LONDON COUNTR Y HOUSES : THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR ARCHITECTS

This series of lectures and visits looks at the fine architecture and fascinating families in the great residences of what is still countryside in London today, coupled with the splendid survival of the designers’ best work in the heart of London.

THE GENIUS OF ROBERT ADAM (1728-1792 (LECTURE)

Robert Adam is a giant of English architecture and primarily responsible for the introduction of the elegant neo-classicism which rivalled and then surpassed Lord Burlington’s P alladianism. His greatest work in our area is in the remodelling of three of London’s country houses: Osterley Park, Kenwood and Syon House, the seats respectively of the Child bankers, the Mansfield and the
Northumberland families. Much survives in central London of which the Adelphi was one of his most ambitious projects.