Monthly open day of Little Holland House

Little Holland House in Carshalton is open for its monthly open day on Sunday 1 November, from 10:30am to 4:30pm. It's a Grade II listed home that looks like a modest suburban house from the street, but the interior is something else entirely — almost every inch of it was carved and decorated by hand.

It was built between 1902 and 1904 by Frank Dickinson, a local woodcarver, and his fiancée Florence. They couldn't afford professional builders or furnishings, so they built the place themselves and filled it with their own work. Dickinson was inspired by William Morris and John Ruskin, and that comes through in the intricate carvings he worked into the fireplaces, the doors, the furniture, the decorative panels and the stair rails. It's a handmade home in the truest sense, and much of that original work is still there, alongside furniture, paintings, copperwork and other craft objects that they made and kept in situ.

The local council recognised its artistic importance and preserved the building, and it now opens to the public roughly once a month. If you miss this one, the next open day is Sunday 6 December, also 10:30am to 4:30pm. Entry is free, and you'll find it at 40 Beeches Avenue, Carshalton, SM5 3LW.