Sambourne House

Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910) began working for the satirical magazine Punch in 1867 at the age of 23, and continued to produce weekly artwork for them until the year before his death. He was also an enthusiastic photographer and illustrated contemporary children's books including the 1885 edition of The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley (1819-1875). He and his family lived at 18 Stafford Terrace from 1875 until the artist's death in 1910. The house, which was preserved by their descendants, was decorated in the fashionable 'aesthetic' style of the period, including Japanese, Middle Eastern and Chinese objects. The interiors remain today much as they were in Sambourne's time.

18 Stafford Terrace was opened to the public by the Victorian Society in 1980. It passed to the management of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in 1989. Today the collection includes nearly 15,000 photographs and glass plate negatives, as well as over a thousand drawings, cartoons and sketches.