Kenwood, Hampstead, England

The following is from the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest: 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

Caen Wood was a monastic wood from the 13th to 16th centuries and was then in Royal possession from 1532 to 1565. The Wood was purchased in 1616 by John Bill, a royal printer, who built the first house on the site, with a terrace to the south (extant).

By the early 18th century the property was owned by the Earl of Ilay, who let the property to George Middleton. Middleton was responsible in about 1726 for planting the lime avenue which ran west from the south front of the house as a continuation of the terrace. Both the Earl and his nephew, John Stuart, third Earl of Bute (who lived at Kenwood from about 1747), planted exotics at Kenwood: in 1751 Bute described the gardens as filled with 'every exotick our climate will protect' (Bryant and Colson 1990). John Rocque's Plan of London 1744-1746, shows the estate immediately prior to the third Earl's ownership. Formal gardens stretched from the south front of the house down to a line of formal fishponds, which lay to the east of Ken Wood, which was crossed by rides. There was a large forecourt to the north of the house, a kitchen garden to the west, and the farm to the east.

In 1754 Lord Bute sold Kenwood to William Murray, later the first Earl of Mansfield. Mansfield purchased much of the surrounding land, expanding the estate from 90 acres (37.5 hectares) to 232 acres (96.5 hectares). The estate finally comprised over 1500 acres (625 hectares) including land leased from the Bishop of London to the north.

Mansfield commissioned Robert Adam to remodel the house and was also responsible for landscaping the pleasure grounds in the second half of the 18th century: the formal gardens were replaced by a sloping lawn; three of the ponds were joined together to form Wood Pond; the Thousand Pound Pond was formed, with a Sham Bridge (about 1767-1768, rebuilt 1791, Listed Grade II*) at the east end; trees (especially oak and beech) and shrubs were planted; two miles of gravel and grass walks were made through the Wood; and a hothouse was erected in the kitchen garden, for peaches and grapes. Exotics were grown in the greenhouse on the west side of the house. Robert Adam designed summerhouses and a 'Seat', which was located in the Wood. Kenwood was noted for its very fine views of the City, the Thames and Greenwich.

Lord Mansfield died in 1793 and his heir, the second Earl, immediately set about further work. Humphry Repton (1752-1818) was commissioned in 1793 and visited three times between 1793 and 1796. Repton prepared a survey, and advised the Earl's architects, Robert Nasmith and later George Saunders, on the building works. The landscaping included the removal of the kitchen garden to the west of the house and the extension to the south of both ends of the terrace, to enclose the lawn. Repton made further proposals but this work was largely carried out by George Saunders, William Marshall, William Emes, and others, under the guidance of Edward Hunter, the estate steward. The work included: enlarging the house; diverting Hampstead Lane to the north, making new entrances with drives and a forecourt to the north of the house (laid out by George Saunders); a flower garden on the site of the former kitchen garden (attributed by J C Loudon to the estate gardener); new stables, service wing, and lodges; and an octagonal farmhouse (designed by William Marshall).

In 1840, the fourth Earl purchased Fitzroy Park, which adjoined Kenwood to the east, and by 1850, Lord Erskine's property at Evergreen Hill (to the north-west of Kenwood) had been purchased and added to the Kenwood estate. Both these properties had been landscaped by Repton. The house at Fitzroy Park was demolished prior to the purchase. Other than the addition of these properties the landscape changed little throughout the 19th century, until 1889 when the estate of over 625 hectares began to be divided up. In that year the fourth Earl sold Millfield Farm (including Parliament Hill), so that it could be added to the Heath.

The fourth Earl died in 1898 and the estate was inherited by his grandson, who died in 1906. The sixth Earl let Kenwood to the Grand Duke Michael of Russia from 1910 to 1917 and then to the American heiress, Nancy Leeds. In 1914 the sixth Earl attempted to sell the estate to a building syndicate. Although the contents of the house and parts of the estate were sold in the 1920s, the house and the core of the landscape were saved from development. The Kenwood Preservation Trust secured Kenwood Fields and South Kenwood, which were opened to the public on 18 July 1925. In 1924 Lord Iveagh purchased the house with the remaining grounds, which were bequeathed to the nation, with the paintings in the house, on his death in 1927.

On 18 July 1928 the Iveagh Bequest was formally handed over to the London County Council (LCC), which became the trustee for the grounds, with private trustees for the house. In 1949, the LCC took over the trusteeship of the house. In 1965 Kenwood passed to the Greater London Council, who managed it with the whole of Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill. In 1986 Kenwood was transferred to English Heritage, while the Corporation took over the rest of the Heath.