March - Kenwood House

Now, this may be too far back in the dim and distant mists of time now… but once Fran Cassidy wrote a fashion blog (of sorts). I know, it’s been A-G-E-S, and my infrequent attempts to revive Dressing Up In London always seem to be abortive, but I’ve been BUSY, OK?!

Anyway, I took the pictures for this post just over a year ago, in March 2017, with the aid of Delightful Boyfriend and the “help” of my taller-but-younger sister. Who mostly followed me around, mocking my poses and pulling daft faces. It’s amazing how little can change over 23 years…

The chosen venue for this piece was Hampstead gem, Kenwood House. I love ponceing about in heritage homes, I really do. And this was a particularly nice one to ponce in, set on the edge of glorious Hampstead Heath, surrounded by lovely park lands and absolutely hundreds of runners with dogs… at least on the particular Saturday morning that we picked.

To all intents and purposes (or, at least, my intents and purposes) Kenwood’s story begins in 1754, when William Murray, Lord Mansfield bought it as a country weekend villa (life goals right there, I can’t even afford to buy a windowless studio in Streatham). William Murray was, I have discovered, really a pretty cool character. A younger son of a good Perthshire family, he came to London for school when he was 13 and went on to become one of the greatest legal figures in UK history.

After studying at Oxford, Murray was so bright that he was sponsored to take the Bar and quickly made a name for himself as an excellent barrister. He became an MP in 1742 before earning his most prestigious title of Lord Chief Justice in 1754. Famous for his enlightened thinking, he thoroughly modernised English law and set England on the path to abolishing slavery – all in all, a bit of a dude.

Besides being a generally good man, there is one major reason why Murray might have had a particular stance on the slave trade, and it is one of the things I found most interesting about my trip to Kenwood. In 1766 a little girl called Dido Elizabeth Belle was brought to live with the Murrays and raised as one of the family. She was the “natural” daughter of Murray’s nephew, Sir John Lindsay and an enslaved woman from the Caribbean. Lindsay brought her back to England with him and left her at Kenwood, where the Murrays were already caring for their young niece, Lady Elizabeth Murray, who was roughly the same age as Dido.

At the time, it was almost unheard of for a daughter born out of wedlock to be accorded any sort of status – much less one who was mixed race. She was never treated exactly like Lady Elizabeth (for example, she would not dine with the family when they had company) but she was apparently much loved, and otherwise brought up in a similar way. She was taught to read, write and play music, and she was a clear favourite of Murray’s, who left her a small inheritance when he died.

The house itself is lovely – a Georgian Neoclassical dream, filled with pastel colours and beautiful art. Most of the paintings are from the personal collection of Lord Iveagh – a member of the Guinness family and the last official owner of Kenwood. Most of the furniture was sold but has since been bought back, and all in all it’s a real dream to explore.

The particular inspiration for this pink velvet ensemble was the library at Kenwood. Lordy, but this is a purdy room! This is the sort of space millennials lose their minds over – it was positively designed for ‘gramming. Not that I think that was what Robert Adam had in mind when he remodelled it in 1764 – but, perhaps, testimony to its lasting aesthetic appeal. (See how I turned that from total daft-ness to mildly sensible point? Go me!)

(Disclaimer: I must apologise for the state of my hair. I imagine it must have been windy… but frankly that’s no excuse. Please rest assured that I am much better acquainted with a hairbrush a whole character-forming year later.)

Entry is totally free and I can highly recommend taking a pootle around the Heath once you are finished at the house – a true oasis of calm in London. Recommended.

See you in a year’s time for the next installation of “Fran Tries to Blog!”