Gustav Holst in Barnes

Gustav Holst (21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) lived at 10 The Terrace in Barnes from 1908 to 1913. Though best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, Holst composed several significant works during his Barnes years, including the chamber opera Savitri. His former home, a Grade II listed Georgian house overlooking the Thames, is marked with a blue plaque.

Arrival in Barnes

Holst moved to 10 The Terrace in 1908, having previously lived at 31 Grena Road in Richmond. The house gave him a second-floor room where he could compose undisturbed, with views across the river. At this time he was already Director of Music at St Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith, a post he would hold for the rest of his life.

Works Composed at Barnes

During his five years at The Terrace, Holst wrote:

• Savitri (1908–1909) – a chamber opera based on a story from the Mahabharata
• Hymns from the Rig Veda (1908–1912) – four groups of choral settings
• Two Eastern Pictures (1911)
• The Cloud Messenger (1903–1910) – begun before Barnes, completed during this period

The Planets was not composed at Barnes. Holst wrote that suite between 1914 and 1917, after leaving The Terrace, using the piano in his soundproofed room at St Paul’s Girls’ School and at his cottage in Thaxted, Essex.

Departure

In 1913, when St Paul’s Girls’ School opened a new music wing with a soundproofed composing room built for him, Holst and his family left Barnes. The riverside air, frequently foggy, had been affecting his breathing, and the move to Brook Green placed him next to the school.

Blue Plaque

A blue plaque at 10 The Terrace reads: “Gustav Holst / Composer / 1874–1934 / lived here / 1908–1913.” The house remains a Grade II listed building.

Barnes as a Composers’ Village

Holst was far from the only composer to be drawn to Barnes. George Frideric Handel spent the summer of 1713 at Barn Elms, and Herbert Howells lived at 3 Beverley Close from 1946 to 1983, where he wrote many of his best-loved works and is commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque (erected 2011). Among contemporary composers, Howard Goodall and Roxanna Panufnik have both lived and worked in Barnes – Panufnik composed the Coronation Sanctus for the coronation of Charles III in 2023. Eleanor Oldroyd’s book Composers of Barnes: The Flow of Inspiration traces the connections between these musicians and the riverside village.

Sources

1. Gustav Holst – Wikipedia
2. Open Plaques – Gustav Holst blue plaque
3. Composers of Barnes: The Flow of Inspiration – British Music Society
4. Barnes Music Festival – Composers of Barnes