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These can be found in ABAB’s Places.
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John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, built a small town house here in 1778, along with the chapel next door. Wesley lived in the house for the last eleven winters of his life, when not touring to visit and preach to his Methodist societies round the country. The house is open to the public and contains many of John Wesley's belongings. The Chapel is also open - though not on Sundays - and there is a museum in the crypt that contains many fascinating objects - including (apparently) John Wesley's death mask and hair...
The Keats House Museum was home to the poet John Keats between 1818 and 1820. He is said to have written several of his great works here, including Ode to a Nightingale and Ode on a Grecian Urn. Keats was born in Moorgate, London, in 1795 and died in Rome in 1821. The house was built between 1814 and 1816.
Photo credit: Alphauser via Wikimedia
Hampstead
One of the Royal Parks. Kensington Gardens is connected to Hyde Park, which it was once part of – and, frankly, it’s hard to know where they each start and end. Technically, I believe the border is the bridge, Serpentine Bridge, which divides the Serpentine and Long Water lakes. Kensingtomn Gardens includes the Peter Pan Statue, Albert Memorial and Serpentine Gallery. At its western end is Kensington Palace. By the way, strangers to the park may be surprised by the thousands of wild, green, parakeets that flock there; temperate Britain is, of course, well-known for its tropical birds.
In 1689 William III bought the Jacobean mansion Nottingham House from his Secretary of State, the Earl of Nottingham, and commissioned Christopher Wren to extend and improve it. Thus it became Kensington Palace, a favourite residence of successive monarchs until the death of George II in 1760. Queen Victoria was born and spent much of her youth here.
Today, Kensington Palace contains the offices and London residences of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
Visitors can walk in the footsteps of royalty in Victoria's re-imagined childhood rooms, see the magnificent King's State Apartments and the famous Sunken Garden.
Kenwood House is one of the finest 18th century country houses in London. On the northern edge of Hampstead Heath, it was probably built in the early 17th century, but was extensively remodelled between 1764 and 1779 by Robert Adam, who transformed it into a neoclassical villa for William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield. The interiors include some of Adam’s finest surviving schemes, which are beautifully shown following recent renovation work. The house contains an astonishing art collection, which includes works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Turner, Gainsborough and Reynolds. The house, grounds and collection were bequeathed to the nation by brewing magnate Edward Guinness, Earl of Iveagh, in 1927. Kenwood has also featured in many movies and TV productions, including Notting Hill and Mansfield Park.
Hampstead
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a World Heritage Site set in 300 acres beside the River Thames between Richmond and Kew in south-west London. It boasts 6 glasshouses, the great pagoda, a range of landscapes and the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". There is also a large, specialist, library. One highlight of a visit is Kew's Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway which takes visitors underground and then 59 feet (18 metres) high up in the air.
The botanic gardens were founded in 1840, though its roots (pun intended) go back much further, to at least 1759 when Princess Augusta, mother of King George III, established a nine-acre botanic garden within the pleasure grounds at Kew. However, this part of the world has been a bit of a Royal Playground for centuries.
Kew Gardens has its own small police force, the Kew Constabulary, operational since 1847. Entry into the gardens also gives entry to Kew Palace, managed by Historic Royal Palaces. Kew, and the botanic gardens at Wakehurst, Sussex, are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a government sponsored internationally important botanical research and education institution.
Richmond
Once known as ‘the Dutch House’, Kew Palace is the smallest of all the royal palaces. It was originally built in 1631 as a private house for a wealthy London silk merchant, Samuel Fortrey. George II and Queen Caroline were first attracted to ‘little Kew’, thinking it a perfect lodging for their three eldest daughters. After them, several generations of Georgian royalty used Kew and nearby Richmond Lodge as weekend retreats. George III, Queen Charlotte and their 15 children enjoyed a relatively simple domestic routine at Kew, the palace rang with laughter and fun, however in later years the atmosphere darkened as family rivalries become more intense and relationships soured. Later the house became a refuge for George III, when he fell ill and was thought to have become mad. The King survived being administered powerful emetics and laxatives, freezing baths and leeching. He was also put into a strait-jacket if he refused to co-operate.
Highlights include the princesses’ bedrooms, Queen Charlotte’s bedroom and the kitchens. You can also visit Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, a rustic country retreat in the grounds.
Entry to Kew Palace is included in the ticket price for Kew Gardens.
Kew
Richmond
Lambeth Palace has been the official London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury for 800 years. It is famous for its gardens, and its extensive ecclesiastical library, which holds records dating back before the Norman Conquest and the archives of the Archbishops of Canterbury. Architecturally, the Palace is famous for its Tudor gate, Morton's Tower, but also has a medieval chapel and Stuart Great Hall. It is not, generally, open top the public, but guided tours available - see the website.
Albert Embankment
Originally a fresh food market dating back to the 14th century, Leadenhall Market stands at the centre of what was Roman London. It was redeveloped into an ornate iron and glass arcade building in 1881 and, with its distinctive red, gold and green colour scheme it is a site in its own right. It contains a variety of pubs, cafes and restaurants, as well as several high-end specialist shops. Leadenhall Market famously featured in the film, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.
Liberty is an iconic London store located in a wonderful mock-Tudor building. It is famous for its printed fabrics and slightly exotic wares. The business was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty (1843-1917) and its style is often associated with the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements.
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