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Witanhurst House

Brian Matthews & Son are frequently commissioned to restore stately homes to their former glory thus ensuring that they remain in keeping with their period.  It is our pleasure to again perform this task as we have been commissioned to be the restorer to Witanhurst house London.  

Some of our activities can be seen in the pictures within this page.  It can be said that to undertake such a wonderful period project of this type by us is simply fantastic as we are passionate about period properties and antique furniture.  One of our tasks is to restore the various rooms, entrance hall etc which has involved remedial work and a significant amount of French polish various within Wintanhurst house London.  

 One of the rooms that Witanhurst house has, which is the largest room is the  grand ballroom, this room is panelled with a lovely burr walnut panelling.  It is our task to restore this panelling to its original state therefore we are utilising original French polishing procedures to ensure that the room remains as designed during its period.  Other rooms that we will be French polishing include the grand entrance which is fitted with oak panels, the billiard room has walnut panels and the dining room which has oak panels.

Witanhurst house is London’s second largest residents, second only to Buckingham palace.

Matthews Restoration have carried out various restoration work and French polishing at a number of other Stately homes all over the south of England.

Witanhurst is the name of an historical Georgian-style mansion located on a 5 acre (20,000 m²) site estate in the village of Highgate, North London. It is the second-largest house in London in private ownership, the largest being Buckingham Palace.

Designed by architect George Hubbard for soap magnate Sir Arthur Crosfield on an 11-acre (45,000 m2) site, dating from 1774 which included a house called Parkfield built in the 19th century, the mansion is currently Grade-II* listed, meaning it has been judged to be of national historical or architectural interest. It was built between 1913 and 1920. It has been recognized by English Heritage as 'a building at risk'.

It has 65 rooms spread across three floors, including 25 bedrooms. One of the largest is the Ballroom|Grand Ballroom]], measuring 70 feet (21 m) long with a height of 20 feet (6.1 m). It has oak flooring and the timber wall panels are in walnut, with carved cornices embellished with gold leaf.

Other rooms are the Drawing Room, Study, Entrance Hall and staircase, and most of the bedrooms are all in an opulent Classically detailed style. Other richly decorated rooms include the Dining Room, Chinese Room, Billiard Room, and the Gallery hallway.

A significant large part of the mansion still have the original architectural details that withstood time, but most of them are now in a state of deterioration. Despite its condition, the mansion has been used several times as filming location by the BBC for shooting documentaries and dramas, such as The Lost Prince and Tipping the Velvet. Most recently the estate was one of the primary production venues for the Fame Academy series.