London Group visit to 49 Great Ormond Street

Event details

Tuesday 18 February 2025
6.30pm

Join the SPAB London Group for a visit to a 17th-century house with a rich and chequered history of residential and commercial uses. 

We’ll be lead on the tour by the owner, Alec Forshaw, who purchased the house at auction about 30 years ago and undertook refurbishment and turned the ground floor into a music recital and rehearsal room. 

Originally on the edge of London with views across fields, it has been surrounded by an urban landscape for some centuries, with the celebrated children’s hospital and Coram Fields nearby. The mews at the rear housed circus animals for a period. The fascinating history incorporates many interesting figures and references William Morris and the SPAB. 

Alec Forshaw is also a respected conservationist and historian, and the author of many books about London. We will have a chance for a chat afterwards over a drink in the Music Room. 

Although we will be inside the house, it is possible that some rooms will be unheated so please dress with this in mind. 

Anything we can do to make this event more accessible for you? Please email membership@spab.org.uk.

We may take photos or videos at this event to be used in future promotion, including in print and online.

All bookings are subject to our Terms and Conditions. 

Photo credit: Alison Kemp