Devonshire Hill marks the southern edge of the village. The two main principal roads into Hampstead—Heath Street and Hampstead High Street—travel northward from this area. Here are a few gems you may find along the way.
St John's Downshire Hill
Completed in 1823, the chapel held its first service on October 26 of that year. The first minister was William Harness, a lifelong friend of Lord Byron. Notably, John Keats attended the church, as he lived next door. No doubt Fanny Brawne, Keats's betrothed, would have sought solace here after Keats succumbed to tuberculosis in Italy.
The chapel is particularly beautiful, featuring a lovely Doric porch finished in cream stucco.
Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel
A somewhat inconspicuous gap between a row of interesting boutique shops hides a secret: a charming chapel that once sat in the garden of a home.
A member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the chapel’s current building is the third on the site, located just off Hampstead High Street. Originally built in 1692, the current structure dates from 1862 and contains a stained-glass window by the renowned artisan William Morris.
Morris was a multidisciplinary artist, designer, writer, and social reformer. He is best known as a key figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement, which sought to elevate craftsmanship and artistic integrity in response to the dehumanizing effects of industrialization.
The artistic connection continues with Helen Allingham. Allingham was the first woman artist admitted to the Royal Academy and also a member of the congregation.
In 1938, Sigmund Freud and his family fled the rising tide of Nazi persecution in Vienna, where Freud had lived and worked for much of his life. Freud, who was Jewish, was forced to leave Austria after the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany). At the age of 81, he and his family emigrated to London, where they found refuge from the dangers that had arisen in Europe.
Freud settled in a house in Hampstead, located at 20 Maresfield Gardens, a quiet, residential street in the heart of the area. The house, which he moved into in September 1938, became his home for the remaining years of his life.
Today the home is a museum dedicated to Sigmund Freud. His daughter Anna continued to live in the house, which was converted into a museum after her death. Freud brought over all his furniture, which remains in the museum to this day, including his famous psychoanalysis couch.
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