More than a Dutch garden
In the north-west of Holland Park, two huge bronze tortoises crawl beneath the style of a sundial. The work of the sculptor Wendy Taylor, they could be a metaphor for the way that changes sometimes happen very slowly.
Until 1952, this 23-hectare park in the middle of the city was the private property of an aristocratic family. 400 years ago, Sir Walter Cope, chancellor of the exchequer under King James I, built himself a mansion here in wooded grounds more than two miles west of the City of London. The house later passed into the possession of the earls of Holland and was named Holland House. The estate included pasture land as well as the woods and gardens around the mansion. For 100 years from the mid-18th century, Holland House was a meeting place for high society and politicians, where the great parliamentarian Charles James Fox spent much of his childhood. The illustrious visitors included Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron and Charles Dickens. Then the building fell into disrepair, suffered severe bomb damage in the Second World War, and was sold by the owners to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
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Address Abbotsbury Road, W8 6LU | Public Transport Holland Park (Central Line) | Hours Mon–Sun 7.30am until 30 minutes before dusk| Tip In 1866, the artist Lord Leighton built himself a dwelling and studio with an opulent Moorish-style interior (Leighton House, 12 Holland Park Road, daily except Tue 10am–5.30pm). The gardens and houses of an artists’ colony in the neighbouring streets are also a fine sight.
Over decades, the ruins of Holland House and its grounds became one of London’s finest parks. The east wing of the house was saved and made into a youth hostel. The Dutch Garden that survived from the days of glamour was restored, and now presents a blaze of colour in summer. The Japanese-style Kyoto Garden with its flowering cherry trees, magnolias and cedars was added. In the wooded northern section of the park, daffodils and rhododendrons flower in spring. There is a café and covered arcades for rainy days. Tennis courts, children’s playgrounds, open-air chess and opera performances beneath a canopy provide entertainment. Thus an aristocratic estate became a place of recreation for one and all, and backpackers sleep in the remains of the mansion.
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