CLOTH HILL

Cloth Hill dates from the late 17th century and is thought to be the second oldest residence in Hampstead, after nearby Fenton House (National Trust). In 1694 Mr William Beech, a Quaker cloth merchant of London, bought a house and some land ‘at a place called Cloth Hill’ (so called, it is said, because in Tudor times Hampstead laundresses, who washed using the clean, spring-fed water available in the area, spread out their washing to dry there) and in 1699 bought another house and land close by. Very soon after this he incorporated parts of the two older houses into the
house which now stands.

Cloth Hill is listed II* and is of traditional brick construction. The house is arranged over lower ground, ground and two upper storeys with ancillary outbuildings and a double garage fronting The Mount. The property comprises spacious family accommodation in beautifully proportioned rooms. It features uniformly lovely views from its many windows over its extensive gardens, Hampstead Village and central London, from its elevated position very near to the highest point in the city. The house has only had three owners in the last 140 years and has thus been fortunate in retaining many original period features including the two original staircases, panelling and fireplaces as well as benefiting from a substantial ground floor kitchen extension at the rear of the house in the mid 1990s. The beautifully maintained walled, secure gardens almost surround the house with lawns, walks, a patio, summer house and historic fountain, many mature trees and shrubs.

The house has many interesting associations. It was here that Voltaire came in 1728 for his conversations with the Quaker Andrew Pitt (who had married the daughter of William Beech). In 1796, the house was bought by George Romney, the painter, who near the end of his residency, took down the stables and coach-house and built in their place a house with painting room and gallery, now known as ‘Romney’s House’. After Romney’s death in 1802, the property was occupied by members of the Rundell family of Rundell and Bridge, the court goldsmiths. It was then that Maria Rundell published in 1806 ‘A New System of Domestic Cookery’, a best-selling precursor to the famous cookbook written by Mrs Beeton (who borrowed heavily from Mrs Rundell), which ran to 67 editions and led to her being referred to as ‘the original domestic goddess.’ Over the period 1852-1865, Ford Madox Brown painted one of the masterpieces of Victorian art, ‘Work’, the setting of which is clearly recognisable as The Mount with the gate of Cloth Hill on the left. The picture includes a sign on the garden wall of Cloth Hill advertising the letting of ‘a genteel family residence.

Local information

• Cloth Hill is located in the centre of Hampstead Village, on The Mount, a narrow single track road which runs at an incline from Heath Street to The Mount Square and ultimately Hampstead Grove. The excellent shopping facilities of Hampstead Village are immediately to hand, as is Hampstead underground station (Northern Line). Hampstead Heath, with its open parkland of 800 acres and the Iveagh Bequest Kenwood House (English Heritage) are within easy walking distance of the property.