house may fill with the unique sounds of a clavichord, spinet or virginal.

Lady Katherine Binning and Fenton House

On the main floor, the Oriental Room holds Chinese porcelain from the ninth to 18th centuries and is painted a soothing celadon green. An ancient bowl brims with dried lavender from the garden. Descriptions of the items are printed on cards which may be read at leisure.

Lady Binning’s collection of blue-and-white china from the Kangxi period of 1662 to 1722 is displayed in her bedroom upstairs while the drawing room next door is appointed with Sheraton-style satinwood furniture. Caroline chintz curtains, inspired by early 18th-century draperies in the Kasteel Duivenvoorde in Holland, are edged in fluttering pink and white fabric petals.

On the third floor, former servants’ quarters are now a small gift shop. From this vantage point, on a clear day, the modern office towers of London are visible. But on a hazy day, especially with Baroque music in the background, the past is still very present at Fenton House.

Information on Fenton House and Nearby Attractions

Tickets to Fenton House are available for garden only, house and garden or joint with nearby National Trust property 2 Willow Road.

Visitors to Fenton House might also enjoy touring the wonderful works of art in the stately Hertford House Wallace Collection  also in London.

For more information on how to enjoy any trip, download my eBook Travel Like a Flight Attendant. It’s filled with money-saving travel tips and advice I learned from my thirty years (and twenty million air miles) as a crew member.

Happy travels!

©2017 TRAVEL LIKE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT™