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Tea with Samuel Johnson


War-time tea with the Curator in the Parlour at Dr Johnson's House

Thursday 29 January 2026

10am - 11am

£15 / 2 for £26


Join our Curator for a warming cup of Samuel Johnson's favourite tipple in the beautiful surroundings of his 18th-century Withdrawing Room





  • Enjoy an exclusive visit with tea, coffee and pastries before we open to the public.


  • Hear all about the real Samuel Johnson: a self-confessed 'hardened and shameless tea-drinker', and towering figure of 18th-century literary England who penned his first poem at the tender age of 3.


Ticket includes tea, coffee and pastries, plus Curator's talk.

You are welcome to stay as long as you wish and continue to browse the House and Gift Shop when we open to the public at 11am.


'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life...'

Like many Londoners today, Johnson was not from London. The son of a bookseller in Lichfield in Staffordshire, Johnson walked to the capital in 1737 seeking fame and fortune. He never left. While fortune evaded him, Dr Johnson rose to become one of the greatest literary figures of the 18th century and wrote his famous Dictionary of the English Language in this house in 1755.


'Dictionary Johnson' as he became known, was also renowned for his wit (as a quick thumb through his Dictionary reveals!), and for his compassionate and enlightened views on issues such as slavery on which he stated that 'no man can be the property of another'.


Explore an original 1690s townhouse

Dr Johnson's House is the only original historic townhouse still standing in Gough Square, having survived the Blitz when it was still the tallest building in the area. Built in the 1690s, shortly after the Great Fire of London, the four-storey House retains many of its period features, including a very quirky anti-burglary device! 


You are welcome to:

  • browse all the rooms

  • see the quirky cellarette cupboard where luxuries like tea were locked away

  • peek into clever cabinets set in wooden panelling

  • sit down on the chairs, rest your feet and enjoy a chat

  • cosy up in a window seat and soak up the atmosphere!


Tea cups


Rowlandson illustration of Johnson and Boswell drinking tea

Engraved silver teapot, 1941 On loan from the Gathergood family

View from the top of the staircase at Dr Johnson's House

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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