Kenwood

Having seen the excellent 2013 film Belle, the story of the mixed-race daughter of an African slave and a British Royal Navy officer living as a free woman of color at a Hampstead estate in the 18th century, we were surprised to discover that today's destination, Kenwood House, located at the northern edge of Hampstead Heath, was that very estate.  Dido Belle was the niece of William Murray aka Lord Mansfield, a barrister and politician who worked toward the abolition of the slave trade; she spent 30 years at Kenwood, the Mansfield family residence.  Kenwood House in 2020 is an art gallery featuring the collection of Lord Iveagh, of the beer producing Anglo-Irish Guinness family, who owned Kenwood in the early 20th century.

Dido Belle & Lady Elizabeth Murray at Kenwood, 1775
This painting was the initial inspiration for the film Belle.

The first self-propelled wheelchair and
its inventor, John Merlin (portrait by
Thomas Gainsborough)

The imposing Library. Lord Mansfield's portrait hangs over the fireplace.

Library ceiling

Rembrandt self-portrait

A rare Vermeer

Miss Murray, by Sir Thomas Lawrence

The Music Room

Kenwood, on Hampstead Heath