Leighton House and Sambourne House

Tucked away in Holland Park, a leafy neighbourhood in West London, stand Leighton House and Sambourne House. Combining living and studio space, the houses remain largely unchanged today. They are the extraordinary legacies left by two ‘celebrities’ of the late Victorian era – Frederic Lord Leighton (1830-1896) and Edward Linley Sambourne (1844 -1910). Leighton and Sambourne lived as neighbours for over 20 years and had many acquaintances in common. They were widely known to their contemporaries; Leighton as the most prominent artist of his day, a celebrated painter and president of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sambourne as Chief Cartoonist at the infamous satirical magazine Punch. Their similar tastes were reflected in the furnishing of their homes, both filled with sculpture, blue and white ceramics and glassware. But if we delve beyond the physical artefacts, what do we know about these men, their lives and careers, and why do their former homes capture our imagination today?