The Journal
From the Blog
Dispatches from the village — written by people who walk these streets every day. History, food, culture and the stories behind the places you love.
History & Heritage
Fenton House: Four Centuries of History & Collecting
The National Trusts oldest property in London hides a remarkable collection of keyboard instruments and porcelain behind its wisteria hung facade.
James Calloway · 5 min read
History & Heritage
Turner and Hampstead: The Master of Light and the Heath
J.M.W. Turner made dozens of oil sketches of Hampstead skies in the 1820s. The story of those visits illuminates both the artist and the place.
James Calloway · 7 min read
History & Heritage
Keats House: Where the Poet Found His Muse
The Regency villa where John Keats wrote Ode to a Nightingale remains one of Londons most intimate literary museums.
Oliver Hartwell · 5 min read
History & Heritage
The Suffragettes of Hampstead: A Hidden History
Hampstead was home to several leading figures in the suffrage movement. This is the story of their lives their meetings and their actions.
Beatrice Thornton · 5 min read
History & Heritage
George Orwell in Hampstead: The Bookshop Years
Before Animal Farm and 1984 Orwell worked in a secondhand bookshop in Hampstead and drew on the experience for his novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying.
Beatrice Thornton · 5 min read
History & Heritage
The Vale of Health: Hampstead's Hidden Hamlet in the Heath
A hidden hamlet enclosed within the Heath, the Vale of Health has been home to D.H. Lawrence, Leigh Hunt, and a long succession of artists and writers who valued its improbable combination of wildness and proximity to London.
Oliver Hartwell · 5 min read
History & Heritage
Hampstead During the Blitz: Survival and Loss
The bombing of 1940 to 41 left its mark on Hampstead, in the gaps between buildings in the street names that commemorate the dead.
Oliver Hartwell · 6 min read
History & Heritage
Church Row Hampstead: London's Finest Georgian Street
Built in the 1720s and barely altered since, Church Row is Hampstead's architectural masterpiece, a perfect Georgian terrace leading to St John's Church and one of London's most atmospheric churchyards.
James Calloway · 6 min read
History & Heritage
The History of the Spaniards Inn: 400 Years of Legend
Dick Turpin, Lord Byron, John Keats, and Bram Stoker all passed through the same low door. The Spaniards Inn is one of the most storied buildings in London.
James Calloway · 5 min read
History & Heritage
Hampstead & Highgate: Twin Villages and the Cemetery That Links Them
Highgate Cemetery a short walk from Hampstead village holds an extraordinary concentration of Victorian figures. A guide to the most significant graves.
Beatrice Thornton · 5 min read
History & Heritage
A Journey Through Hampstead's History
From a medieval manor to a bohemian retreat for London's greatest writers and thinkers, Hampstead's 900-year story is written in every cobblestone and Georgian doorway.
James Calloway · 9 min read
History & Heritage
Hampstead's Lost Spa Quarter: The Georgian Spa Town
In the 18th century Hampstead rivalled Bath as a fashionable spa resort. The wells that brought the crowds have long since dried up but traces survive.
Beatrice Thornton · 7 min read
History & Heritage
Famous Residents of Hampstead: The Blue Plaque Trail
Hampstead has more blue plaques per square mile than almost anywhere in Britain. A walk through the neighbourhood's commemorative history, from H.G. Wells to Sigmund Freud.
Beatrice Thornton · 11 min read
History & Heritage
The Night the Pond Froze: Hampstead Heath's Coldest Winters
In the coldest winters of the 19th century the Heath ponds froze solid enough for skating. The records photographs and memories of those extraordinary events.
James Calloway · 5 min read
History & Heritage
Literary Hampstead: The Writers Who Made It Home
Keats, Shelley, Orwell, du Maurier, Hampstead has been home to more writers per square mile than almost anywhere in England. Here is their story.
Oliver Hartwell · 5 min read