Secret London: Why you should go and explore Dennis Severs' House

A guide to London's hidden highlights
Time capsule: Dennis Severs' House is an immersive dream for design lovers
Luke Abrahams7 September 2018

In an attempt to take you all out of your comfort zones, our Secret London series uncovers little-known locations in the city and beyond.

This week, we explore Dennis Severs' House, a beautiful imaginarium of mystery and quirkiness in the heart of Shoreditch.

A beautiful house in Shoreditch? Elaborate.

Well, it's more than just a beautiful house, you see. It's what museum types call a 'still-life drama', which was created by the building's previous owner Dennis Severs (an American artist and eccentric) as a historical reimagination of what life would have been like inside your typical east London home for a family of Huguenot silk weavers. In other words, it's a fancy time capsule in which all who visit are immersed and trapped in a unique form of pageantry and theatre, so Sever's once said, anyway.

Located in the historic backstreets of Spitalfields, the Grade II-listed Folgate Street townhouse has 10 rooms, each themed and decked out to represent snapshots of the area from 1724 to 1914. The tour begins at the cellar door, winds its way through the kitchen, dining room, smoking room and ends in some rather grand bedrooms. With hearth and candles burning and all sorts of authentic paraphernalia sprawled out in each, it genuinely feels like the home's inhabitants had been inside just moments before. The point of it all, so museum curators tell us.

If you're a little lost, just pick up an audio guide and you'll hear all about Severs' vision: 'I worked inside out to create what turned out to be a collection of atmospheres: moods that harbour the light and the spirit of various ages', which might account for the half-eaten bread, weird smells, and background sounds you'll come across in every part of the house. The place is basically an operatic feast for the senses.

Interesting. Tell us more.

Up until the 1960s, the East End of London was a little worse for wear. Run down, dilapidated and poverty-stricken, it was essentially the perfect place for a bunch of poor creatives to move into. And did they? Of course they did. Throughout the early and late 20th century, Boho visual artists from Gilbert & George to Severs managed to inject some much needed character into the area by refurbishing old townhouses into works of art with the kind of artistic character that Instagrammers dream of.

Design fanatics are in for a treat, too. Floral prints, intricately upholstered mahogany furnishings, Iznik pottery, damask notebooks, marble busts, paintings, fine china, vintage books and tapestries adorn the place in a blend of Georgian, Regency and Victorian eras. Extra brownie points if you manage to seek out the Will and Kate royal wedding commemorative mug. If you find it, tweet us @esgoingout!

Dennis Severs' House is at 18 Folgate St, London E1 6BX. For opening times and tickets, visit the Dennis Severs' House website. For more information on Dennis Severs at Town Hall Hotel, visit the hotel's event page

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