Special events and exhibitions in London, last week of April 2024

You might like Fenton House in Hampstead - it’s a beautiful house with gardens and an amazing collection of historical musical instruments. They sometimes have concerts using the instruments too. Have a look at
https://www.britainexpress.com/London/Fenton_House.htm#google_vignette

While you’re in Hampstead, have you been to Kenwood House at the top of Hampstead Heath yet? A wonderful Adam library and a small art collection with a self-portrait of the young Rembrandt, and an excellent cafe.

As your April trip draws closer be sure to look at these websites:
https://www.londonxlondon.com/
https://londonist.com/
https://www.aladyinlondon.com/
https://girlgonelondon.com/quirky-and-unusual-things-to-do-in-london/

I’ve been going to London for ages and by perusing those websites have found intriguing places to visit.

Have a wonderful trip.

Thank you! We have been to Kenwood House at Hampstead but did not know about the Fenton House. We love little museums with historic music instruments—the one in Bologna was a great! (We got a private tour from a volunteer docent who was intrigued by our deep interest, and the fact that my husband speaks decent Italian.)

And Claudia, I will have a look at those links, both now, and again closer to the date. They look much more specific than the general “what’s on” websites I have found.

Well Holy cow, Lola, Illuminated River is right up my alley!! We'll be there the same time as you, I think... I'm putting that on our itinerary. Thank you!

I just looked at the Fenton House website and saw they recommend a walk to another National Trust property nearby at 2 Willow Road.

https://www.britainexpress.com/attractions.htm?attraction=328

This is a modernist home by architect Erno Goldfinger, and the design was very unpopular at the time. So much so that apparently Ian Fleming named the villain Goldfinger after this architect because he was so reviled. We may have to go have a look!

I highly recommend the Dulwich Picture Gallery, which has a lovely permanent collection and really interesting, well-curated special exhibitions. The gallery itself is closed on Monday. The on-site cafe offers brunch/lunch seven days a week.

They say the gallery is the first building constructed for that specific purpose. It's a manageable size and within walking distance of a couple of Underground stations, though the walk is long enough to be a bit of a drag if you hit a really rainy day.

There's also the Courtauld Institute at Somerset House if you haven't been there since it reopened; I believe the space has expanded, so there must be more art on display. Definitely worth a (re-)visit.

The Design Museum, located within walking distance of the very interesting Leighton House, is seldom mentioned here. The Museum's permanent collection is free; there's a charge for any special exhibition.

I believe the Barbican Centre is primarily a performance venue, but it also has an exhibition space. It's worth checking to see what might be happening there. I once caught a good textile exhibition.

I also liked Eltham Palace, an Art Deco home incorporating the great hall from a former royal residence.

Finally, I can suggest the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, though I'd definitely rank it behind the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

In the history category I'm a huge fan of the Imperial War Museum even though I have zero interest in looking at war materiel. Even if you're very familiar with the permanent collection, there are usually a couple of interesting, small temporary exhibitions.

Thank you, acraven. I have added the Imperial War Museum and DulwichHouse to the list (and will have to start a new page in my notebook).

We visited the Courtauld Institute in May 2016 when we had an apartment for 3 weeks and invited friends to join us. One couple are both artists so they wanted to see that and the Kenwood House with them. If the Courtauld Institute has been renovated, it may be time to re-visit—-but myhusband’s capacity for art museums is “one a day” so we may have to save that for another time.

The Design Museum is already on the list for the day we visit Holland Park to see the Kyoto Gardens and walk the chic neighborhood. We are in luck for special exhibits there, as there will be a retrospective on Italian designer Enzo Mari:

https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/enzo-mari

Also a skateboard exhibit, with an opportunity to participate in the sport, but we’ll give that a miss.

https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/skateboard

Check out what exhibitions will be on at the V&A, British Museum and all the art galleries. They always have at least one, and probably more, paid exhibition on and they’re always well worth the fee.

I see that AmandaR has mentioned Fenton House. One of my very fav houses in the work!! But I have this thing about harpsichords and similar, and often the ancient instruments are being played.

Be careful though of opening hours. Before covid it was at least 6 days a week. When my wife and I visited this autumn it had been at by appointment only two days a week some weeks only. Staffing problems. It did shut down for the winter until March 1st. Other things there are a beautiful multi level garden, collections of beautiful art, sometimes beautiful sometimes quirky ceramics and needlework, and plenty of curiosities as well as a widow's walk onto the roof with fabulous views. No lift.

Just a short walk from Hampstead Tube - the deepest in the city - so for you Lola it may need to be a combination of buses. Luckily there are many and frequent. Also La Crêperie de Hampstead which is a long established outdoor stand with yummy in the tummy, just down from the tube station.

I've never been to the Goldfinger House - thanks for the reminder. And yes, he was not popular.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/fenton-house-and-garden

checked - Fenton House from 1st March, many Fridays and Sundays, by reservation from the Thursday, like 2023.

It's good to see Erno Goldfinger mentioned. I posted about him on someone else's thread a while back. I Haven't been to 2 Willow Road but I should go. I'm a big fan of Trellick Tower and I enjoy seeing Balfron Tower when I'm driving to south London via the Blackwall Tunnel. I've linked to a video below that's a good primer on some of the brutalist highlights of London.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvKi_hsJf3c

If you want to see the Barbican, the conservatory is a good destination.

https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2023/event/the-conservatory-x-ranjani-shettar

I posted a link to this site previously, but it's worth repeating. There's some really interesting tours. More for your architecture / urban London nerds than your average.

https://open-city.org.uk/events

I was going to mention the Japanese gardens in Holland Park but I see you mentioned it further up.

If you've been to London a few times and are looking for something more leftfield, it might be worth considering reading Iain Sinclair for inspiration. His prose may be slightly impenetrable at times, but there's some angles and insight that the average visitor might not pick up on. John Rogers is another published author with some alternative takes on the hinterlands of London that may or may not be of interest.

John Rogers on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/John-Rogers/author/B00GOF04ZQ?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Iain Sinclair on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=iain+sinclair&i=digital-text&crid=3CFZ3OB2NXLEK&sprefix=iain+sinclair%2Cdigital-text%2C68&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

John Rogers on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRogersWalks

GerryM, thank you for reminding me of the Open City website and the listings there. Last time you posted it, I found something of interest that we went to when we were in London in September, namely the Museum of the Order of St. John. We signed up for the guided tour called “Knights, Revellers, and Saviours”. It had to be canceled as the guide became it’ll, and we received a refund of our payment, but we visited the museum anyway and found it very interesting. We will try again for the guided tour in April.

https://museumstjohn.org.uk/planning-your-visit/guided-tours/

Cool. It's always a pleasure to read threads from people so well researched and curious as yourself.

I’ll be in London the last week of April, too! It will be my first trip there. Thanks for the post and all the replies, I’m bookmarking it for future reference!