Photo: londondrum.comUseful things to know before your visit
Address: Sambourne House, 18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington W8 7BH. Telephone: 0207 361 3790. Website: rbkc.gov.uk
How much do the tickets cost?
You can buy adults tickets from £12, young adults (aged 18-25) from £9, and children (6-17 years) from £5. Infants under-6 are free.
What are the opening hours?
Opening times are 10am to 5.30pm (Wed-Sun). Last entry is 1 hour before closing time.
How much time do you need?
A typical visit to Sambourne House takes 1 hour.
Which buses go to Sambourne House?
Bus routes 9, 23, 27, 28 and 49 all stop close by.
Which is the closest train station?
The nearest station is High Street Kensington, which connects with the Circle and District lines. It only takes four minutes to walk to Sambourne House.
Which other attractions are nearby?
Here are three attractions within 15 minutes walk of Sambourne House: Design Museum, Leighton House and Kensington Palace.
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Email My review of Sambourne House
I’ve visited this place a few times over the years and the older I get the more I like it. If you’re my age (I’m not telling you my age) then you’ll probably want to live here. If you’re a teenager you’ll think that your grandmother lives here, and if you’re a little kid you might even find it spooky.
18 Stafford Terrace was the family home of Edward Linley Sambourne and from the outside it just looks like a regular townhouse in a regular street, but when you step inside you’ll see that it’s been frozen in time with the same decorations, paintings and furniture they had in Victorian and Edwardian times.
Photo: londondrum.comYour first impression will be that it’s all extremely dark and gloomy because any wall that’s not smothered in heavy floral wallpaper is covered in a coat of autumn brown. The brightest yellow is just a mustard-coloured gloom – the same colour as cigarette-stained fingers. Even the ceilings are edged with gloomy fruits and twisting strings of ivy.
Photo: londondrum.comEvery inch of wall space has an old painting, engraving or porcelain plate. There are stopped clocks on the mantelpiece, barometers on the stairs, sepia photos of nobody you know, oval mirrors that make your face look aged and old. The fireplace is guarded by an armoury of pokers, stokers and shovels, and the dining table is laid out like they’re expecting ghosts.
Photo: londondrum.comIf I’m making it sound depressing then I really don’t mean to because it’s actually rather beautiful. This is what it must have been like in a world without TV – you filled your rooms with leather books and decorative objects so you could sit and stare at them in the candlelight.
Photo: londondrum.comSambourne was best known for illustrating books like Charles Kingsley’s The Water-Babies and his political cartoons in the satirical magazine Punch, but he also had a passion for photography and when you head upstairs the walls are covered in his early attempts that look overly posed and ghostly.
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What do you think? (2)
Average rating ★★★★★★★★★★Ask a question, or share your experience of Sambourne House
ABundock Quite wonderful 🙂 We purchased a joint ticket with Leighton House which they offered us when we arrived at Sambourne House, which we were previously unaware of, and to see two such wonderful houses in one day was a treat 👍 (reply)
mags We are big fans of Downton Abbey and thought Sambourne House might be an interesting snapshot of the era, and whilst of course it was not anywhere near as big or luxurious because it is just a normal home, it did transport us back in time. But it was also surprising how much has NOT changed in our lives, and has remained the same. (reply)
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