3 London Museums in a Day: Handel, Dickens and Freud
Georg Frederic Handel, Charles Dickens and Sigmund Freud all lived the last decades of their lives in London, but like many people who make their homes in London, they were weren’t born there.
As an Australian, I know that many of my talented and brilliant compatriots—creators and academics, business people – have flocked to London over the years. They go to further their careers and soak up the cultural atmosphere and opportunities that still don’t exist in Australia. But it is not only recent times that have seen an influx of the talented (and not so talented). London has been a draw card for centuries, and here I’m going to present three European cultural influencers from the past, all from different centuries. And there’s even an extra one from closer to the present. You can explore all 3 (or 4) of their London homes in a day.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is a beacon of 19th Century English Literature. Of the people I’ll write about here, he is the one who came from the closest to London, He was born in Portsmouth. Dickens wrote about the inequalities of Victorian Britain—mostly London—and used odd and quirky characters with odd and quirky names (Mr. Bumble, Uriah Heep, Tiny Tim). He knew a lot of about the inequalities of the time, having moved to a debtors prison with his father, who had fallen into debt.
He escaped from debt and poverty by writing. Most of his books are long and drawn out, with many twists and turns, as he originally wrote them as instalment stories for newspapers. The longer he could keep them going, the longer he got paid!
The house is full of paintings and drawings of Dickens and his family. You’ll find utensils and furniture – many of which are originals of the time and belonged to Dickens. There are volunteers on every story of the house, only too willing to impart their vast knowledge and enthusiasm for Dickens’ life and work.
His house- museum is a multistory terrace house very close to the University of London, in Bloomsbury.
Address: 48 Doughty Street, WC1N 2LX.
£12.50 for adults, £7.50 for children with other concessions available. (as at July 2024) Check the Dickens Museum website for current prices and opening hours.
You can walk to it from Russel Square or Kings Cross tube stations.
There is a very pleasant cafe in the garden on the ground floor.
Sigmund Freud
The Sigmund Freud museum is a fascinating place a little further out of the centre of London, in Hamstead. Freud is world famous as the father of modern psychoanalysis. He did most of his work in his home city of Vienna, Austria in the early 20th century. However, pressure from the Nazis in the 1930s made it impossible for him to stay. The Nazi authorities, gave him a special permit to move to the UK.
His beautiful house in Hamstead is full of ancient Egyptian artifacts and oriental rugs. You can see original handwritten documents and original furniture, including his office and the famous, original psychoanalyses coach, which actually doesn’t look all that comfortable!
You can reach the museum on the Metropolitan or Jubilee underground lines. The Metropolitan is the quickest if you’re from one of the stations on the line (e.g. Kings Cross or Baker Street), as it cuts out many of the stops of the Jubilee Line. Get off at Finchley Road tube station and the way to the museum has plenty of signage.
Address: 20 Maresfield Gardens, London.
Visit the Freud Museum website for current prices and opening times. .
George Frederic Handel
Unlike Dickens and Freud, Handel didn’t move to London due to hardship. He moved because he was the Kapellmeister of George, Elector of Hanover, who was later to become King George 1 of England. Handel was given 12 months leave by George (while still the elector) to travel to London, where Italian opera was big at the time. Handel’s opera, Rinaldo, had its first performance in London in 1711.
Handel’s house is a three-story house. It contains original furniture and instruments, such as harpsichords and spinets. Some of which were used by Handel and some of which were not. You can walk through the room where Handel did his composing and see some of his manuscripts. His four poster bed is conserved in its original place.
On the top floor of the building—which is included in the entry price for the Handel museum—is the flat that was lived in by 20th century rock guitarists, Jimi Hendrix! The whole top floor is devoted to Hendrix memorabilia, some original, and some reconstructed.
Address: 25 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 4HB
Admission: Adult – £14, Child under 16 – FREE
Check the HandelHendrix website for opening hours and current admission prices.
