Explore the very best of London on a fully-guided tour. Includes scenic drive through the West End and City past Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Trafalgar Square. See the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Includes afternoon guided tour of St Paul's Cathedral, visit to Tower of London and Thames cruise. Click here
Address: 12 Holland Park Road, W14 8LZ.
Tel: 020 7602 3316. Access House: Daily 10am - 5:30pm. Closed Tuesdays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.
Access Gardens: FREE daily 10.00am-5.00pm, 1 May-31 September. Tickets: 5 (Concessions). Pay at door.
Standard ticket allows return entrance within 12 months. National Trust Members: 50% discount. Nearest Tube: High Street, Kensington. Carparking: Olympia Hylton NCP. Wheelchair accessibility: No.
Leighton House is the former studio-house of the great Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896). He designed and decorated it himself between 1864 and 1879, creating one of the most extraordinary buildings of the nineteenth century. Filled with golden mosaics, gilded walls, elaborate paintwork, domed ceilings, trickling fountains, cool marble and peacock blue tiles, it is Victorian art and architecture at its most opulent, or as some might say, at its most decadent.
Leighton House also became home to the owner's extensive collection of Victorian paintings by his contemporaries, 81 of which are exhibited here together with some 700 of his own drawings and a fine collection of ceramics and lusterware.
Over 1000 Islamic tiles from Damascus adorn the remarkable Arab Hall, which forms the centerpiece and focal point of the house and reflects the influence that the Orient had on Lord Leighton following his extensive travels in Araby.
The opulence of the Arab Hall continues through the other richly decorated interiors, with elaborate mosaic floors and walls lined with peacock blue tiles by the great Victorian ceramic artist William De Morgan.
On the first floor is the Silk Room with its display of paintings by Leighton's friends and contemporaries. Also here is the grand painting studio with its great north window, dome and apse where the artist produced all his important later works including the celebrated Flaming June, now in a Puerto Rico museum following its sale in the 1960s due to the then appalling lack of interest by English collectors and museums in Victorian art.
The Leighton House Museum is venue for regular events including life drawing classes, lectures and music, details of which are available on the museum website. Modern artists are given months long residencies to paint in Leighton's studio, gaining inspiration from the Leighton genius.
The Arab Hall, Dining Hall or Studio are available to hire; surely one of the most spectacular venues in London for a wedding reception or private function.
If you have a question, contact us and we will do our best to provide answers.
