Pitzhanger Manor

Pitzhanger Manor

I’ve lived in Ealing for several years now, and did visit Pitzhanger Manor a while ago, but it has been closed for three years for refurbishment, only reopening in March of this year. I was happy to finally get the chance to visit this local landmark again.

Colonnade
Colonnade

Pitzhanger Manor was designed by Sir John Soane, the architect who designed the Bank of England and whose central London home is now a museum showcasing the many antiquities he collected during his lifetime. In 1800-1804, when Pitzhanger was being designed and built, Ealing was outside of London and considered the countryside: this was well before the Tube and the expansion of the city. Despite this, Soane would often walk for several hours to reach Pitzhanger on foot.

Conservatory
Conservatory

Pitzhanger Manor was a family home that Soane hoped would nurture architectural ambitions in his sons; he harboured dreams of a Soane architectural dynasty. It functioned as a place of entertainment, playing host to clients and friends, as well as a place to display artworks, including Hogarth’s series A Rake’s Progress. Sadly, Soane’s sons proved disappointments to him, and he eventually sold Pitzhanger, moving back to his Lincoln’s Inn home.

Dining Room
Dining Room
Dining Room
Dining Room

The restoration programme has restored important elements of Soane’s original design, such as the conservatory, which has been rebuilt after originally being demolished in 1901, and a colonnade connecting the Gallery and Manor. Historic paint analysis and attention to the original details of the decor has led to the restoration, wherever possible, of Soane’s original vision.

Red room
Red room
Gallery
Gallery

I also attended the inaugural exhibition in the reopened Gallery, featuring works by Anish Kapoor.

Anish Kapoor mirror sculpture
Anish Kapoor

Pitzhanger Manor is well worth a visit, not just for Ealing locals. The Gallery exhibition changes frequently and there are often events going on that are certainly worth a visit.

Pitzhanger Manor

FACTS

Address: Mattock Lane, Ealing, London, W5 5EQ

Website: https://www.pitzhanger.org.uk/

Opening Hours: Thursday – Sunday 11-3

Price: £7.70 standard; £4.95 concessions; £3.50 National Art Pass. Free entry for Ealing residents on Thursdays all day and Sundays 11-2:30.

Sir John Soane’s Museum

2016_0430Soane01

It’s a long time since I visited Sir John Soane’s Museum, so I decided to pop in on Saturday. As usual there was a bit of a queue to get in, but considering it’s free, I was happy to wait – I only had to hang around for a few minutes, anyway.

Sir John Soane was a distinguished 19th century architect who turned his Lincoln’s Inn Fields townhouse into a museum full of famous artworks, sculptures, artefacts and furniture, most of it relating to the classical world. It was fairly famous during Soane’s lifetime, and has remained largely untouched since his death almost two centuries ago.

You start in the library, then head to the back of the house, which is covered from head to foot with classical artefacts. The basement is possibly the most exciting space, particularly the Monks’ Parlour and the huge sarcophagus. Back upstairs, there are more beautiful eighteenth century rooms to look around. Whatever your level of interest in history, there is something to see and enthuse over here.

A temporary exhibition, Charlotte Brontë at the Soane, is currently taking place. Though the museum existed when the writer of Jane Eyre visited London, there is no evidence that she ever went. Curator Charlotte Cory has decided to bring her to the Soane for her 200th birthday, and on display are some of Brontë’s possessions, including the beautiful blue and white dress she wore to attend a dinner with Thackeray, as well as some less authentic artefacts.

Another temporary exhibition refers to Soane’s relationship to the works of Shakespeare, and displays, among other things, the first four folios: it’s incredibly rare to see all four displayed together.

The Museum is open for occasional evening tours, and every so often the top floor – Soane’s private apartments – opens for tours (the latter do charge for entry). It’s a lovely, unique little museum that is well worth visiting.

FACTS

Address: 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP

Website: soane.org

Opening Hours: 10-5 Tues-Sat

Prices: Free

Soane’s Private Apartments Tour – Sir John Soane’s Museum

Sir John Soane’s Museum is a unique free museum near Holborn, the former home of the neo-classical architect responsible for the Bank of England. He established the house as a museum in 1833, and it contains numerous treasures from his collection.

I booked online for the rare chance to visit the Private Apartments at the top of the house. These were originally home to Soane and his wife, and later to curators of the museum. After refurbishment, they have been made available to visit as part of a guided tour.

I turned up with my ticket and was directed upstairs, where the group of us due to tour were gathered together and taken up a further flight of stairs, normally roped off. We were told that the house was bombed during the war and was refurbished afterwards; some lovely stained glass was pointed out to us that survived because it was removed from the house before bombing on the orders of the then live-in curator.

The first room we came to was Elizabeth (Eliza) Soane’s drawing room, where she would have taken tea, written letters and received guests. The room was decorated in her own style, with paintings of her children and family group as well as pictures that she liked. These included a beautiful representation of all the flowers in Shakespeare, and several sketches of Shakespearean characters. The next room was her bedroom, kept as it was for several years after her death by a heartbroken Soane, but eventually he turned it into a magnificent display room for his architectural models. The centrepiece was a very impressive model of a semi-excavated Pompeii, and surrounding this, on a beautiful wooden frame, were several models of notable classical buildings in both cork (for ruined buildings) and plaster of Paris (for models of buildings as-new). On the bottom of the stand were models of Soane’s own buildings, emphasising the inspiration Soane took from the classical world.

Following this we entered Soane’s bathroom, an elaborately decorated room with a grandfather clock (!) in the corner. The room contained an actual bath, and there were hot water pipes on the wall, but it is uncertain exactly how the system worked. After Soane’s death, the bath was sealed up at his request, and when it was opened after some years had passed it was found to contain a number of effects, such as pictures and documents, though none of these contained anything groundbreaking.

Next to the bathroom was Soane’s bedroom, although the bed there was not an original (that had been sold) but was one that had come from Pitzhanger Manor, his country house. Finally, we were led out of the apartments via a corridor decorated with lots of art and two mummified cats, which apparently were supposed to be lucky.

Changes have recently been announced to the Tours of the Private Apartments – the number of tours has been increased and you no longer need to book online, but can turn up on the day. The tours will continue to be free, as is entrance to the museum itself. It is definitely worth making the effort to go on a tour – it’s hugely interesting.