Historic London Buildings
Red House - Thames Barrier
An A-Z of historic buildings and other historic attractions in the heart of London. See also historic attractions in the Greater London area, and for more on royal palaces see Royal London.
Red House was the home of Arts and Crafts Movement founder William Morris and his wife Jane. Not only did Morris live in Red House, it was built by architect Philip Webb to his exact specifications. Red House features lovely Arts and Crafts furnishings, including wall paintings and stained glass windows by Morris's friend Edward Burne-Jones.
Red House Lane, Bexleyheath London,
Greater London,
England, DA6 8JF
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Heritage Highlight: William Morris Pre-Raphaelite art and furnishings
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The Royal Opera House is one of the oldest and most prestigious of London's theatres. It is the third theatre on this site outside Covent Garden Market.
Bow Street, Covent Garden London,
Greater London,
England, WC2E 9DD
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Sandycombe Lodge was built by artist JMW Turner, who lived here with his father from 1814-1826. The house has been beautifully restored to the way it looked in Turner's day and boasts many original prints by the artist.
40 Sandycoombe Road,
London,
Greater London,
England, TW1 2LR
Heritage Rating:
Heritage Highlight: Home of JMW Turner, who designed the house
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and Breakfasts
Southside House is a William and Mary mansion that has been the home of the Pennington Mellor Munthe families for generations. Well restored, it illustrates the family history down the generations. The same family owns another historic house, Hellens, in Herefordshire.
3-4 Woodhayes Rd, Wimbledon Common London,
Greater London,
England, SW19 4RJ
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Spencer House is the London home of the Spencer family, and boasts a superb art collection, showcased in one of the most beautiful and influential neoclassical interiors in 18th-century England.
27 St James's Place,
London,
Greater London,
England, SW1A 1NR
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There are few places in London so replete with history as St James Palace. The palace began as a hospital run by the Augustinian order of monks. It was later transformed into a leper hospital for women, dedicated to St James the Less.
St James Street,
London,
Greater London,
England, SW1A 1BS
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Horace Walpole called Strawberry Hill his "little Gothic castle". A unique, extravagant house, Strawberry Hill set the stage for the Victorian Gothic Revival movement. Originally a small William and Mary house, it was transformed by Walpole over the period 1747 to 1792 into a magical medieval extravaganza of turrets, arches, battlements, and antiquities. The furnishings are as unusual as the architecture, featuring Walpole's curious collections of art, furniture, and historical prints.
268 Waldegrave Road, Twickenham London,
Greater London,
England, TW1 4ST
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Heritage Highlight: Exquisite Gothick interiors are still copied today
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A unique survival in London's East End, Sutton House was built in 1535 by Sir Ralph Sadleir, a rising star at the court of Henry VIII. It became home to a succession of merchants, Huguenot silk weavers, Victorian schoolmistresses and Edwardian clergy, and, although altered over the years, remains essentially a Tudor house.
2 and 4 Homerton High Street, Hackney London,
Greater London,
England, E9 6JQ
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The London home of the Percy family, Dukes of Northumberland, Syon House is set in wonderful parkland on the banks of the River Thames, opposite Kew Gardens. The plain exterior of the house hides a superlative Robert Adam interior begun in 1762 on much older foundations.
London,
Greater London,
England, TW8 8JF
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The Thames Barrier has been described as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The Barrier looks like a surrealistic vision of the future, but its purpose is rather more mundane; it was built to control flooding on the Thames. It is composed of a series of hidden underwater gates that pivot up when needed.
Visitor's Centre, 1 Unity Way London,
Woolwich,
Greater London,
England, SE18 5NJ
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