18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington: Sambourne House

Stafford Terrace

Joseph Gordon Davis (a noted developer active in the Pimlico area)

1868-1871

Kensington, London W8

The chief interest of this smart mid-Victorian terrace built on the Phillimore Estate in Kensington is that it includes, at no. 18, the house leased by the Punch cartoonist Linley Sambourne, who lived there with his wife Marion from 1875 until his death in 1910. [continued below]

Photographs of the exterior, and text, by Jacqueline Banerjee 2009; photograph of the drawing-room by kind permission of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

[You may use the exterior images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL. Click on the images to enlarge them, and mouse over the text for links.]

Other Views of the exterior

Left: Close-up of the bay window-case. Right: Façade of No. 18 (Linley Sambourne House).

Interior

After Marion died in 1914 the house was preserved by his family, making it a unique window on late Victorian taste. The terrace itself is built "in a subdued Italianate style to a formula that had varied very little over the past century"; the couple paid £2000 for an 89-year lease on the property. Inside, Sambourne immediately put in hand "a substantial programme of alterations and redecoration ... the interiors are very much the product of Linley's taste and energies" (Robbins et al., 16, 17-19). Morris wallpaper was used all through the house, large amounts of furniture were brought in and Sambourne also exercised his own artistic talents on stained glass panels for the back windows, door paintings, and so forth.

The drawing-room of Sambourne House, looking towards Sambourne's workspace at the back.

Of course, many changes were introduced over the years, including redecoration with costly wallpaper brought in from Japan, the installation of electricity and better plumbing, and much later on the conversion of the basement service rooms into a flat for a caretaker. But the main rooms still recreate the atmosphere of a late Victorian home, especially the long drawing room with its many framed photographic reproductions, fashionable porcelain, art nouveau lamp-standards and figurines, inlaid furniture, metal-panelled doors and so forth. This was "the centrepiece of the house" (Robbins et al. 27), and Sambourne had a small extension built at the rear to serve as his workspace. This was most probably added in 1878; the stained and painted glass panels, which can just be glimpsed here, were put in at the same time. On the front bay window of the dining room below is a large glass fern case. The smaller one with the rounded top, fitted to the window over the front door, is in a style called "The Belgravia" (see Ferry 29).

Note

Anyone interested in supporting this unique house and its collections might like to contact Tracey Lazarus, Documentation Officer/Volunteer & Business Support Coordinator (E-mail tracey.lazarus@rbkc.gov.uk), who is promoting a friendly Sambourne Supporters Club.

Links to Related Material

Bibliography

Ferry, Kathryn. The Victorian Home. Botley, Oxford: Shire, 2010. [Review by JB]

Nicholson, Shirley. A Victorian Household: Based on the Diaries of Marion Sambourne. London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1988. [Review by John Hilary]

Robbins, Daniel, Reena Suleman, and Pamela Hunter. Linley Sambourne House, 18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Library and Arts Service, 2003.

Last modified 15 September 2025