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| Gunnersbury Museum |
Getting to Gunnersbury was a bit of a trek for me as I had to catch the tube from Wimbledon to Earls Court on the District Line and change to the Ealing Broadway District Line, but I had looked at other options, and I still think this was the quickest route. The nearest tube to the museum and park is Acton Town. It's then just a walk along a main road with one busy crossing.
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| The entrance looking from the museum |
The day was perfect. Cold, but blissfully sunny. I decided to visit the museum first, especially as there were toilet facilities! The museum is dedicated to the people of the area - Brentford, Hanwell and so on and currently there is an exhibition about Southall - Peoples Unite! How Southall Changed the Country. There are also artifacts going back to Roman (and before) and medieval times. This is a very child friendly place with dressing up clothes and rooms for children to leave messages and colour pictures. Unfortunately my smartphone camera locked and some of the photos I thought I'd taken hadn't come out. Annoying, and I still don't know how it happened or what I did to rectify it. I'm still getting used to all the features and seem to spend a while fiddling with it. Therefore I missed the photos of the children's messages for peace and reactions to the current exhibition, which is about racism and race riots in Southall. I always think that children are the best people to listen to because they say it how it is. They hold no racist views. These are things learned from society, peers and the media. I was humbled by their messages about the world and its people.
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| The Skylight Gallery |
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| Skylight Gallery |
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| History of the area and its people |
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| Divali picture |
Gunnersbury was first mentioned in 1347. There would have been a manor house on or near the current building. John Maynard acquired the estate in the 17th century and his second wife set about transforming the house. After the death of Maynard, the estate was bought by Henry Furnese in 1730 and he built the Round Pond and The Temple and added a kitchen garden. In 1762 Princess Amelia bought the estate and added the shell grotto and chapel. The estate was bought for development in 1800 and the mansion was demolished. The land was divided up into 13 plots for villas. Alexander Copeland bought all the plots except one and added an Italian Garden and the Horseshoe Pond.
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| Drawing Room |
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| Butler's Pantry |
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| Displays on the second floor |
In 1830 the estate was bought by the Rothchild's, Nathan and Hannah. This stayed in the family until 1917 and eventually the Boroughs of Brentford and Chiswick decided the park should be for the general public and had its grand opening in 1926. This is a potted history. More can be read on the website.
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| The Round Pond |
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| The Temple |
On the ground floor the rooms are beautiful. The Dining Room, Long Gallery and Drawing Room have high ceilings and chandeliers. The long windows overlook the park. In the 'hall' is the skylight gallery. Some of the rooms are used for exhibitions, and there is a elegant staircase leading up to the first floor where the main exhibition about Southall is, along with a room about the Sound of Southall (music). On the second floor are the servants' bedrooms now with various displays and a fashion gallery.
The grounds are extensive and popular with dog walkers. The Round Pond is beautiful and by the Horseshoe Pond is a greenhouse/conservatory. One can still see the buildings from the old farm and there is a nature trail. The Bath House/Grotto is quite impressive with its castle look.There used to be a plunge pool here.
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| Gunnersbury Park |
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| Old farm buildings |
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| Back of the museum |
There are many benches placed round the park and along the back of the museum. A refreshment van parks here everyday, except Mondays, so I understand. Here I grabbed a hot chocolate and a peanut brownie and sat on a bench admiring the view. Next door is another building which is currently not in use but seems to have been an Arts Centre. Barriers stand around it and hopefully there is work going on or will be taking place in the future to bring this lovely building back to life for the community. In a busy part of West London, this is a haven, with gorgeous walks away from the noisy road. A chance to walk or sit and listen to birds.
I do hope you've enjoyed this visit and that it will encourage you to go and see it for yourself.
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| Mushrooms |
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| The Arts Centre |
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