Plaque

George Romney

Erection date: 1908

Inscription

George Romney, 1734 - 1802, painter, lived here.

Site: George Romney (1 memorial)

NW3, Holly Bush Hill, 5

The house, designed by Samuel Bunce, was built for Romney in 1796, from the outbuildings of a house on The Mount, as a palace of art. He had been living in Cavendish Square but needed somewhere to exhibit his own work and also his Grand Tour finds. This building was a home and studio as well and the cost almost bankrupted him.

1801 he sold it to Mr and Mrs Rundell. In 1807 it was enlarged and turned into the Hampstead Assembly Rooms, where Dickens, Constable and Elizabeth Fry all held public meetings. By 1929 the house was crumbling but was saved by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis who lived here until 1948 when he sold it to Raymond Russell, a musician who used it for concerts and for his collection of harpsichords and other early instruments.

In 1952 it was bought by Eve and Derek Faraday, founders of the Star Sound Studio, Britain's first independent recording studio, who needed to expand their successful central London business. They also lived at Romney's House and entertained there, until 1994. Artists who visited include: Vera Lynn, Noel Coward, Max Bygraves, Jon Pertwee, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and the Rolling Stones. It is the only Grade 1 listed private house in Hampstead.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
George Romney

Subjects commemorated i

George Romney

Painter. Born in Dalton, Lancashire. Died Kendal, Westmorland.

Read More

Nearby Memorials

St Joseph's Cottages - Hume

St Joseph's Cottages - Hume

SW3, Cadogan Street

Prior to about 1840 this site was occupied by Wellington Cricket Ground.  The almshouses were built as part of a complex of buildings inc...

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Charlie Chaplin - Kennington Road

Charlie Chaplin - Kennington Road

SE11, Kennington Road, 287

Charlie Chaplin, 1889 - 1978, lived here. Vauxhall Society

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Old Bailey - WW2 plaque

Old Bailey - WW2 plaque

EC4, Old Bailey, Old Bailey

The Latin is a very appropriate legal phrase, meaning "Let justice be done though the heavens fall". The plaque does not definitively st...

Civilian war dead | WW2
10 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Aubrey House

Aubrey House

W8, Aubrey Road and Aubrey Walk

London County Council Aubrey House stands on the site of Kensington Wells an early 18th century spa. Former residents include, Sir Edward...

7 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Royal Arsenal Riverside Guardrooms

Royal Arsenal Riverside Guardrooms

SE18, Number One Street, 54 and 55

The same plaque appears on each of the guardrooms.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator