7 Hammersmith Terrace |
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7 Hammersmith Terrace is an internationally important Arts and Crafts "time warp" full of William Morris treasures. One of a terrace of Georgian houses overlooking the Thames at the west end of Hammersmith's Upper Mall, it was the home from 1903 to his death in 1933 of Emery Walker, the great printer and antiquary who helped his friend and neighbour William Morris to set up the Kelmscott Press. After Walker's death in 1933, his daughter preserved the house as it had been in her father's lifetime. Full of original William Morris wallpapers, textiles and furniture, it is the best-preserved Arts and Crafts interior in Britain.
Sir Emery furnished the house with carpets, wallpapers and furniture from Morris & Co. One
of the charms of the house is that it was a private home until 1999. It is still full of personal mementoes of Walker and his friends. These include: - Furniture and glass by Philip Webb, architect of Red House and partner in Morris & Co, William Morris's furnishing business
- 'Bird' hangings probably from Morris's nearby London home, Kelmscott House
- Textiles by May Morris, who lived at 8 Hammersmith Terrace
- Ceramics by William de Morgan and Alfred and Louise Powell
- Cotswold furniture by Ernest Gimson and Ernest Barnsley
When Emery Walker moved in to the Terrace in 1879, the area around the river had become quite industrialised with oil mills and waterworks. Walker and his family first lived at number 3 Hammersmith Terrace. In 1900, Walker set up the Doves Press with T.J. Cobden-Sanderson. The press, named after the nearby Dove pub, produced books until 1917.
Along with decorative arts by Arts & Crafts makers the house contains objects collected by Emery, his daughter Dorothy, and her companion Elizabeth de Haas on their travels.
Textiles from the Middle East
are displayed with ceramics from Europe, Morocco and the Far East. There is furniture from Southern Africa and textiles and other objects from Central and Eastern Europe.Visitors can hear about the stories of Emery and his family and friends, how the house came to be preserved and the importance of the house to the Arts & Crafts movement.
No 7 Hammersmith Terrace was a private home until recently and it opened to the public for the first time only in 2005. Due to its fragile nature, the house can only take a few hundred visitors a year, so many people have yet to hear about it, let alone see it.
Mayor of Hammersmith Minnie Scott Russell, after visiting in October 2007, said of the house, "I just think it feels like a very grown up doll's house and I could play for days in complete happiness".
Admission to the house is by pre-booked guided tours between April and September. The tours last approximately one hour and take in the garden and rooms over three floors.
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Opening Times
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(2009 times)
Open April-September for tours at 11.00, 12.30 and 2.30 on Thursdays, Fridays and some weekend days. Please phone or check the website - see link above - for up-to-date details.
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Admission Charges
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(2009 prices)
Tours cost £10 per person. Concessions are £5 per person for full-time students*, jobseekers* and under 16s. *please provide relevant ID or documentation. |
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Directions
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BY UNDERGROUND The house can be reached most easily from Stamford Brook Tube station. Turn right out of the station, down to St Peter's Square and then through the Black Lion Lane underpass. BY BUS Buses 27, 190, 267, 391, H91 to King Street; alight at Goldhawk Road. BY CAR There are a few metered parking spaces in Hammersmith Terrace and more in St Peter's Square, off King Street, five minutes' walk from the house. |
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7 Hammersmith Terrace Postcode for SatNav: W6 9TS |
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