Friends excursions: Southside House
Tuesday 20 June 2017 6.45 - 8.15pm
Meet at Southside House, Wimbledon. Full directions with ticket.
£32. Includes glass of prosecco.
Friends of the RA book first
Booking and attending Friends excursions and events
Friends enjoy evening drinks and a private curator-led tour of Southside House, a wonderfully eccentric mansion described by Simon Jenkins as a “not a work of art, but something more precious”.
Standing near the edge of Wimbledon Common, Southside House has been built and re-built over the centuries, leaving the date of the original building now unknown. In 1687, Southside was re-fashioned in the William and Mary style by Robert Pennington. Behind the house’s long façade lie a number of old rooms, furnished with an eclectic collection of art and historical objects reflecting centuries of ownership by the Pennington Mellor Munthe families, the ancestors of the current owner.
Southside’s curator will uncover the history of the house and its owners, with a focus on the collection of art and objects. We will also have an opportunity to view the curator’s private study and library, normally closed to the public. Prior to the tour, Friends will have an opportunity to enjoy a glass of prosecco in the tranquil garden which combines woodland, wilderness, classical follies and water.