Qualla: 2 Willow Road

2 Willow Road: Introduction

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mike Quinn, CC BY-SA 2.0. Ian Fleming lived in Hampstead. So did Erno Goldfinger. When Goldfinger proposed demolishing a row of Victorian cottages in 1937 to build a modernist concrete-framed terrace, Fleming was among the loudest opponents. He lost. The cottages came down. The new building - severe, flat-roofed, supported by an exposed concrete frame - went up in 1939. Then, in 1959, Fleming published his seventh Bond novel. The villain's name was Auric Goldfinger. The architect heard about it, consulted his lawyers about suing for libel, and was eventually persuaded not to. The book - and the 1964 film of the same name - made his surname synonymous with a megalomaniac who tries to nuke Fort Knox. The house, meanwhile, is now one of the most carefully preserved examples of British modernism, owned by the National Trust and open to the public since 1996.

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Image: Mike Quinn | CC BY-SA 2.0

2 Willow Road: Three Houses, One Family Home

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tom Parnell from Scottish Borders, Scotland, CC BY-SA 2.0. 2 Willow Road is the middle of three connected houses - Nos. 1, 2, and 3 - that Goldfinger designed and built together as a terrace overlooking Hampstead Heath. The plan had originally been more radical: Goldfinger wanted a block of studio flats, believing that flat living was th...

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Image: Tom Parnell from Scottish Borders, Scotland | CC BY-SA 2.0

2 Willow Road: The Concrete Frame and the Spiral Staircase

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Julian Osley, CC BY-SA 2.0. The house is supported by an exposed reinforced concrete frame, parts of which are deliberately visible from outside. This structural choice allowed Goldfinger to keep the interior open and uncluttered, with brick infill between the concrete columns rather than load-bearing walls...

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Image: Julian Osley | CC BY-SA 2.0

2 Willow Road: An Art Collector's House

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit SquidIncs, CC BY-SA 4.0. Goldfinger filled the house with art and with furniture he had designed himself. The collection is significant: works by Bridget Riley, Prunella Clough, Marcel Duchamp, Eduardo Paolozzi, Henry Moore, and Max Ernst. The house functioned both as family home and as a private gallery...

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Image: SquidIncs | CC BY-SA 4.0

2 Willow Road: The Trust's Modernist Turn

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Panhard, CC BY 2.5. When the National Trust took the house in 1995, the acquisition was controversial. The Trust had built its reputation on country houses, medieval barns, ancient gardens - properties at least three centuries old. A 1939 modernist terrace was a different proposition. Some members o...

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Image: Panhard | CC BY 2.5

2 Willow Road: Fleming's Revenge

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Oxyman, CC BY-SA 2.0. Ian Fleming and Henry Brooke, the future Conservative Home Secretary, were among the local residents who fought the demolition. Fleming's revenge - naming his villain Auric Goldfinger - was personal and creative. Erno Goldfinger considered suing, then dropped the matter on advice...

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Image: Oxyman | CC BY-SA 2.0