Soane's Ealing Home

For most people the name Ealing conjures up images of the once-famous film studios, several stations on the Tube or, more recently, a radical Borough Council and the London Home of the Leader of the Labour Party. For architectural historians, however, Ealing is the home of Pitshanger Manor, rebuilt as a country retreat in 1800 – 9 by Sir John Soane, architect of the museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields and Dulwich Picture Gallery. Recently, the interior of Pitshanger Manor has been restored, after eighty-five years of service as a public library, and its fine proportions, ceilings and decorations can now be more fully appreciated in its new role as a local museum, gallery and art centre.