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Museum Lates at Dr Johnson's House

Updated: 2 days ago


Christmas wreath with red baubles on a dark door with knocker.

Thursday 23 October

5.30pm - 7pm

£14 / 2 For £20


Step back in time to 1700s London with an evening visit to one of London’s best-kept secrets! Enjoy a glass of fizz and explore the enchanting historic home of Dr Samuel Johnson, who famously said,'...when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life'.





Highlight Talk: 6pm

Like many Londoners today, Samuel Johnson was not from London. Hear how in 1737 Johnson and his young friend David Garrick walked to London seeking fame and fortune. Garrick found both by becoming the greatest actor of the age. While fortune evaded Johnson, he rose to become one of England's greatest writers.


Drop by the Withdrawing Room at 6pm to hear more! (The talk is 10-15 minutes duration)


Experience a 1690s London townhouse

A stone’s throw from St Paul’s and St Bride’s in the City of London, Dr Johnson's House is one of London’s best-kept secrets. Built in the 1690s, soon after the Great Fire of London, the five-storey house at 17 Gough Square has survived many near misses over the last 300+ years (not least the Blitz!).


The house retains many original features, including a very quirky anti-burglary device. You can browse all the rooms in what was still the tallest building in the area during WWII.


  • Grab a glass and explore the rooms from Parlour & Withdrawing Room, to Library & Garret  

  • Cosy up in a window seat and soak up the atmosphere 

  • See where Johnson created his great Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 

  • Look up lost words like hotcockles, jiggumbob, and twittletwattle 

  • Try writing with a quill & ink! 

  • Browse the Gift Shop 


Come along, walk through the gate, up the steps, open the door and prepare to be enchanted!


Doors open at 5.30pm. Drop off your coat or bag, grab a glass and explore the House!

There is no specific start time, but the Highlight Talk is at 6pm (for 10-15 minutes).

You are welcome to arrive and depart as you like between 5.30pm - 7pm.


Candlelight and glassed of prosecco on the table in Dr Johnson's withdrawing room. Museum Lates.


Accessibility

There is regrettably no step-free access to Dr Johnson's House.

There are seven steps to access the entrance (with a handrail).

The building is a four-storey townhouse with a staircase between each floor.

There are handrails on each side of the staircase and visitor seating in every room.

Toilets are located down a steep set of stairs.



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