Introduction
Hampstead is a quiet little village just four miles north of Charing Cross (hence within walking distance). It has always provided a comfortable retreat from the hubbub of city life, with its panoramic view of Greater London laid out below. Its rural feeling and its large heath (825 acres) have, over the years, made it a favorite place for artists, writers, and other famous figures (e.g., John Constable, who painted many of his romantic views of nature here; Ford Maddox Brown who rendered one of the most famous Victorian paintings, Work, on the streets of this quiet, but bustling community; and John Keats whose house is still intact on the east end of the village). Karl Marx regularly brought his friends and family to picnic on the heath on a Sunday, and I think you will find it a pleasant and intriguing place to hide away when things get rushed at the BYU Centre.Hampstead emerged in the 1700s as a spa, when the quality of its spring water was discovered. And today, water is still a major draw for the locals and those who are in the know. The area is still punctuated by ponds (six of them in two different valleys) used for fishing, swimming (the Brits prefer the term bathing, as in bathing suits), and boating. Three of the biggest ponds are used for bathing: one for women (Kenwood), one for men (Highgate), and one for mixed company (Hampstead). Their setting is very rustic and natural. Formed from brick pits, where clay was dug from the grounds for making bricks, water was later dammed off, creating the pools. The Fleet River, only a small stream at this point, flows through one of the valleys. The favorite activity, however, still remains strolling on the heath.The preservation of Hampstead Heath itself is something of a modern miracle, since its nineteenth-century owner had devised elaborate plans to convert it into a building estate to house the grand homes of the rich. After all, it would be difficult to find a more beautiful setting. However, the opposition was intense, as is evident from the Morning Herald of 1829, "Sir Charles Burrell, who can retire to his estate in Sussex for recreation, may think it unnecessary that the Heath should be preserved as 'a place of recreation for the tradesmen of the metropolis, their wives, children and friends' but if he were confined to a sedentary trade for six days out of the seven, in sooty London, he would probably argue differently. The comforts of the lower classes are too much neglected by the Aristocracy of the country, and we do hope that this attempt to deprive “tradesmen” of the pleasures of fresh air, will be defeated."After an epic seventy-year battle to preserve the land in its pristine form, the Heath and Hampstead Society was formed in 1897. Under its direction, Hampstead Heath has continued to the present.
#1 Start: Hampstead Station
Because Burgh House (the local history museum) is open only from Wednesday—Friday and on Sunday, I recommend you go to Hampstead during those days. Get on the tube at either Notting Hill Gate or Queensway stations to the Tottenham Court Road station. From there, change to the Edgeware branch of the Northern Line underground (on the Central Line) to Hampstead station.The Hampstead Line dates to 1907, and its lift shaft is the deepest on the underground system, rising 181 feet to the surface. Once you arrive at the village, you may just want to wander at will on its streets and find your own way around (it’s fairly difficult to get lost). The following walk is only one suggested approach.
#2 Hampstead High Street
When you emerge from the tube station, go left to Hampstead High Street.Hampstead High Street is the main street of the village and well worth a window shopping spree. I often find these shops more interesting than those in London. Look for the Hampstead Antiques and Craft Market near Perrin’s Court.
#3 Church Row
Find Perrin’s Court, which will be on your right as you move away from the station. Follow that to Fitzjohn’s Avenue and turn right onto Fitzjohn’s (aka. Heath Street), just far enough to connect with Church Row. Look for St. John’s Church on your left at the corner of Frognal Way and go into the churchyard and the church.Church Row is one of the best examples of a row of eighteenth-century Georgian architecture in London. Much of the ironwork is still the original. St. John-at-Hampstead Church dates back to 1744. Inside is a barrel-vaulted roof and a bust of Keats, a replica of the one in the Keats House, along with memorials to John Constable, best known for his English landscape paintings and George du Maurier, cartoonist and author. Outside is the grave of Constable, in the churchyard cemetery which carries a feeling similar to that of Highgate.
#4 Holly Walk
Leave the churchyard, cross the road, and move along Holly Walk to Mount Vernon (no relation to the Mount Vernon in the U.S.).As you move along Holly Walk, you will pass the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary, constructed in 1816 for the use of Catholic refugees fleeing from war-torn France.
#5 Holly Hill to Holly Bush Hill/Hampstead Grove
At Mount Vernon, cross Holly Hill to Holly Bush Hill/Hampstead Grove. Follow that road to Fenton House.The painter George Romney built his home on Holly Hill in 1796. Later the house was turned into lecture rooms in which luminaries such as Constable and Faraday lectured in the 1800s; it is currently a private residence.Fenton House was originally built in 1695—and is therefore the oldest house in Hampstead (although the Fenton name was not added until the 1800s). Inside is a collection of Asian and European ceramics and the Benton Fletcher Collection of musical instruments, including the earliest existing grand piano in England, and the largest harpsichord ever made in England. George du Maurier, the Punch cartoonist and novelist (author of Trilby) lived farther down Hampstead Grove in New Grove House. The architect George Gilbert Scott, designer of the Albert Memorial (see Kensington Gardens walk) and the hotel at St. Pancras (see Bloomsbury walk), and the novelist John Galsworthy (the Forsythe Saga) also lived in this neighborhood.
#6 Flask Walk
After leaving Fenton House, continue along Hampstead Grove. Turn right at the juncture of Admiral’s Walk and Hampstead Grove and follow to Heath Street. Turn right and return toward the Hampstead tube station. Turn on Back Lane (to your left) just before arriving at the tube station, and follow it to Flask Walk. Turn left and proceed along Flask Walk.Flask Walk was named for the Flask pub, where therapeutic spa water, rich in iron salts, was bottled and sold, or shipped into London. The water itself came from a spring on Well Walk at the end of Flask Walk. Several notables lived on Well Walk: John Constable, D.H. Lawrence, J.B. Priestley, and John Keats, before he moved. Keats House, located at 10 Keats grove, has a small museum of artifacts and memorabilia of Keats life, including the time he lived in this regency-style villa in the tranquil setting of Hampstead.
#7 Burgh House
When you arrive at New End Square, turn left and visit Burgh House.Burgh House, a.k.a. the Hampstead Museum, is open from noon to five on Wednesday to Friday and on Sunday (note that it's closed on Saturday). It contains rooms dedicated to various luminaries such as Constable, Lawrence, and Keats. There is also a display about Hampstead as a spa during its heyday. this is a must-see if you are interested in Hampstead history.
#8 Heath Street
When you emerge from the Hampstead Museum, turn right along New End Square/New End Street back to Heath Street. Turn right and follow Heath Street to Jack Straw’s Castle.The flagpole at Whitestone Pond just as you enter the heath marks the summit of Hampstead Heath (443 feet above sea level). This is a good place to sit and be refreshed before your trip across the heath. The poet Shelley is reputed to have sailed boats in this pond in the late 1700s, and it served as an ice-skating pond in the winter.As you continue along, you'll come upon Jack Straw’s Castle, once a pub and restaurant, dating to medieval times, and named after one of the participants in the Wat Tyler rebellion of 1381.
#9 Kenwood House
At this point you have a choice to make. Your next destination is Kenwood House. You can either walk out onto the heath and make your way to Kenwood that way, or you can take the right fork in the main road and follow Spaniards Road to the Spaniards Inn and from there proceed to Kenwood on Hampstead Lane, the continuation of Spaniards Road.Spaniards Inn dates to 1630—the same year the Puritans arrived in America. It was once owned by the Spanish Ambassador to James II and is now a restaurant and pub. At this point the road narrows to facilitate a toll house, which once served this road.Kenwood House is undoubtedly the showplace of the heath. This beautiful mansion is magnificent, inside and out—and better still, it’s free. You may already have seen the interior if you have seen either Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts or Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, starring Harold Pinter. Both movies used the mansion as a backdrop for certain scenes, either from the exterior or in the ballroom. Remodeled by Robert Adam between 1764 and 1773, it is one of the finest examples of Adam’s neoclassical work. My favorite room is the ornately decorated library. Kenwood’s beautiful setting—overlooking London—makes it a favorite for summer open-air concerts held by the side of the lake.One of two prominent sculptures residing at Kenwood House is Henry Moore's Two Figures Reclining #5. On "loan" from the Tate Gallery since 1982, the sculpture, while somewhat interesting, seems somewhat out of place with the georgian architecture of the house itself.The mansion also houses the Iveagh Bequest, the most important private collection of paintings ever given to Britain—assembled by Lord Iveagh, a Guinness brewery magnate. Works by Joshua Reynolds, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Van Dyck, Edwin Landseer, Gainsborough, George Romney, J.M.W. Turner, and Angelica Kauffman make this a museum worth seeing. In addition, the works of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth grace the meandering pathways of the lake-side gardens.
#10 The End: Return to the BYU Centre
When you finish, you have several options to return home. You can return to Hampstead Lane, turn right and follow that (about one mile) until it turns into Highgate High Street (thus allowing you to see the village of Highgate). You can catch a taxi or a 210 bus (very unpredictable) to Golder’s Green and see yet another part of London. You can walk the one and one-half miles back to Hampstead, or (my favorite), just start across the Heath toward London and see where you end up. You’ll run into some type of public transportation on your way down, and if you don’t, it’s only four miles back to London.
