Kingswood Arts

Kingswood Arts changes lives for the better. Through free & affordable creative arts activities for young people and families we foster a safe welcoming environment where everyone can take part, grow & learn! 

We work with hundreds of local families on the Kingswood Estate and surrounding areas and support our community to thrive. Co-creation is at the heart of everything at Kingswood Arts and our programme is made by and for our local community.

Kingswood Arts has an ever changing programme of free & affordable events for the whole family to enjoy. From festivals, to live theatre, to foods & flavours from around the world, there is something for everyone. 

Kingswood House was first commissioned in 1811 by William Vizard, a well-connected solicitor who leased 30 acres from Dulwich College. The house was extended in the 1890s by John Lawson Johnston, the inventor of Johnston’s Fluid Beef (Bovril) and was affectionately known as Bovril Castle. The house was used during World War One as a convalescent home for Canadian Soldiers and during World War Two the basements were modified into a bomb shelter. 

In the 1950s it was acquired, along with the land, by the local authority who built the Kingswood Estate, a collection of 691 mostly council-owned dwellings that surround the house. After many years as a Community centre and Library, the house was sadly left empty but is now entering a new era as Kingswood Arts.