Built from 1875 to 1877 in the Queen Anne style[3] by the architect Richard Norman Shaw, it is a Grade II* listed building.

It is a long way the most superior house of the whole lot; I consider it knocks Stone's to fits, though of course he wouldn't have that by what I hear he says of his, but my opinion is the universal one.

[5] The site was recommended to Fildes by Val Prinsep, it is at the bend of Melbury Road, with vistas to the south and west, adjoining Holland Lane (now Ilchester Place) on the east.

Shaw was well acquainted with members of the art establishment, being friends with Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris and Philip Webb.

[13] All of the "studio-houses" of the Holland Park Circle were built with red bricks, a colour that stood in contrast to the white stucco that had been traditionally used in the surrounding area.

[14] Shaw had prepared preliminary designs of Woodland House by August 1875, and building began early in 1876, with construction being undertaken by W. H.

[17] Facing south, Fildes large artists studio was at the rear of the house and was lit by a skylight and six tall windows grouped in pairs of two.

[18] After Fildes death, the house was occupied in turn by the retired soldier Brigadier General Charles Forbes Blane,[20] the manufacturer Edward Barford[20] and the merchant banker, Walther Augustus Brandt.

His art collection included works by Jan Micker, William James, Edmund Dulac, E. H. Shepard, Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen and Beatrix Potter.

[22] In 2008 he announced his intention to bequeath the house as a museum, but discussions with Kensington and Chelsea council stalled after they were unable to meet the £15 million cost of purchasing the freehold of the property, which expires in 2046.

[1] Informal discussions had taken place with the curator of the Leighton House Museum, situated in the adjacent street and also owned by the council.

[22] Winner had wished to greet future visitors to Woodland House as a talking waxwork statue, uttering a variation on his catch phrase, "Calm down, dear, I'm only a dummy".