From the outside, it could be mistaken for a long-lost Victorian pub — green glazed tiles, a prominent corner doorway, and a façade that hints at years of reinvention. But this quirky corner house on Bendemeer Road in Putney has a secret past that shaped generations: it was once the creative workshop of Muppets mastermind Jim Henson.
Now on the market for £1.25 million, the three-bedroom home was where Henson dreamed up some of his most beloved characters — including Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Gonzo — in the early 1970s, before The Muppet Show became a household name.
Located just a stone’s throw from the river, the circa 1,500 sq ft property began life as a home, then served as an off licence known as The Scarlet Lancet, before Henson transformed it into a puppetry studio. When The Muppet Show was picked up by British television, Henson moved north to Hampstead, where his next home and studio on Downshire Hill would later earn a blue plaque. But it was here in Putney, quietly tucked in by the river, that the Muppets found their first home.
Current owner John Kingdon bought the property around 15 years ago as a base for his IT company. He told the Evening Standard this week: “Jim Henson had it in the 1970s and he used it as an office and workshop,” said Kingdon. “When I saw it, I thought it was a little run down but a cool space to work from, with two spiral staircases.”
During the pandemic, he and his artist wife Nathalie converted the building back into a home, complete with an open-plan kitchen and living space, two bedrooms above, a ground-floor bedroom and a compact courtyard garden. “We didn’t want to sell it during Covid, but my company no longer needed it,” he explained. Now approaching retirement, Kingdon says the time has come to let it go.
The house may be unique, but it’s not the only property in this corner of Putney with a surprising link to children’s TV history. Just a few streets away on Festing Road lived David McKee, creator of Mr Benn. That street — renamed Festive Road for the animated series — famously appears in the opening scene of every episode, where Mr Benn sets off on his adventures “as if by magic”.
From the Muppets to Mr Benn, this quiet patch of Putney has helped shape childhoods for decades.
Do you know of a house in Putney with a surprising past or a secret famous connection? Get in touch — we’d love to tell its story.
This is incorrect information. The Muppet Show started broadcasting in 1976; that property was still an off licence then and remained so until about 1980-81. I think you’ve confused it with Alister Bowtell’s model-making workshop, which was opposite on Rotherwood Road.