There will be FREE history tours of Kingswood House, as part of Heritage Open Day, on Sunday 8 September with the Friends of Kingswood House.
Tours will depart at 11am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm. There are limited tickets left so please book your slot to confirm your place. Follow this link to book onto your tour!
Walking tours go through all the main rooms in the house including the Great Hall, Jacobean Room, Golden Room, Culloden Room, and Billiards Room. It is also planned that the tour will access an external second floor balcony with fine views. The tour will give the history of the building, who lived there, and its recent and current use.
The ground floor is wheelchair accessible but the tour does contain a section on the first floor which sadly at this point is not wheelchair accessible
There is limited parking on site and spaces cannot be guaranteed. On nearest train station - Sydenham Hill - is very close by (only around 4 mins walk)
When: Sunday 8 September. Tours depart at 11am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm
Where: Kingswood Arts, Seeley Drive London SE21 8QN
Further info on Kingswood House:
Kingswood House is a stone-faced baronial castle currently used as a cultural and community arts centre. Its history dates back to 1811 and was originally the home of an eminent lawyer, William Vizard.
The House was extensively rebuilt by Henry Vaughan Lanchester, architect of Methodist Central Hall on Parliament Square, for the inventor of Bovril, John Lawson Johnston. A Russian prince and aviator lived there and it was used as a Canadian military hospital in World War 1.
In the 1950s the House and its estate were acquired from the owners, the Vestey family, by London County Council, in order to build public housing, the Kingswood Estate, which surrounds the House. A public library was opened in the House in 1956 and in 1965 Southwark took over managing it as a community facility. The House was closed during the COVID pandemic and the library was moved out.
The House reopened in 2023, managed by Kingswood Arts CIC. The interior includes substantial wood panelling and a great hall. Walking tours will be available of all the main rooms in the house including the Great Hall, Jacobean Room, Golden Room, Culloden Room, and Billiards Room. It is also planned that the tour will access an external second floor balcony with fine views. The tour will give the history of the building, who lived there, and its recent and current use.
