Exploring Hampstead: Frognal, Pt. 2

Lower Lodge, Branch Hill

Lower Lodge, Branch Hill
Continuing on West Heath Road into Branch Hill, you find this gem. It sits across from Branch Hill Pond (now gone, but immortalized on canvas at least four times by John Constable). This house had me with its name, the turret and the moss; add in the balconies, roof terrace and entry, and it seems to me the perfect writer's cottage. And that it was--left-wing Hungarian poet and writer Alfred Reynolds lived here from 1980 until his death in 1993. If I had £3.25 million burning a hole in my pocket, I might be tempted to put in a bid.





Branch Hill Lodge Gatehouse

Gatehouse, Branch Hill Lodge

One of the advantages that might accrue if I bought Lower Lodge (above) is the possibility that, one day, Stefan might live nearby in this neo-gothic beauty. This was, as the name implies, the gatehouse of stately Branch Hill Lodge, a grand old mansion that dates back to the 1730s.  The Lodge was sometimes called Bleak Hall and Judges Bench House, both due to its long association with lawyers of questionable repute.  Lady Byron also resided in the Lodge, shortly after separating from her husband in 1816. The gatehouse was added when the Lodge was remodeled in 1868 by architect Samuel Sanders Teulon, better known locally as the designer of St. Stephen's Church in Rosslyn Hill.

Today, the Lodge itself is a rather fancy retirement home, and its lower grounds are the site of some of the most expensive public housing ever built in England.  But the gatehouse survives, and we frequently pass it by on our way to the Holly Bush. Every time we do, I think it's the perfect house for Stefan: cozy, but with unquestionable character.

108 Frognal

108 Frognal
This ivy covered charmer is one of the oldest houses in Hampstead, dating from the early 1700s. Together with No. 110 (Grove Cottage), it was a pub for much of the 18th Century. More recently, it was home to prima ballerina Tamara Karsavina. Oh, and Sting used to live next door, at No. 110.


100 Frognal

100 Frognal

Built in 1891, this is a Victorian house that goes pretty much balls out. The cupola is an obvious extravagence, but hardly visible in my admittedly poor photograph (an iPhone on an overcast winter afternoon) is the ostentatious brick and tile work and the flamboyant panel bearing the date of construction. Better sunny day photos of this house are available on these interwebs, here and here.

99 Frognal (St. Dorothy's Convent) and 95 Frognal (Bay Tree Cottage)

I didn't like my photos of these two Grade II listed houses, so I've given you photographs of the house numbers and names instead. No. 99 was built around 1740; the house served as the Sailors' Orphan Girls' Home in the 1850s and 1860s. During the latter part of World War II, from 1942 to 1944, General Charles de Gaulle and his family lived here. The property was purchased by the Sisters of St. Dorothy in 1968, and it currently serves as "a boarding house [for young ladies, providing] a homely environment where guidance and advice assure the well being and comfort of the students."

Bay Tree Cottage at No. 95 probably was a gardener's cottage when built in the early 19th Century. It is a charming little cottage with prominent bay windows, set back from the street amongst copious greenery. You can see a photo of the cottage itself here.

To be continued.

For references, please see Part 1 here.