Dorich House Museum, 67 Kingston Vale, London SW15 3RN. Open Thurs to Sat. 11am to 5pm (last entry 4:30pm). Admission is free

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Details

Accessibility:

Free car park on site with 20 spaces. Wheelchair access only on ground floor through the Studio café room and disabled motorists can park beside the house. No lift. Narrow steps to upper floors.

Brief description:

Dorich House was designed by the sculptor Dora Gordine as her home and studio.  It was completed in 1936 and she lived and worked there with her husband the Hon. Richard Hare, a scholar of Russian art and literature. When she died in 1991, the house was acquired by Kingston University who restored it and opened it as a museum.  The museum is spread over three floors and houses a huge collection of Dora Gordine's work including drawings, paintings and sculptures. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Gordine

"Dora Gordine (8 June 1895 – 29 December 1991) was an Estonian Jewish Modernist figurative and portraitist sculptor. Her early career was influenced by the Noor Eesti (‘Young Estonia’) group of artists who favoured Art Nouveau. She moved to Paris and on her third marriage, to Hon. Richard Hare (1907–66), her career expanded to the extent that some critics regarded her as amongst the finest sculptors of her generation.[2] She specialized in portrait sculptures attracting international admirers from the political, social, artistic, literary and theatrical worlds. Her legacy also includes a number of public space pieces. Her latter career was not as prolific or as fêted and Gordine was relatively unknown at the time of her death. Major exhibitions in London in 2006 and 2009 have revived her standing and her former home is now a museum.[3] 

Dorich House was designed by Gordine and completed in 1936. The name chosen for the house was a portmanteau of Dora and Richard's names.[26] The house is spread across three floors; the ground and first floors devoted to the production and display of Gordine's work, with the upper floor forming the couple's private apartment. In 1994, it was acquired by Kingston University and was refurbished and formally opened as a museum in 1996, housing Gordine's collection of bronze and plaster sculptures and many of her paintings and drawings. There are also items from Hare's Imperial Russian art collection, which includes icons, paintings, ceramics, glassware, metalwork, folk art and furniture dating from the early 18th century to the early 20th century.[27] "

Address:

Dorich House Museum, 67 Kingston Vale SW15 3RN

Email:

dorichhousemuseum@kingston.ac.uk

Phone:

020 8417 5515

Website:

https://www.dorichhousemuseum.org.uk/

Directions:

The Museum is in a residential area on Kingston Vale, the A308.  It backs on to Richmond Park. From the A3, at the Robin Hood roundabout take the exit towards Kingston. OS TQ 208 719  Free car park on site with 20 spaces

Opening Times:

2024: Dorich House Museum is open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm). Admission is free. We have guided tours available on some Fridays and Saturdays at 11am which must be booked in advance through Eventbrite. Email dorichhousemuseum@kingston.ac.uk or phone us on 020 8417 5515 for more information.

Transport:

The London Congestion Charge Zone ( https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/congestion-charge-zone) runs from Monday to Friday and motorists have ample signage to alert them to the entry points; only vehicles that are registered by the DVLA as ‘Disabled Tax-Exempt’ are NOT liable to the Charge. Disabled Tax-Exempt drivers can also use the Dartford Crossing without charge, which is a river crossing to the east of London which links the north and south of the M25 orbital motorway.  Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) automatically identifies the registration number plate of these vehicles so that their owners do not need to take any additional action.

The  museum is outside the Congestion Zone area, if travelling by car, for specific directions it is best to use a satnav, but please be aware that the route may take you in and out of the Central London Congestion Charge zone. It is best to approach Central London using the excellent public transport.

Nearest Stations: Kingston or Putney. From Kingston catch bus no 85 or K3 from  Cromwell Road bus station. From Putney station take bus 85 (direction Kingston) from bus stop E. The stop for the Museum is Woodview Close.

For more information on buses, trains, tube, cycle hire, airports and river traffic please contact Transport For London on 0343 222 1234 (Textphone 0800 112 3456). For further details on accessible services please see the website: https://tfl.gov.uk/

Amenities:

A limited range of books is available for sale, along with tea or coffee and a piece of cake in the Studio café room.

Free car park on site with 20 spaces and Toilets, but No accessible toilets. There are a few local shops and a restaurant about a 5 min walk back towards the A3.

                                       

Travel Information

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NB London ULTRA-LOW EMISSION ZONE

This started on 8 April 2019 in the Central London Congestion Charge Zone, and will extend to the whole of the London area within the M25 Motorway from 25 October 2021.
For more details please see: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle-35896

Vehicles registered with a 'disabled' or 'disabled passenger vehicles' tax class will benefit from a grace period after the ULEZ starts until 26 October 2025 as long as their vehicle doesn't change tax class, and this also applies to a 'disabled' vehicle registered outside the UK.