Sambourne House

What a fantastic place to visit! I conveniently, and unintentionally, arrived 5 minutes before a guided tour was due to begin. I gladly took up the offer of joining the tour, it was brilliant and informative. I’m not all that interested in art, I went for the nostalgia and history of the house, but I enjoyed every single second and would definitely go back again. I purchased the 2 house ticket and also enjoyed my visit to Leighton house down the road. Absolutely recommend both to everyone!

Such a gorgeous place, heritage of splendid Victorian style. Take all the time you need to explore this beautiful house with 4 floors, all visitable, in Holland Park, and to look at all the precious objects delightfully disposed everywhere. It’s like travelling in a time capsule, the interiors are perfectly preserved. Sambourne was an artist and his wife spent lots of her energies to decorate their family residence. It shows. It’s so unique and personal. I loved everything and was fascinated by this piece of history.

What a nice home you can create with an inheritance from your aunt! If you are visiting both this and the Leighton House (a 9 minute walk) it’s helpful to know that Leighton house has a cafe. It’s interesting that the guy wasn’t very social and did the drawing while the wife played piano, sewed the lampshades and piano cozy, etc. A nice step back in time.

A beautifully maintained Victorian home, filled with hundreds of curiosities large and small. Edward Linley Sambourne is a man you have probably never heard of, but you will have most likely seen his illustrations. This house is an opportunity to see the Victorian era from multiple perspectives, firstly through that of a happy and prosperous family with continuity through generations, and secondly through the eyes of a bright and visionary artist both in pen and photo. It’s not surprising the first Lord Snowden was one of his descendants!

The museum's inconspicuous location on a Victorian street only adds to the feel of visiting a lived-in house. One can only be grateful for the descendents decision to keep transfor the house into a museum and keep much of its authenticity intact. The visit begins down a steep flight of stairs, in the basement, where the helpful museum staff are located, along with a nice gift shop. Ticjets can be purcahse online, on location, or in pair with the nearby Leighton House. Making your way into each floor, all your senses will try to convince you that you are indeed at the turn of the 19th century. From the original furniture to wallpapers, artwork and even smell, Sambourne House is truly a portal to the Victorian age, much like it's companion, the Leighton House. Well worth the search and the ticket price for anyone interested in the Victorian lifestyle.

This little gem of a museum is tucked away in a quiet, leafy Kensington street. Behind the door is a stunning time capsule from the lives of some very interesting Victorian people. It looks like they just popped out one day, leaving their whole world suspended in time. A fantastic volunteer curator from Northern Ireland gave us so much information on the house and the lives of its occupants, and really brought the place to life. Do go!

Amazing visit! Such a unique and authentic Victorian house. I have been lucky to arrive at the exact time when a tour guided by a Victorian society volunteer was starting. It has been a very interesting hour discovering about the family and about Victorian habits and way of living. I definitely recommend it even more than Leighton house. I have visited both with the combined ticket but definitely preferred Sambourne house. Thank you to the guide for making the visit so memorable!

This house is a real treasure and well worth a visit. So many lovely objects and you can really experience what it must have been like to live in the late Victorian and Edwardian era's in this lovely neighbourhood. A very basic but informative booklet describes what each room was used for and who used them

Home to the cartoonist Edward Linley Sanbourne, this is a great place to visit if you want to be taken back in time to late 19th century London. Visited in Sep. 2009. The guided tour is great, the actress impersonating the family's parlour maid was witty and funny, the house is actually smaller than you would think. Period furniture and accessories, including "artistic" pictures of naked models in the master bathroom! Thoroughly enjoyable experience.

This house is the same ideas as other historic building with famous previous tenants which displays their art and belongings but this house gives you the opportunity to experience what it was really like to be a guest of the Sambourns'. Dinner served with costumed actors who recreate scenes and events from the personal diaries of members of the Sambourn family. This is a truly interactive experience and sets the house apart from other historic landmarks. The price is £20 per person and dinner is limited to 12 people, we wouldn't want to over work Mrs. Sambourn would we. Linley Sambourn was a cartoonists and photographer ( make sure to check out the pervey pictures in the bathroom) due to his success he and his family lived in a chic Victorian Townhouse, the great thing about this museum is that most of the furniture and fittings are original and not just examples of what it would have been like, such as you find at other museums.