Kingswood House | |
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General information | |
Location | Dulwich, London, United Kingdom |
Kingswood House, formerly known as King's Coppice, is a Victorian mansion in West Dulwich, at the southern tip of the London Borough of Southwark, United Kingdom. It is a Grade II listed building. [1]
It is now used an arts and community centre called Kingswood Arts.
In 1811 William Vizard, the solicitor to Caroline of Brunswick in her future failed divorce from George IV, was granted a 63-year lease for Kingswood Lodge. When Vizard returned to his native Gloucestershire in 1831, others were granted the property leases.[ citation needed ]
From 1891 the house was owned by John Lawson Johnston (inventor of Bovril) who extended the house and remodelled the facade including adding battlements. Johnston acquired the nickname Mr Bovril and because of its castellated features Kingswood became known locally as Bovril Castle.[ citation needed ] Some remaining garden features from this era are thought to have been installed by James Pulham and Son. [2]
In the First World War Kingswood was used as a convalescent home for wounded Canadian soldiers. At this time it came to the notice of Lady Vestey who was doing social work in connection with the soldiers housed there. In 1919 her husband Sir William Vestey was granted an 80-year lease and in 1921 when he was raised to the peerage he became Baron Vestey of Kingswood in the County of Surrey. Kingswood was the Vesteys' main home until William's death.[ citation needed ]
In 1954 it was decided by the then Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell to turn the building into a library and community centre, for the benefit of Kingswood Estate residents, and in 1956 the council acquired the site by compulsory purchase. [3] Lord Vestey's estate had by then been developed into a large residential area, with the grounds occupied by houses, flats and shops. In 1965 it became the property of the London Borough of Southwark. It underwent substantial refurbishment in the 1980s and 1990s, and was subsequently used for conferences, meetings and civil marriages.[ citation needed ]
In the grounds in front of Kingswood House there are still some remains of the Pulham features. [2] In 2005 a tapestry was made by over 100 local residents depicting the history of the house. [4] In 2011 a blue plaque was erected on the side of the building to commemorate John Lawson Johnston and his residence there.[ citation needed ]
From 1956 to 2020, whilst run as a public building by the local council, the house housed a public library. An opening ceremony was hosted by actor Peter Ustinov and the then Camberwell mayor Alderman John Evans, who used the opportunity of the library to read up on Ustinov, saying: "I looked up 'Who’s Who' and anyone who wants to know something about our distinguished visitor can find it in the library."
It was remarked at the ceremony that the house was now "as it should be", for the community and "not something reserved for one select and privileged family". [5]
In the 1960s, the house was used to store the then Camberwell borough's library service reserve stock collection. [6]
In 1993 the library was threatened with closure, with the suggestion that it could move into a space at the Seeley Drive shops. The community ran a Save the Library campaign, gathering 720 signatures in a petition. [7] [8]
Between 2014 and 2019 the library's funding was cut to nearly half, from £23,885 to £12,618. [9] The library in the house closed in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, a new Kingswood Library opened opposite the house at a shop unit on Seeley Drive. [10]
In 2022, Kingswood Arts took over the venue as an arts centre. [11] The whole building has now been restored and opened to the public as a performing arts centre, with a cafe and regular events, starting from April 2023. [12] [13]
Camberwell is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, 2+3⁄4 miles southeast of Charing Cross.
The London Borough of Southwark in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas were amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. All districts of the area are within the London postal district. It is governed by Southwark London Borough Council.
Dulwich is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of Herne Hill. Dulwich lies in a valley between the neighbouring districts of Camberwell, Crystal Palace, Denmark Hill, Forest Hill, Peckham, Sydenham Hill, and Tulse Hill.
Peckham is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
Walworth is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is 1.9 miles (3.1 km) south-east of Charing Cross.
East Dulwich is an area of South East London, England in the London Borough of Southwark. It forms the eastern part of Dulwich, with Peckham to the east and Camberwell to the north. East Dulwich is home to the Dog Kennel Hill statue. This South London suburb was first developed in the nineteenth century on land owned by the College of God's Gift.
Herne Hill is a district in south London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. There is a road of the same name in the area, as well as a railway station.
Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark, England. It is an inner-city suburb located 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the 52-acre (0.21 km2) Nunhead Cemetery. Nunhead has traditionally been a working-class area and, with the adjacent neighbourhoods, is currently going through a lengthy process of gentrification. Nunhead is the location of several underground reservoirs, built by the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company.
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Diocese of Rochester that was served by a suffragan bishop of Southwark (1891–1905). Before 1877 most of the area was part of the Diocese of Winchester, some being part of the Diocese of London.
Lordship Lane is an ancient thoroughfare, once rural, in East Dulwich, a suburb of the London Borough of Southwark in southeast London, England, and forms part of the A2216.
Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of the A215 which north of its main foot, Camberwell Green, becomes Camberwell Road and south of Red Post Hill becomes named Herne Hill, another district.
Gipsy Hill in south London is a hilly and leafy neighbourhood spanning the southern parts of the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark characterised for its stunning views of the City of London and Dulwich.
West Dulwich is a neighbourhood in South London on the southern boundary of Brockwell Park, which straddles the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark. Croxted Road and South Croxted Road mark the boundary between Southwark to the east and Lambeth to the west. The suburb of West Dulwich dates back to the 17th century when the often flooded land known as Dulwich Common was acquired and drained by Edward Alleyn's estate.
The Dulwich Estate, previously the Estates Governors of Alleyn's College of God's Gift at Dulwich, is a registered charity in England, one of the successors to the historic charity Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift that was founded in 1619. It owns the freehold of around 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) in Dulwich, South London, including a number of private roads and a tollgate. The estate properties range from Regency and 19th century buildings to distinguished modernist 1960s buildings.
Sydenham Hill forms part of a longer ridge and is an affluent locality in southeast London. It is also the name of a road which runs along the northeastern part of the ridge, demarcating the London Boroughs of Southwark, Bromley, and Lewisham. Its highest part is the apex of the Boroughs of Southwark and Lewisham and the 15th-highest peak in London, at 367 feet (112 m).
John Lawson Johnston was a Scottish entrepreneur and the creator of Bovril. He was born in 29 Main Street, Roslin, Midlothian. A memorial plaque is on the property and can be seen above the door. The plaque was put there by the Roslin Heritage Society.
The A2216 is an A road in south London, England suburbia. It runs from the A215 in Denmark Hill to the A212 in Sydenham. Part of the road is an ancient thoroughfare, Lordship Lane. In Dulwich, the road runs via the A205 South Circular Road.
Belair Park is a park located in the West Dulwich part of the London Borough of Southwark, southeast London, England. The park grounds once belonged to Belair House, a country villa built in Adam style that is now a Grade II listed building. There are also two other Grade II listed structures within the park: the lodge and entrance gate, and an old stable building.
Sydenham Hill Wood is a ten-hectare wood on the northern slopes of the Norwood Ridge in the London Borough of Southwark. It is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. With the adjacent Dulwich Wood, Sydenham Hill Wood is the largest extant tract of the ancient Great North Wood. The two woods are formed from coppices known as Lapsewood, Old Ambrook Hill Wood and Peckarmans Wood after the relocation of The Crystal Palace in 1854 and the creation of the high level line in 1865.
Camberwell Public Baths opened in 1892 and has been in continuous operation as publicly funded community baths and more recently as a public leisure centre.
http://www.fokwh.co.uk Friends of Kingswood House website]
Kingswood Arts website