Holland Park Living

Holland Park Road runs between Addison Road and Melbury Road. The north side has impressive red-brick period mansions whereas the south side consists of St Mary Abbots Terrace, a modern development of neo-Georgian townhouses. The contrasting styles compliment each other. The road is very quiet.

In the 19th century this was an artists’ quarter with many artists’ studios. Two artists, Frederic Leighton and Val Prinsep, who were close friends, started the fashion when they decided to build houses on adjoining plots. Lord Leighton used George Aitchinson as his architect to build his house at No. 12. - 'Leighton House'. Val Prinsep used Philip Webb as his architect at No. 14. The houses were built in about 1865.

Leighton House is now a gallery and museum. It is open to the public and is one of the most extraordinary buildings of the 19th century. The sumptuous interior contains important paintings by Leighton, John Everett Millais, Edward Burne-Jones and George Frederick Watts. There is an Arab hall decorated with tiles which Lord Leighton bought back from his travels and which is cooled by an indoor pool.

Nos. 20 to 30 (even) Holland Park Road (originally called “the Studios”) were built in about 1877 as a group of studios round a courtyard, entered through an arch. No. 24a Holland Park Road, designed by A M Cawthorne, was an extra house slotted in around 1929, and originally called Court House. Nos. 32 and 34 were designed by Albert Cockerel and built in 1900.

At the west end of Holland Park Road are some exclusive modern blocks of flats.

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