Quiet London: Cosmic House

If you have been reading this blog for a while you will know that I get a huge amount of pleasure from discovering and sharing the quieter and more tranquil side of London.  A recent discover is The intriguingly named Cosmic House, owned by the Jenks Foundation.  It sits on a residential street in Holland Park which means the council have set restrictions on when it is allowed to open and number of visitors allowed to visit. This lends it an exclusive feel, completely fitting with this salubrious location.

The moment tickets are released, emails and messages are exchanged between those who know and the rush to book a slot begins.  This is not a place you can just wander in off the street.  Timed tickets dictate visiting time and you are asked not to arrive more than a few minutes before your arrival time.

We booked tickets a few weeks in advance and in our eagerness,not to miss our minute of our times slot we were first to arrive.  We pressed the buzzer on the intercom and were let into the little front garden where we sat patiently as we were slowly joined by other visitors. On the stroke of 12.30 the front door quietly opened and out stepped a well spoken and very polite guide who invited us to follow her in.  It felt pleasingly mysterious and had more than a touch of the Mr Ben to it. (other children of the ’70’s will understand this reference).

Once inside, we checked in and had to leave all bags in carefully designed lockers. The trouble I had working out how to open the locker and then locating it again when I had closed it was an early indication of the many quirky design features to come.  We were given a helpful introductory talk to the grade 1 listed house, its architects and creators Charles and Maggie Jenks and the Jenks foundation, before we were let loose to explore.  Curiosity and and willingness to look behind corners and get playful as we discovered the house for ourselves were encouraged.

Charles Jenks and Cosmic House

Charles Jenks was a writer, critic, designer and teacher.  His work centred on the ideas of post modernism. He read and wrote widely on architecture.  Working with architect Sir Terry Farrel, he took the Cosmic House transforming it’s early Victorian villa architecture so that the house became a series of scenes, histories and stories.   He incorporated his post modernism ideas using art history science, philosophy, cosmology and the body.

“Treating the interior almost like the romantic gardens of the eighteenth century in which visitors would be taken on a walk through a narrative landscape filled with classical allusions and references to art and learning, Jencks created an interior which (mostly) suited both living and learning”

The result is a house I have not seen the like of before.  So much of this house is playful and teasing.  Cupboards don’t open in the way you might expect, door handles are on the wrong side or hidden, the are sunken rooms and lots of hidey holes.  As a child this would be a great place to grow up in. So much scope for hide and seek and other games.  Each piece of furniture had been carefully designed and chosen. Curvaceous sofas, cleverly draped curtains and hidden rooms.  Large windows to framed the gardens and seating areas chosen for their views and symmetry.  A staircase winding and photogenic is a focal point.

 

The garden offers a peaceful retreat from the busyness of the house and as you can see we visited when wisteria framed doorways and ran along staircases.

In the last few years of his life Charles Jenks moved out of Cosmic House and into a house nearby where he could still see it. However he remained adamant that Cosmic House should be preserved as a museum and place were discussion on architecture, science, culture and design would continue.  Up until his death in 2019, he worked with his daughter to ensure this happened.

If you are interested in visiting Cosmic House, the next batch of tickets  are due to be released any time now, so do keep checking the website.

You may enjoy this post about nearby Holland Park and Leighton House