An extraordinary home and an intriguing work of art
You will need to pre-book onto one of our intimate guided tours and bring along pair of socks or slippers to explore the fragile interiors at 575 Wandsworth Road. We can provide a pair of slipper socks for a suggested donation of £2.
The hand-carved fretwork interior of this modest, early 19th-century, terraced house is enthralling and inspiring.
575 Wandsworth Road was acquired by the National Trust in 2010, because of the rich and striking interiors created by Khadambi Asalache (1935-2006), a Kenyan-born poet, novelist, philosopher of mathematics and British civil servant. He bought the house in 1981 while working at the Treasury, and over a period of 20 years (from 1986) turned his home into a work of art.
Prompted by the need to disguise persistent damp in the basement dining room, he initially fixed pine floorboards to the damp wall. He went on to embellish almost every wall, ceiling and door in the house with exquisite fretwork patterns and motifs, which he hand-carved from reclaimed pine doors and floorboards found in skips.
The house stands as he left it, with his painted decoration on walls, doors and floors and with rooms furnished with his handmade fretwork furniture and carefully arranged collections of beautiful and functional objects, including pressed-glass inkwells, pink and copper lustreware, postcards and his typewriter.
Book a tour
Be one of a special few and secure an exclusive vist to this extraordinary home. It's a visit unlike any other National Trust day out, as you'll be invited to take off your outdoor shoes to protect our hand-painted floors. Please come prepared wearing socks or bring a pair slippers on the day. We can provide a pair of slipper socks for a suggested donation of £2.
With intimate tours of up to six people, as a guest you'll be exploring the house in your own time along with our expert guides. To look afte the delicate interiors, places are limited to 2000 visitors per year so pre-booking is essential. Help us look after this small and fragile house by travelling light. Bags and coats can be stored in the dining room at the start of the tour.
Please note: the property cannot take bookings, but you can secure your ticket by booking a tour online or by calling our dedicated bookings office on 0344 249 1895. Member charge applies. As tickets are highly sought after, if you can no longer attend your chosen tour, please let the bookings office know as soon as possible so we can reallocate your place.
Most of our places run the Gift Aid on Entry scheme at their admission points.
Under this scheme, if you're not a member you have the choice of two entry tickets:
If the place runs Gift Aid on Entry, we'll offer you a clear choice between the Gift Aid Admission prices and the Standard Admission prices at the admission point. It's entirely up to you which ticket you choose.
Gift Aid Admission includes a 10 per cent or more voluntary donation. Gift Aid Admissions let us reclaim tax on the whole amount paid - an extra 25 per cent - potentially a very significant boost to our places' funds.
An extra £1 paid under the scheme can be worth over £3 to the National Trust as shown below:
| Gift Aid | Standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount paid by visitor | £11.00 | £10.00 |
| Tax refund from Government* | £2.75 | £0.00 |
| Total received by the National Trust | £13.75 | £10.00 |
*Gift Aid Admissions let us reclaim tax on the whole amount paid - an extra 25 per cent - potentially a very significant boost to our places' funds.
