Rare Chance to View The Victorian Society's Headquarters
Grade II listed house is participating in Open House Festival 2026
The building is at 1 Priory Gardens at the junction with Bath Road. Picture: The Victorian Society
August 26, 2026
One of Chiswick’s most architecturally significant buildings will open its doors to the public next month as the Victorian Society once again joins the Open House Festival. The charity, which campaigns nationally for the protection of Victorian and Edwardian heritage, will welcome visitors to its Grade II listed headquarters at 1 Priory Gardens, Bedford Park on Saturday 12 September.
The house, designed in 1880 by E. J. May, forms part of the original Bedford Park development — the pioneering late-Victorian suburb often described as the first of its kind. With its red and yellow brickwork, Dutch gable, tall chimneys and oriel windows, the building is a textbook example of the Queen Anne Revival style that defined the estate. The Society has occupied the property since 1973, restoring it after decades of decline and safeguarding it as a working headquarters and archive.
Visitors can drop in between 11am and 4.15pm, free of charge, to explore the building and learn about its history, its architecture and the Society’s campaigning work. Half of the ground floor is level access, with three steps to the remainder; the first floor is accessible only by staircase.
Alongside the open day, the Victorian Society is offering a free guided walking tour of Bedford Park from 2pm to 3.30pm, led by John Scott — one of the leading experts on the area’s architectural development. Booking is required for the tour, which traces the origins of Jonathan Carr’s visionary suburban experiment and the work of architects including Richard Norman Shaw, E. W. Godwin and E. J. May.
The Society recommends pairing the visit with events at the Chiswick Book Festival, which takes place over the same weekend, making the day an ideal opportunity to explore both the literary and architectural heritage of the neighbourhood.
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