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Anyone travelling out of London along the A4 (or the Great West Road as it used to be called) must have seen this row of houses on the left-hand side at Talgarth Road (numbers 135-149), just before the Hammersmith flyover. They were designed as artists’ studios by Frederick Wheeler (1853-1931) and built in 1891. Wheeler designed the studios in the Arts and Crafts style for James Fairless, a publisher of prints of classical works of art. The houses were meant for bachelor artists and had three rooms on the ground floor and in the basement a kitchen and a room for the housekeeper. Despite this intention of providing houses for single artists, many inhabitants managed to cram more people into the studio than was originally envisaged; in 1911, William Logsdail, for instance, lived at number 5 with his wife, his son and daughter and a servant. The studios themselves were situated on the first floor and were 30 feet long and 22 feet wide (9.1 × 6.7 m). The large barrel-vaulted windows, facing north, were specifically designed to let in as much light as possible.
Just to the west of the studios, at number 151, is Colet House, which, although not part of the studio project, is in the same style and often referred to as 9 St. Paul’s Studios. It is a larger property that has been used for various purposes, such as the ballet dance school where Margo Fonteyn worked. It was originally thought that Colet House was also designed by Frederick Wheeler, but recent research favours Fairfax Blomfield Wade-Palmer (1851-1919). For more information on Colet House see here.
In 2007, the contents of one of the studios came on the market and the sale was reported in the Hammersmith & Fulham News of August 2007. In the leaflet, a number of photos of the interior of the studio give a good idea of what they must have looked like when they were just built. Disregard the modern office chairs for a moment and you could be back in the 1890s.
The stretch of Talgarth Road with the studios started life as Red Cow Lane, later to be named Colet Gardens after John Colet, Dean of St Paul’s. It received its present name in the 1960s. Over the years, many famous and not so very famous artists have lived in the studios. From various sources, the following – most likely incomplete – list will give you some idea. Click on the * to get more information on an artist or her/his work. A ? before or after a year means the artist may have lived there before or after that date, but I have found no information on the exact period. If you can add to the list, please leave a comment.
At studio number 1 (135 Talgarth road)
– ?1899? Henry Charles Clifford, artist
– ?1905-1911? Grosvenor Thomas (1856-1923), painter (*)
At studio number 2 (137 Talgarth road)
– ?1892? P.M. Feeney, artist (*)
– ?1893-? Miss E.C. Adlington, painter
– 1900 Miss Chris Mary Demain Hammond, painter and black and white artist, died
– ?1901-1911? Gertrude Ellen Demain (Hammond) McMurdie, book illustrator, watercolorist (*)
– 1951-1961 Alfred Wolmark, painter, decorative artist (*)
At studio number 3 (139 Talgarth road)
– ?1895? Edward Tennyson Reed, cartoonist for Punch (*)
– ?1901-1911? Frederick De Haenen (1853-1928), illustrator
– ?1943 Arthur David McCormick (1860-1943), painter (*)
At studio number 4 (141 Talgarth road)
– ?1901-1911? Herbert Sidney (1858-1923), painter (*)
At studio number 5 (143 Talgarth road)
– 1892-1900 Jeannie and/or her daughter Ruby Levick (ca.1872-1940). Ruby was a sculptor. (*)
– ?1897-1901? Lillian Etherington, painter
– 1901-1903 Inglis Sheldon-Williams (1870-1940), painter and illustrator (*)
– 1903-1922 William Logsdail (1859-1944), painter (*)
– 1922-1938 George Kruger Gray (1880-1943), coin designs, stained glass windows (*)
– 1949-1950 Ernest Gébler (1914-1998), playwright (*)
At studio number 6 (145 Talgarth road)
– ?1895? Lancelot Speed, artist (*)
– ?1897-1901? [William Albert] Darent Harrison, sculptor
– ?1905-? Robert Hugh Buxton (1871-?), painter (*)
– ?1911-? Abraham (Abbey) Altson (1866-1949), painter (*)
At studio number 7 (147 Talgarth Road)
-1900-1905 Albert Hemstock Hodge (1875-1917), sculptor, architect (*)
– ?1911-? Frederick Hall (1860-1948), painter (*)
At studio number 8 (149 Talgarth Road)
– ?1901-1911? George Harcourt Sephton (1885?-1923), portrait painter (*)
– ?-? Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991), ballet dancer (*)
– 1926-1948 Martin Travers (1886-1948), designer of church interiors, stained glass (*)
At studio number 9 (151 Talgarth Road)
– ?1897? Philip Burne-Jones, artist (*)
I would not think that any artist can nowadays find the peace to do creative work at St. Paul’s Studios with the cars on the A4 thundering past, spewing filth and noise, just metres away from the studio window, but maybe I am wrong. And although the outside of the buildings needs regular cleaning to avoid total blackness, the houses are still as quirky and individual as they were when the studios were first built in 1891.
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I remember these well. Thank you for giving us such a detailed description!
Thank you for all this wonderful detail about these studios which I saw for the first time this weekend! I shall be returning to learn more about other aspects of our wonderful city and have put a link to this page on my own blog. (I trust that is okay, if not, let me know and I will remove it immediately).
Thanks Lis for your comment and of course you can put a link on your own site – no problem!
I live in 149 Talgarth road, so this was really neat to read! thanks! I’ve never seen the top floor though (my landlady lives up there) but the rest of the house seems like it hasn’t been changed much over the years 🙂
How nice Cara to live in such a historic building. I hope the traffic isn’t too much of a problem.
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Love these studios. Thank you
From old newspapers:
1892 No 2 P.M. Feeney
1895 No 3 Edward Tennyson Reed Cartoonist for Punch
1895 No 6 Lancelot Speed Artist
1897 No 9 Philip Burne-Jones Artist
1899 No 1 Henry Charles Clifford Artist
1900 No 2 Miss Chris Mary Demain Hammond painter and black and white artist died.
Thank you Govinda,
I have added the names you gave me to the list. Good idea to look in old newspapers; will see if I can find some more there.
Baldwin
Thanks for this, I’ve always adored them and wanted to know more about them.
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Alfred Wolmark lived for 10 years in No 2 (and died there) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wolmark
Thanks Christian, I have added him to the list.