Otherworldy connections
HARRY POTTER’S DUMBLEDORE ONCE LIVED IN THIS ‘HAUNTED’ WEST KENSINGTON CASTLE
IT’S A far cry from Hogwarts, but The Tower House in Kensington is apparently magical enough for Richard Harris, the original Dumbledore, who lived in the West London property in the late Sixties and early 70s.
The late Victorian home was designed in the French Gothic Revival style by William Burges between 1875 and 1881. In 1949 the home was listed as a Grade I building.
The house sits a stones throw away from Holland Park on Melbury Road. The miniature castle is hard to miss with its redbricked tower, green roof slates and stained glass windows. The ground floor of the home includes a front room, dining room and a library whilst the first floor includes two bedrooms and an armoury.
Restoration
By THOMAS KINGSLEY thomas.kingsley@reachplc.com @ThomasKingsley
Richard Harris bought the home in 1969 for £75,00 following a period when the house stood vacant and suffered vandalism as a result.
Harris restored the home to its opulent former glory by employing the original decorators, Campbell Smith & Company Ltd to take on the restoration work using Burge’s drawings from the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Haunted
Harris once said that the home was ‘haunted’ by the ghosts of children from an orphanage that previously occupied the site, and to appease the spirits he would buy them toys.
Another famous owner
After a short stint living in the Tower House, Jimmy Page founder and guitarist of Led Zeppelin purchased the home from Richard Harris for £350,000 in 1972, outbidding fellow musician David Bowie.
Robbie refused
Jimmy Page continues to occupy the house to this day and in 2015 successfully won a challenge against Robbie Williams who had purchased the Woodland House next door and was planning ‘extensive’ renovations. Page argued that the extension would threaten the structure of the Tower House.