We’ve already written about our recent trip to London and visit to Chelsea Physic Garden. Another day that still burns bright in the memory is our afternoon in Spitalfields and, in particular, the time we spent at Dennis Severs’ House.
Dennis Severs was an artist and he created this world at number 18 Folgate Street. It’s a very special place – and somewhere we’d strongly recommend if you’re planning a trip to London. Perhaps you even live there and have never visited.
Dennis Severs created the house and it’s quite hard to describe – part theatre, part gallery. He wasn’t keen on the museum tag, although there’s an abundance of wonderful historical objects. It feels alive – as if the people who lived there have just stepped out for a moment… and you’ve been left to wander around their home during their brief absence. Perhaps they’re even in another room or part of the house close by. You’re invited into ‘a game’ – you’ve briefly interrupted a family of Huguenot weavers and you’re piecing things together – who was just here, what were they doing, how do they live.
Californian, Dennis Severs recalled:
Down deep, I always believed that one day I would travel past picture frames and into the marinated glow of a warmer, more mellow and more romantic light. There was one such light in particular, one that I saw in the combination of old varnish and paint, and that appealed to me as my ideal. By the age of 11, it was identified as English.
There’s dust and dishes to be washed, half-finished food & drink, unmade beds, clothes hanging to dry, candles flickering and fires burning.
It’s an imagined place, the Huguenot family named Jervis and their lodgers – however, it’s based on historical realities.
With a candle, a chamber pot and a bedroll, I began sleeping in each of the house’s 10 rooms so that I might arouse my intuition in the quest for each room’s soul.
It’s a complex, multi-layered thing. Have a read of the official website for a deeper exploration and explanation of Dennis Severs’ thought process.
You’re asked to wander around the house in silence, no electric light, no phones, no cameras. It’s very much about the atmosphere contained within the house and spaces within. An experience of sight, sound and smell.
Some rooms or spaces are very humble indeed – others a little more opulent. There’s the kitchen, eating parlour, smoking rooms, work rooms, bedrooms and boudoirs. There are fabulous details everywhere you turn – still lives almost.
It’s only open twice a week, generally. About 8 visitors are welcomed in at a time. The plus side of this is that the rooms are never crowded with people. The downside is that you have to keep moving through the house steadily – otherwise the next 8 would never get in! You’re not rushed, but we would have loved to just sit in each room for half an hour or so, to soak it all in.
In fact, Justin for one, would happily live there for a few days. Our own home gets more and more like Dennis Severs’ House with each passing month!
The average visit lasts about 30-40 minutes and costs £10; it’s well worth it. There are special events to look out for too, especially at Christmastime where you can linger a little longer, sit in the rooms – and even have mulled wine & mince pies. It’s also available to hire as a film and photography location.
We hope to return very soon. Have a watch of the interview below with Dennis Severs from 1998, a couple of years before his untimely passing.
additional image credit
