Then & Now – Upper House 1886-1897 and 2025
Missed the Winter 2024-25 Newsletter‘s Then & Now? Seen it and want to know more? Here’s how it happened!
For this special edition of the long-running Then & Now feature of our Newsletter, we decided to recreate this photograph of the Upper House from the BSA SPHS Image Collection, with a woman and a dog on the front step. We know that the photograph couldn’t have been taken any later than 1897, but it could be from as early as 1886 when the Upper House was built. Could this be one of Francis Penrose’s daughters, we wonder?
Luckily, Bonna Wescoat, Director of the American School opposite the BSA, was able to help us locate the exact window of the ASCSA Director’s Residence to restage the photo from the same angle. 138 years later, much has changed in the sight lines and view, especially the growth of the gardens and the urban sprawl of the buildings up Lycabettus hill.
Thanks to Bonna, Amalia, Rebecca and Chewie for their help in this quest!
Then: ‘The BSA Director’s House with Lykavittos in the Background’ [with a woman and a dog], BSA SPHS Image Collection 01/0277.1502, donated by Mr Walter Leaf. Date: Latest 1897
Now: The Director’s House in 2025, with BSA Director Rebecca Sweetman and Chewie the dog