Upper Flask

The building in an engraving by Charles John Smith for his Graphic Illustrations of the Life and Times of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. in 1837, when it was known as the residence of Johnson's collaborator, the late George Steevens.

The Upper Flask was a tavern near the top of Hampstead hill in the 18th century which sold flasks of water from the spa at Hampstead Wells. It was located in Heath Street. It was the summer meeting place of the great literary and political figures of the Kit-Kat Club such as Walpole. The tavern business ceased in the 1750s and the grand house subsequently became the private residence of ladies and gentlemen such as Lady Charlotte Rich, George Steevens and Thomas Sheppard.