Site

Hill House (or The Hill), was occupied after his father's death by John Gurney Hoare. In 1896 his son, Sir Samuel Hoare, sold it to George Fisher, (Ronald's father) who rebuilt the house and moved his family in. In 1904 Fisher lost his fortune, relocated his family to Streatham and sold the house to William H. Lever, who was moving his headquarters to London. Lever made further additions, including a ballroom and art gallery. He bought and demolished two neighbouring houses to enable him to extend the gardens, using Thomas Mawson (the architect responsible for much of Port Sunlight) to design the grounds for the combined estate.

The phased construction begun in 1905 and spoil from the tunnels for the contemporaneous and nearby Hampstead extension to the Northern line was used where it was necessary to raise the levels on this hilly site. WW1 interrupted the work but it completed in 1925 and resulted in a 60-room mansion in magnificent grounds. This garden is depicted in a photo at the Library Time Machine showing some dancers on the “ornamental pond in a classical garden in Hampstead”.

In 1925 Leverhulme died (in the house) and the whole estate was bought by Lord Inverforth (1865-1955), the ship-owner, and the house named Inverforth House.

In 1956 Inverforth bequeathed the house to the Industrial Orthopaedic Society and it became the women's or convalescent (accounts differ) section of Manor House hospital, Golders Hill, with 100 beds, and a home for 60-70 nursing staff.

In 1960 the London County Council bought the, now dilapidated, pergola and associated garden areas and they were opened to the public in 1963. In 1989 the City of London took on the responsibility.

In the late 1980's it was decided that the mansion was surplus to the hospital's requirements and it was converted into 9 apartments.

The Pergola is well worth a visit, especially when the Wisteria is out.