I was invited behind-the-scenes of Leighton House in advance of their HLF development scheme which will place all the offices and services in the adjacent 1920s Halsey Ricardo wing, thereby preserving the original Victorian interiors of the George Aitchison house, including the Arab Hall, intact:-
And the Winter Studio:-
I knew that G.F. Watts had lived next door in New Little Holland House (they used to chat about RA politics over the garden wall), but I didn’t know that New Little Holland House, designed by Frederick Pepys Cockerell, was demolished in 1964, Watts being regarded then as of so little public interest.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
That’s very good news as the Arab interiors are wonderful, as is the Walter Crane mosaic frieze.
Hello Charles, belatedly on this post, you might like to glance at my book on new Little Holland House on Melbury Road (Watts In Kensington, published in 2009) , which tells the whole sorry tale of its demolition. GFW and Leighton had diagonally adjoining back gardens so they did speak over the garden fence and visited each other’s studios on a regular basis. Next door to Leighton on Holland Park Road was close friend and fellow RA, Val Prinsep.
Dear Barbara, I will indeed. Charles