18 Melbury Road

18 Melbury Road is a large semi-detached house in the Holland Park district of Kensington and Chelsea, London W14, England, located just north of Kensington High Street.[2] The house was built in Victorian times as a brick and stucco house with gas lighting by William Turner of Chelsea, London and originally sold on a 90-year lease.[3]

18 Melbury Road
Front view of the building (No 18 left and No 16 right) from Melbury Road
LocationMelbury Road, Holland Park, London W14 8LT, England
Coordinates51.49925°N 0.20223°W / 51.49925; -0.20223
Built1877 (18A studio completed by 1893)
ArchitectWilliam Turner of Chelsea
Architectural style(s)Flemish bond brick
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name16, 18 and 18A Melbury Road W14
Designated7 November 1984[1]
Reference no.1225643
18 Melbury Road is located in Greater London
18 Melbury Road
Location of 18 Melbury Road in Greater London

The 1877 building is semi-detached with No 16. Both houses have three storeys with attic dormers and a tiled roof, built in brick with Flemish bond and painted cement.[4] Attached to the rear outer corner of No 18 is a single-storey brick studio building.

Blue plaques at 18 Melbury Road

The building is Grade II listed, along with the semi-detached and mirror-image 16 Melbury Road and a later attached studio building at 18A Melbury Road.[5] It was the home and studio of the Pre-Raphaelite painter, William Holman Hunt, from 1903 until his death in 1910.[6][7] Cetshwayo kaMpande (c.1826–1884), King of the Zulus, stayed here in 1882. Both Holman Hunt (in 1923)[8] and Cetshwayo (in 2006)[9] are recorded with blue plaques by English Heritage on the front of the building, one above the other.

In 1923, the MI6 British Secret Intelligence Service moved to 18 Melbury Road due to financial restrictions but moved back to Westminster within a year.[10]

See also

References
  1. Historic England. "16, 18 and 18A Melbury Road W14 (1225643)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  2. "Exterior view of 18 Melbury Road from the north, showing the blue plaques and a window". UK: Historic England. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  3. Amor, Anne Clark (1989). William Holman Hunt, The True Pre-Raphaelite. London: Constable.
  4. "16, 18 and 18A Melbury Road". UK: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  5. "16, 18 and 18A, Melbury Road W14". British Listed Buildings. UK. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  6. Banerjee, Jacqueline. "The Home and Studio of William Holman Hunt in Holland Park". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  7. "W. Holman Hunt, 18 Melbury Road, Kensington, W., to [Sir Edward] Poynter". RA Collection: Archive. UK: Royal Academy of Arts. 7 January 1906. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  8. "Holman-Hunt, William, O.M. (1827–1910)". UK: English Heritage. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  9. "Cetshwayo, kaMpande, King of the Zulus". UK: English Heritage. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  10. "Melbury Road, W14". W14, West Kensington. The Underground Map. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
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