Admiral's House, Hampstead Explained

Admiral's House
Building Type:House
Classification:Grade II
Location:Hampstead, London Borough of Camden
Location City:London
Location Country:United Kingdom
Coordinates:51.5597°N -0.1801°W
Start Date:1700
Material:Stone brick
Status:Complete

Admiral's House (originally known as Golden Spikes and later as The Grove) is a Grade II listed house in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. The house's name is a misnomer, as no admirals have ever lived there.[1] The house is featured in multiple paintings by John Constable.[2]

History

The house was built in 1700 by Charles Keys.[3] The house was used as a masonic lodge between 1730 and 1745, which may have been why Keys named it Golden Spikes.[3] It appeared on John Rocque's Map of London, 1746.[4] Naval captain Fountain North owned the house between c. 1775 to 1811.[3] He renamed it The Grove[3] and added a quarterdeck to the roof of the house.[3] [5] [6] He also added bulwarks and portholes to the property, and in 1805, bought the nearby grove and demolished it to extend the house's garden.[3] In the late 18th century, the house was mistaken as belonging to Admiral Barton.[3] The problem arose because a print of The Grove was incorrectly entitled Admiral Barton’s Hampstead.[4] A possible explanation for the confusion was that Barton, who lived in Hampstead, fired cannon from his roof, and so it was assumed they were from the quarterdeck of The Grove.[3] As a result, the house became known as Admiral's House,[3] [6] though no admiral has ever lived in the house.[7] [8] Admiral’s Walk, the road on which the house is situated, is similarly misnamed.[7] [6]

In the 19th century, John Constable painted Admiral's House a number of times.[3] [5] One painting, The Grove, or Admiral's House, Hampstead, was bought by Hugo von Tschudi for the Berlin Alte Nationalgalerie,[9] was later on display at the Tate Britain,[10] and is now in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[6] [11] The painting is believed to be the view of Admiral's House from Constable's nearby house.[11] Another painting, The Romantic House at Hampstead has been in the collections of the National Gallery.[12] George Gilbert Scott lived in the house between 1856 and 1865,[7] although he decided that Hampstead was too cold for him.[5] In 1910, London County Council commissioned a blue plaque for Scott on Admiral's House.[6] [13]

From 1917 to 1926,[4] John and Winifred Fortescue lived at Admiral's House.[6] During his time in the house, John Fortescue wrote his multi-volume book Fortescue's History of the British Army.[12] The couple moved from Admiral's House to Windsor Castle.[12] In 1941, Norman Thomas Janes produced a watercolour painting of Admiral's House that is located in the V&A Museum collections.[14] Admiral's House is believed to have been an inspiration for P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins books.[15] Travers' character Admiral Boom likes to fire cannons, as did Admiral Barton, who at the time was believed to have lived at the house.[5] [6] Scenes from the 1964 Mary Poppins film adaptation were filmed at Admiral's House.[16] which was used as Admiral Boom's house in the film.[17]

In 1950, the house was listed as a Grade II listed building.[4] In the 1960s and 1970s, the gardens of Admiral's House and the next door Grove Lodge were opened to the public on selected dates as part of the National Gardens Scheme.[18] [19] In 1976, the brick and Portland stone boundary wall to the house was Grade II listed, in a separate listing from the main house, and including neighbouring properties.[20] In the late 20th century, windows were added to the roof, and the kitchen was extended. These changes were not included in the Grade II listing of the house.[4] Since the 1980s, Admiral's House has been owned by John Gardiner KC.[16]

Other buildings

In the 20th century, a wing of Admiral's House was converted into a separate house, named Grove House.[21] John Galsworthy lived at Grove House from 1918 to 1933.[16] In 2015, the owners of Grove House wanted to knock down part of the house to build an extension and 13 room basement.[16] In the 1920s, parts of the gardens of Admiral House's were sold as land for two additional houses. Between 1931 and 1932, Edward Maufe built a studio next to the house.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Admiral's House, Hampstead - Admiral Booms House In Mary Poppins. www.london-walking-tours.co.uk. 2020-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20200604204359/https://www.london-walking-tours.co.uk/secret-london/admirals-house-hampstead.htm. 4 June 2020. live.
  2. Web site: The Grove, or Admiral's House, Hampstead John Constable V&A Search the Collections. 2020-05-17. V and A Collections. en. 2020-05-17.
  3. Book: Hampstead: Hampstead Town, in A History of the County of Middlesex. 9. Baker. T. F. T.. Bolton. Diane K.. Croot. Patricia E. C.. Victoria County History. British History Online. 1989. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200410182551/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol9/pp15-33. 10 April 2020. live.
  4. Web site: Admiral's House. Historic England. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200601055628/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1378582. 1 June 2020. live.
  5. News: Site unseen / Admiral's House, Hampstead. Davies. Andrew. The Independent. 12 September 1995. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200410181631/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/site-unseen-admirals-house-hampstead-1600760.html. 10 April 2020. live.
  6. News: The North London House That's Partly Shaped Like A Ship. Londonist. 12 June 2017. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200531195159/https://londonist.com/london/uncategorized/the-north-london-house-that-s-partly-shaped-like-a-ship. 31 May 2020. live.
  7. Book: The London Encyclopaedia. Hibbert. Christopher. Weinreb. Ben. Keay. Julia. Keay. John. Macmillan Publishers. 2008. 9781405049245. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200601131253/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wN_H-__MBpYC. 1 June 2020. live.
  8. Book: DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: London. DK. 2012. 230. 9781405393140. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200531081611/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qxfVUt5wJTUC. 31 May 2020. live.
  9. Book: Keisch, Claude. The Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. C.H. Beck. 2005. 73. 9783406526756. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200602081453/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ApOj7UXAPkYC. 2 June 2020. live.
  10. Book: Bermingham, Ann. Landscape and Ideology: The English Rustic Tradition, 1740-1860. 1989. University of California Press. 155, 198, 232–33. 9780520066236. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200531081610/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3WfqJRqOZRUC. 31 May 2020. live.
  11. Web site: The Grove, or Admiral's House, Hampstead. Victoria and Albert Museum. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200602112853/http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O82666/the-grove-or-admirals-house-oil-painting-john-constable/. 2 June 2020. live.
  12. News: The Romantic House at Hampstead. The Guardian. Newspapers.com. subscription. 8 September 1925. 8. 15 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200604113204/https://www.newspapers.com/image/258752642/?terms=admiral%27s%2Bhouse%2Bhampstead. 4 June 2020. live.
  13. Web site: Scott, Sir George Gilbert. English Heritage. 15 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200602081529/https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/george-gilbert-scott/. 2 June 2020. live.
  14. Web site: Admiral's House, Hampstead. Victoria and Albert Museum. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200604104943/https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O596665/admirals-house-hampstead-watercolour-janes-norman-thomas/. 4 June 2020. live.
  15. Web site: The Ship-Shaped House That Inspired Mary Poppins. Atlas Obscura. en. 2020-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20191102022707/https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/admirals-house. 2 November 2019. live.
  16. News: Protest over 'Mary Poppins' basement scheme at Hampstead farmhouse immortalised by Constable. Banks. Emily. Hampstead and Highgate Express. 31 March 2015. 15 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200604204358/https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/environment/protest-over-mary-poppins-basement-scheme-at-hampstead-farmhouse-immortalised-by-constable-1-4016851. 4 June 2020. live.
  17. News: London: Explore neighborhoods made famous by writers. The Journal News. Newspapers.com. subscription. 25 June 1995. 67. 15 April 2020.
  18. News: In and Around London Today. The Observer. Newspapers.com. subscription. 14 July 1963. 36. 15 April 2020.
  19. News: Where to go this Sunday. The Observer. Newspapers.com. subscription. 5 July 1970. 15 April 2020.
  20. Web site: Boundary Wall to Admiral's House, 25 Hampstead Grove and Grove End, Admiral's Walk, Hampstead Grove and Upper Terrace. Historic England. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200603022717/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1378583. 3 June 2020. live.
  21. Web site: The Grove or Admiral's House, Hampstead, c.1821-22 by John Constable Oil Painting john-constable.org. www.john-constable.org. 2020-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20200601055631/https://www.john-constable.org/The-Grove-Or-Admirals-House-Hampstead-C.1821-22.html. 1 June 2020. live.

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