Burgh House in Hampstead is a Grade I listed Queen Anne house built in 1704, and today it serves as an independent house museum, arts venue, and community space. Its story is a lovely one: a spa-era villa, a physician’s enlarged townhouse, a militia headquarters, a private home for notable residents, a near-ruin, and then a local rescue in 1979 that saved it for public use.
 
The house was built for Henry and Hannah Sewell in 1704, when Hampstead Wells was still fashionable and drawing Londoners north for its waters and air. Around 1720, Dr William Gibbons, the spa physician, enlarged it and added the wrought-iron gate with his initials, one of the most distinctive surviving details of the property. Later, it was taken over by the Royal East Middlesex Militia from 1858 to 1881, then returned to domestic use in the 20th century.
 
In the 20th century, it had some surprisingly famous occupants, including Elsie Bambridge, Rudyard Kipling’s daughter, and Dr George Williamson, an art expert. After becoming a community centre, it deteriorated, but local residents campaigned to save it and reopened it as a museum and cultural venue in 1979.
 
Interesting facts...
The house was Rudyard Kipling's last outing before he passed away.