Victorian Society opens listed Bedford Park HQ for Open House Festival

The façade of No. 1 Priory Gardens, home of the Victorian Society. Photo credit essential: Connor McNeill / The Victorian Society

Free entry to 1 Priory Gardens on Saturday 12 September, with a bookable Bedford Park walking tour also on offer

The Victorian Society will open its Grade II listed headquarters in Bedford Park to visitors on Saturday 12 September, as part of Open House Festival 2026.

The building at 1 Priory Gardens was designed by E. J. May and built in 1880. It’s a couple of minutes’ walk from Turnham Green tube station, and has been the Victorian Society’s headquarters since the 1970s. The house was later owned by the Liberal MP Llewellyn Atherley-Jones, and once housed the Bedford Park Printing Press, before being divided into flats.

Visitors can drop in any time between 11am and 4.15pm on the day. Entry is free and no booking is required.

A separate, free guided walking tour of Bedford Park is also being offered on the same day, though places must be booked in advance via the Open House website.

Full details, and the tour booking link, are on the Open House programme page and the Victorian Society’s website.

The Victorian Society headquarters at 1 Priory Gardens is one of six locations in Chiswick taking part in this year’s Open House Festival, with many more buildings in Ealing, Acton, Hammersmith, Shepherd’s Bush and Brentford also opening their doors to the public.

READ ALSO: Six Chiswick locations take part in the Open House Festival 12 – 20 September 2026

The Victorian Society suggests combining the visit with an event at the Chiswick Book Festival, which runs over the same weekend.

READ ALSO: Nick Clegg, Kate Mosse and a Beatles anniversary feature in this year’s Chiswick Book Festival