The National Trusts oldest property in London hides a remarkable collection of keyboard instruments and porcelain behind its wisteria hung facade.
Fenton House, perched at the top of Hampstead Village, is a perfectly preserved 17th-century merchant's house with a remarkable story spanning more than four centuries, and an extraordinary collection of historic keyboard instruments that are still played today. This guide explores Fenton House's four centuries of history and collecting.
- Fenton House is a 1686 merchant's house, one of Hampstead's oldest
- It holds the Benton Fletcher collection of early keyboard instruments
- The instruments are kept in playing order, and are still performed on
- A beautiful walled garden includes a 300-year-old orchard
- Run by the National Trust; see the Fenton House guide for visiting
- A short walk from Hampstead Underground station
Four Centuries of History
Fenton House was built around 1686, during the reign of James II and at the dawn of Hampstead's transformation from rural village to fashionable spa town. One of the oldest surviving houses in Hampstead, this handsome William and Mary period merchant's house has stood for over 330 years, witnessing the entire modern history of the village, from spa resort to Georgian retreat to the celebrated neighbourhood of today.
The house takes its name from Philip Fenton, a Baltic merchant who bought it in 1793, and whose family lived there through much of the 19th century. After passing through several owners, it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1952 by its last private owner, Lady Binning, along with her collection of porcelain and furniture, ensuring its preservation for the nation. For full visiting details, see the Fenton House guide.
A House of Collectors
Much of Fenton House's fascination lies in the collections it holds, the accumulated passions of generations of collectors:
- The Benton Fletcher collection of early keyboard instruments, the house's crowning treasure
- Lady Binning's porcelain, fine ceramics bequeathed with the house
- Paintings, furniture, and decorative arts, filling the period rooms
- Needlework and textiles
Together, these collections turn the house into a treasure box of the decorative and musical arts, reflecting centuries of collecting passion and giving visitors a rich sense of a cultured, well-appointed home across the ages.
Daniel Reeve, a harpsichordist who has played the Fenton House instruments, speaks of them with awe. "The Benton Fletcher collection is extraordinary," he said. "These are 17th- and 18th-century harpsichords, virginals, spinets, including a 1612 Ruckers, one of the oldest playable instruments anywhere. And the remarkable thing is they're kept in playing order and actually played. Major Benton Fletcher insisted on it, instruments should be heard, not just looked at. To play a four-hundred-year-old harpsichord in a three-hundred-year-old house is to touch history directly. There's nowhere else quite like it."
The Benton Fletcher Collection
The heart of Fenton House is the Benton Fletcher collection of early keyboard instruments, one of the most important collections of its kind in the world. Assembled by Major George Henry Benton Fletcher in the early 20th century, it includes harpsichords, virginals, spinets, and an early piano, ranging from the 17th to the 18th centuries, including a 1612 Ruckers harpsichord, one of the oldest playable keyboard instruments in existence.
What makes the collection extraordinary is Benton Fletcher's conviction that historic instruments should be played, not merely displayed. He left the collection to the National Trust on condition that the instruments be kept in working order and used for music. Today, music students and professional musicians practise and perform on them, and the house holds regular recitals, so the sound of a harpsichord or virginal drifting through the panelled rooms is part of the Fenton House experience. To hear music played on these centuries-old instruments, in the house's original acoustics, is uniquely evocative.
The Walled Garden and Orchard
Behind the house lies one of Hampstead's loveliest gardens, a walled garden on multiple levels, with formal lawns, herbaceous borders, a sunken rose garden, and a 300-year-old orchard. The orchard is a special feature, growing old apple and pear varieties, some of them historic cultivars rarely seen today, and celebrated each autumn with an apple day. The combination of formal garden, productive kitchen garden, and ancient orchard, all within high brick walls in the heart of Hampstead, creates an enclosed world that has changed little in centuries.
Visiting Fenton House
For full visiting details, opening times, entry, and how to plan your visit, see the complete Fenton House guide. In brief:
- Where: Hampstead Grove, at the top of Hampstead Village, NW3
- Run by: The National Trust (free for members; admission for non-members)
- Highlights: The keyboard instrument collection, the porcelain, the walled garden and orchard
- Music: Regular recitals on the historic instruments, book ahead
- Getting there: Hampstead (Northern line), a short walk
Combining with the Village
Fenton House sits at the top of Hampstead Village, close to its other attractions:
A day combining Fenton House, Burgh House, and Keats House, three historic houses within a short walk, is one of the most rewarding cultural days in London.
Practical Information
- What: A 1686 merchant's house with historic collections and a walled garden
- Highlights: The Benton Fletcher keyboard instruments (still played), porcelain, the 300-year-old orchard
- Run by: The National Trust
- Best for: Music lovers, history and architecture enthusiasts, garden visitors
- Visiting: See the Fenton House guide
- Getting there: Hampstead (Northern line)
Fenton House is one of Hampstead's hidden treasures, a perfectly preserved 17th-century house with four centuries of history, an extraordinary collection of historic keyboard instruments that are still played, and a walled garden with a 300-year-old orchard. To visit is to step into a cultured, well-appointed home across the ages, and to hear music played on instruments older than the house itself. For anyone who loves history, music, or beautiful gardens, it is a quietly magical place. Plan your visit with the Fenton House guide.
