Sandycombe Lodge in Twickenham was designed, built and lived in by JMW Turner and his father.
It was from this house that Turner set off on many fishing, sketching and painting expeditions. Friends such as John Soane were frequent visitors. It is a little known and rarely visited gem.
In 1947 Professor Harold Livermore and his wife Ann bought Sandycombe Lodge. They bequeathed the house to the Turner's House Trust to be preserved ‘as a monument to Turner in Twickenham’. Since 2010 the Trust have been working towards this goal.
Conservation work is at a very early stage but the house will be open to visitors on the first Saturday of each month between April and October this year. The first open day will be on Easter Saturday April 7th, from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. (last entry 12.30) admission is just £4.00.
To find out more about the house, the trust and how you can support them, visit the Turner's House Trust website.
There is also a feature on the house at the excellent London Historians blog from 2011.