AGENT PEGGY CARTER & Heritage Houses!
In Season 2 of Agent Carter it is revealed that Peggy grew up in Hampstead! Which is of course now part of London. So, I just HAD to go for a visit.
In my research for school I came across a network called “Shh”- Small Heritage Houses. It’s a group of 10 small house museums around London. Check them out here.
Can you guess what kind of museum I went to see this week? And WHERE?
Without further ado:
Burgh House & Hampstead Museum
This museum has a lot going on! They have a cafe in the basement, a modern art gallery, a historic art gallery, the 2 room Hampstead Museum, a one room exhibition/ meeting room space, a shop, room rentals, concert venue AND it’s a wedding venue!
The building itself is beautiful and is from 1704! Hampstead was (for most of its history) not a part of London. It became fashionable for the Heath (where Kenwood House is located! See that post here) and its ‘waters.’ It was a Spa town!
The Hampstead Museum is only two rooms but tracks Hampstead from the prehistoric era to modern day. They have art works, dioramas, paintings and cool displays. I liked the listening station where local kids told their own stories about Hampstead. So cute!
This was one of the dioramas! You pushed a button to ‘light’ the beacons. A whole ‘Gondor calls for aid’ system! These beacons were created when the Spanish Armada was coming and since Hampstead is one of the highest points around London, they are perfectly situated.
PEGGY CARTER TIME IN HAMPSTEAD. If it wasn’t already clear: I AM A SUPER FAN! We believe that Peggy was born in 1921 and we know she is from Hampstead. She also likely signed up when she was 17 in 1938.
Things I found out- Hampstead was in on the war effort earlier than other parts of the country as they were preparing sandbags with dirt from the Heath in the late 1930s. The schools were evacuated around Hampstead in 1939 and anti-aircraft guns were placed on the Heath.
So Peggy would have been seen the War affecting her life earlier than others. Love you Peggy!
The Library! It’s such a beautiful room. I liked the art shows but didn’t take any photos- trying not to mess with any copyrights and all that. The historic gallery had nude sketches by a Hampstead resident- George Charlton who went to the Slade School of Art. Fancy!
Rating: 4/5
Pros: lots of small focused exhibitions, literally something FOR everyone, very nice volunteers! lovely cafe, gorgeous garden, great building, nice location, good displays
Cons: It’s cozy and cramped in areas, almost TOO many things happening, not much seating (other than the cafe)
On the way home I saw Agent Carter being advertised! This is a big deal as Season 1 wasn’t available outside the US. And it had a small advertising budget (compared to Agents of Shield or the Netflix shows!) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! This is serious progress people.
I warned you all I was a super fan!
Liberté (formerly) of London 