Burgh House - Brief History

Brief History

Burgh House was constructed in 1704 during the reign of Queen Anne. At the time of construction the Hampstead Wells Spa was flourishing. In 1720 the Spa's physician, Dr. William Gibbons, moved to Burgh House, which he enlarged. He added the present wrought-iron gate which carries his initials.

One inhabitant of the house was Israel Lewis, who was an upholsterer. He was involved in a court case in which he was found guilty of creating a nuisance by "making an inclosed Dung stall" in his garden, and was fined ₤5 and made to remove it. Until the 1870s the house was known as Lewis House.

In 1858 Burgh House was taken over by the Royal East Middlesex Militia, and served as the Head-Quarters and Officers' Mess until 1881. The house returned to domestic use in 1884.

From 1906-1924 the house was occupied by Dr. George Williamson, an international art expert. He commissioned Gertrude Jekyll to design the garden, although only the terrace now remains.

In 1925, a director of Lloyd's Bank, Captain Constantine Evelyn Benson CBE, DSO, bought the house for £4,750. He built the present music room on the site of Dr. Williamson's library.

Between 1933-1937, Rudyard Kipling's daughter, Elsie Bambridge lived in Burgh House with her husband, Captain George Bambridge. Rudyard Kipling's last outing in 1936 was to Burgh House, to visit his daughter.

From 1937-1946 Burgh House was unoccupied. It was bought and restored by Hampstead Borough Council in 1946. The barrack blocks in front of the building were pulled down and in 1947 it reopened as a community centre with a Citizen's Advice Bureau in its basement.

The house was again closed indefinitely in 1977 when its new owners, Camden Council, discovered dry rot in the building. Threatened with proposals to turn the house over to a commercial use, local residents formed a charitable trust and launched a "Keep Burgh House" appeal, as a result of which Camden Council granted them a lease for the House. On 8 September 1979, the House, restored by the Council and refurbished by the Trust, opened to the public as the house and museum that it is today.