Last year I submitted Honor Balfour (1912-2001)’s former London home in Kensington for the award of a Blue Plaque to commemorate her many years there. It’s a long process with several stages of evaluation so it may be some while before the decision is made. I knew from my conversations with Honor what the drawing room had looked like but it was not until 2022 that I saw the exterior of the house. It faces a private square but in June 2022 it was open under London Open Gardens weekend. The planting, and possibly the design, will have changed since Honor lived in the crescent but it was great to get a sense of the view and the green space she would have enjoyed, a possible antidote to a very busy life.
Historian – Curator – Writer