THE LEIGH FERMOR HOUSE
IMAGE SOURCES
Imprint of the seal used by Leigh Fermor. The name and address are handwritten by the writer.
Patrick Leigh Fermor in Kardamyli, 1967. Photograph by Joan Leigh Fermor From Olivia Stewart’s archive ©Joan Leigh Fermor Estate
Drawing by Leigh Fermor on a letter addressed to Joan. It depicts a two-tailed mermaid inspired by Greek traditional art. Benaki Museum / Donated by Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor
The Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor House, Kardamyli 2019.
Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor in the courtyard, Kardamyli. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Patrick Leigh Fermor on a boat, Hydra 1959. Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery. Photographic Archive
Patrick Leigh Fermor on a boat, Hydra 1959. Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery. Photographic Archive
Paddy at Rila Monastery in Bulgaria, August 1934. After: Artemis Cooper, “Patrick Leigh Fermor. An Adventure” (London: John Murray 2012).
Patrick Leigh Fermor wearing a traditional Cretan costume, c.1944. Benaki Museum / Donated by Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor and Billy Stanley Moss (below) with their Cretan comrades. Standing (from the left) are Stratis Saviolakis, Manolis Paterakis, Antonis Papaleonidas, Giorgos Tyrakis, Nikos Komis and seated (left) Grigoris Chnarakis. Photograph ©The Estate of William Stanley Moss
Portrait of Joan by Paddy, 1946. Charcoal on paper, 15 x 10 cm. Benaki Museum / Donated by Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor
Joan. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Joan. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Paddy and Joan at the house in Kardamyli. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Leigh Fermor with George Katsimbalis (left) and George Seferis (centre), Athens 1951. George Katsimbalis Collection, G. Katsimbalis Photographic Archive
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika and Patrick Leigh Fermor in Ghika’s studio, Hydra 1955. Photograph by Joan Leigh Fermor Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery, Photographic Archive
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika with Joan, Hydra 1955. Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery, Photographic Archive
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, “Wild Garden”, 1959. Oil on canvas, 113 x 144 cm Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery, ΠΧΓ57
The cover of the first edition of “Mani” by John Craxton. Benaki Museum © Estate of John Craxton all rights reserved, DACS 2026.
Dedication by Paddy to Joan in a copy of his book, Kardamyli 1958. Benaki Museum / Donated by Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor
John Craxton, “Gorge”, 1960. Oil on canvas, 104.5 x 83.7 cm Rome, Private collection © Estate of John Craxton all rights reserved, DACS 2026.
Drawing by Paddy in a letter to Joan (in 1962), mapping the plot where the house was going to be built. Benaki Museum / Donated by Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor
The blessing ceremony at the start of the construction works of the house in Kardamyli, 1964. Benaki Museum / Donated by Olivia Stewart
Patrick Leigh Fermor next to the tent, Kardamyli 1964. Photograph by Joan Leigh Fermor Benaki Museum / Donated by Olivia Stewart ©Joan Leigh Fermor Estate
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, “Tents in Kardamyli”, 1965 Brown ink on paper, 24.6 x 32.5 cm Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery, ΠΧΓ5075
Patrick Leigh Fermor on the roof of the house during construction. Photograph by Joan Leigh Fermor From Olivia Stewart’s archive ©Joan Leigh Fermor Estate
Τhe house in Kardamyli during construction. Photograph by Joan Leigh Fermor. From Olivia Stewart’s archive ©Joan Leigh Fermor Estate
Patrick Leigh Fermor with the workmen during the construction of the house. Photograph by Joan Leigh Fermor From Olivia Stewart’s archive ©Joan Leigh Fermor Estate
Leigh Fermor’s sketch for the shutters at the Kardamyli house, 1965. After: A. Sisman (ed.), “More Dashing: Further Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor” (London: Bloomsbury Publishing 2019) 212.
Paddy and Joan at the house in Kardamyli. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika drawing in the niche at the house, 1970. Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery, Photographic Archive
Table painted by Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, Kardamyli, 1989. Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery Donated by Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor
Τhe Leigh Fermors with Nikos and Barbara Ghika at the courtyard of the house, 1967. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Patrick Leigh Fermor at the house in Kardamyli. Benaki Museum / Ghika Gallery, Photographic Archive
Sketch by Leigh Fermor of the south view of the Kardamyli house, 1966. After: A. Sisman (ed.), “Dashing for the Post: The Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor” (London: John Murray 2016) 249.
Leigh Fermor at the village of Petrovouni, above Kardamyli. Photograph by Olivia Stewart. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Joan at the hayiati in Kardamyli, 2002. Photograph by Olivia Stewart. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Οne of Joan’s many cats, Kardamyli. From Olivia Stewart’s archive
Bust of Patrick Leigh Fermor by the sculptor Praxitelis Tzanoulinos, 2019. Bronze, 48 x 34 cm Leigh Fermor House Photograph by Vassilis Paschalis Benaki Museum
George Seferis at the house in Kardamyli. Photograph by Joan Leigh Fermor From Olivia Stewart’s Archive ©Joan Leigh Fermor Estate
John Betjeman, “A Few Late Chrysanthemums” (London: John Murray 1954). Copy from the library of the house in Kardamyli with a handwritten inscription by the writer, September 1969. Benaki Museum / Library
George Seferis, «Ποιήματα» (Athens: Ikaros 1964). Copy from the Library of the house in Kardamyli with a handwritten inscription by the poet. Benaki Museum / Library
Freya Stark, “Beyond Euphrates. Autobiography 1928-1933” (London: John Murray 1951). Copy from the library of the house in Kardamyli with a handwritten inscription by the writer. Benaki Museum / Library
Antonis Benakis at the entrance of the Museum on 1 Koumbari street in Athens. Benaki Museum
Τhe Benaki Museum in the 1930s. Benaki Museum / Photographic Archive
Τhe studio, Leigh Fermor’s personal workspace in Kardamyli, 2011. Photograph by Ioanna Moraiti Βenaki Museum
Τhe studio, Leigh Fermor’s personal workspace in Kardamyli, 2019. Photograph by aRchive
Μr George Agouridis, member of the Board of Directors of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and senior legal counsellor, Mrs Irini Geroulanou, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Benaki Museum and Mr Dimitris Giannimaras, former Mayor of Western Mani, 2019. Photograph by aRchive
The first issue of the @Leigh Fermor House series is dedicated to “Walking”, the subject of a workshop organized by The Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative (SNFPHI) and the Benaki Museum.
Discussion on “The Man and the House” between Artemis Cooper, author and biographer of Leigh Fermor, and Mark Mazower, SNF Director of the Institute for Ideas & Imagination, held at the House
Sir Roderick Beaton, honorary guest at the Leigh Fermor House, May 2022 Photograph by Vassilis Paschalis, Benaki Museum
Educational programme at the Leigh Fermor House for people with low vision or blindness organized by the Benaki Museum Department of Education, May 2022. Photograph by Vassilis Paschalis, Benaki Museum
Notes
1Patrick Leigh Fermor, “Mani Travels in the Southern Peloponnese” (London: John Murray Publishers 2004) ix-x.
2Patrick Leigh Fermor, “A Time of Gifts” (London: John Murray Publishers 2013) 3.
3Patrick Leigh Fermor, “A Time of Gifts” (London: John Murray Publishers 2013) 17-18.
4Regarding Leigh Fermor’s actions of contribution to the Resistance in Crete, see: Tasos Sakellaropoulos, Paddy, Michalis, Filedem; Yannis Skalidakis, Patrick Leigh Fermor in Crete under German occupation; and Chris White, Patrick Leigh Fermor in Crete: Myths, Realities and Surprises, in: “PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR. The Journey Continues” (= 9th Supplement to the journal “MOUSEIO BENAKI”, 2017) 85-98, 99-106 & 107-117 respectively.
5The account of the kidnapping operation, along with excerpts from his military reports from Crete will be published, following Leigh Fermor’s death, in his book “Abducting A General – The Kreipe Operation and SOE in Crete” (London: John Murray 2014).
6From a letter by Billy Stanley Moss to Paddy, who hadn’t yet met Joan, dated 5/12/1944, in: Artemis Cooper, “Patrick Leigh Fermor An Adventure” (London: John Murray, 2013) 200.
7Two monographs presenting Joan’s photography are the following: Olivia Stewart – Ian Collins, “Τhe Photographs of Joan Leigh Fermor. Artist and Lover” (London: Haus Publishing 2018); and Olivia Stewart, “Τhe Outward Gaze, The Photographs of Joan Leigh Fermor” (Bridgwater: Class Professional Publishing 2024).
8This journey is the source of inspiration for the first book by Leigh Fermor, “The Traveller’s Tree: A Journey through the Caribbean Islands” (London: John Murray Publishers 1950); and for the one and only novel Paddy wrote “The Violins of Saint-Jacques” (London: John Murray Publishers 1953).
9The experience of his stay in the monasteries in Normandy and Cappadocia are described in his book “A Time to Keep Silence” (London: John Murray Publishers 1953).
10The friendship of the three is described in the book: Evita Arapoglou (ed.), “GHIKAS – CRAXTON – LEIGH FERMOR, Charmed Lives in Greece” (texts by Evita Arapoglou, Ian Collins, Michael Llewellyn-Smith & Ioanna Moraiti, Nicosia: A.G. Leventis Gallery 2017). John Craxton (1922-2009) illustrated the covers for the first editions of Leigh Fermor’s books.
11Of great interest is the correspondence between the Nobel Prize winner poet George Seferis (1900-1971) and the Leigh Fermors: F.A. Dimitrakopoulos - V.D. Lambropoulou (eds), “George Seferis, P.L. Fermor & J. Rayner. Correspondence (1948-1971)” (Nicosia: Centre for Scientific Research 2007). For the friendship of Leigh Fermor with Seferis, see: Dimitris Daskalopoulos, Patrick Leigh Fermor and George Seferis: portrait of a friendship, in: “PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR. The Journey Continues” (= 9th Supplement to the journal “MOUSEIO BENAKI”, 2017) 149-157.
12The politician and former prime minister of Greece Tzannis Tzannetakis (1927-2010), due to his close friendship with Leigh Fermor, translated the book “Mani” in Greek, while being in exile on the island of Kythira by the dictatorship during the period 1969-1971. In the introduction to the book Tzannetakis writes: “Within this environment and under the imaginary shadow of the Taygetos mountain, I felt the duty to offer something to my homeland. So I began translating the ‘Mani’ by Patrick Leigh Fermor”.
13 Evita Arapoglou (ed.), “GHIKAS – CRAXTON – LEIGH FERMOR, Charmed Lives in Greece” (texts by Evita Arapoglou, Ian Collins, Michael Llewellyn-Smith & Ioanna Moraiti, Nicosia: A.G. Leventis Gallery 2017) 54.
14All of Leigh Fermor’s books were published by the historic publishing house John Murray in London (founded in 1768), who had also published books by great names such as Jane Austen, Walter Scott, Lord Byron and Charles Darwin amongst others.
15Hara Kiosse, The Writer’s Home, in: “PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR. The Journey Continues” (= 9th Supplement of the journal “MOUSEIO BENAKI”, 2017) 229-230.
16Patrick Leigh Fermor, Travel, in the journal published in Athens by the Gennadius Library “The New Griffon” 6 (2003) 23.
17Patrick Leigh Fermor, Greece, in: Alvilde Lees-Milne (ed.), “The Englishman’s Room” (London: Viking 1986) 92.
18From a letter to Ann Fleming dated November 1966, in: Adam Sisman (ed.), “Dashing for the Post. The Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor” (London: John Murray Publishers 2017) 249.
19From a letter to Balasha Cantacuzène dated July 1966, in: Adam Sisman (ed.), “Dashing for the Post. The Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor” (London: John Murray Publishers 2017) 241.
20Ιoanna Providi, Patrick Leigh Fermor and Nikos Hatzikyriakos-Ghika: their Greek and philhellenic circle, in: “PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR. The Journey Continues” (= 9th Supplement of the journal “MOUSEIO BENAKI”, 2017) 138.
21 Patrick Leigh Fermor, Greece, in: Alvilde Lees-Milne (ed.), “The Englishman’s Room” (London: Viking 1986) 92, 95.
22 Patrick Leigh Fermor, “The Broken Road. From the Iron Gates to Mount Athos” (edited by Colin Thubron – Artemis Cooper, London: John Murray 2014) 154.
23 His impressions from the trip are published in: “Three Letters from the Andes” (London: John Murray Publishers 1991).
24 Joan’s family house in Dumbleton, Worcestershire.
25From Paddy’s letter to Billa Harrod, Kardamyli 2004, in: Olivia Stewart – Ian Collins, “Τhe Photographs of Joan Leigh Fermor. Artist and Lover” (London: Haus Publishing 2018) 272-273.
26Artemis Cooper, “Patrick Leigh Fermor An Adventure” (London: John Murray 2013) 389.
27Platon Mavromoustakos, Re-unpacking the Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor Library, in: “PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR. The Journey Continues” (= 9th Supplement of the journal “MOUSEIO BENAKI”, 2017) 247.
28Patrick Leigh Fermor, Travel, in the journal published in Athens by the Gennadius Library “The New Griffon” 6 (2003) 19.
29From a letter to Deborah Devonshire dated 1st May 1996, in: Charlotte Mosley (ed.), “In Tearing Haste Letters between Deborah Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor” (London: John Murray Publishers 2008) 308.