London East, UK - 'Is it a house at all, you wonder, as room after limewashed room reveal the compulsive collecting disorder of its owners? Every inch of wall space is covered with pictures and there is a gradual encroachment of floor space by sculpture, taxidermy and architectural salvage. More a museum of curiosities. A cornucopia of items as disparate as an elephant skull and a sedan chair; portraits of bishops and bankers; a terracotta bust of Persephone; bookshelves from Sir Anthony Blunt's flat in Portman Square.
'Tim Knox and Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, both specialist historians, admit that their passion has got out of control and that the six-bedroomed house can no longer contain it. "Now, if we acquire a large new picture," Tim says, "we are scratching our heads to know where to fit it in." The possibility of not acquiring a large new picture hasn't occurred to them, so they are searching for another, much bigger, crumbling ruin for their collection.'
Todd Longstaffe-Gowan is gardens adviser to Hampton Court Palace and has prepared a conservation strategy for the baroque gardens at Kensington Palace. Tim Knox is the former head curator of the National Trust and now director of the Soane Museum.
