Dennis Severs' House

Where?
18 Folgate Street, Spitalfields

What?
This is definitely one of the strangest places I've been in London so far.

From the outside, 18 Folgate Street is pretty unassuming. My friend remarked that she had always thought it was a restaurant or something, but had never stopped to look in.

18 Folgate Street (there isn't normally a queue!)

A detail from the front door

Once you do get inside, however, there is far more to this terraced house than meets the eye.

The late Dennis Severs was the previous owner of this house, and he painstakingly transformed the entire place into a 'still-life drama'. I admit this sounds a little 'neither-here-nor-there', but it would be too easy to try to squash this into the box of 'art' or 'history'. It's more like a time capsule.

Unfortunately photography isn't allowed, but check out the house's website here for some more images.

(credit)

As you explore the house in silence, you are invited to imagine that the occupants (the Jervis family, who made their fortune as silk-weavers and, according to the story, occupied the house between 1725 and 1919) have only just left the rooms - hence the partially-drunk cups of tea and unmade beds. Think 'Marie Celeste'.

It would genuinely be possible to spend hours exploring all the nooks and crannies of the house and it's brought to life even more by the different smells that waft around the rooms. I really did find myself imagining I was in someone's home, though it felt like they were always lurking just upstairs or in the next room.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip round Dennis Severs' house. This rather bizarre and slightly eerie experience is a fantastic way to imagine how people lived in the past - I'd especially recommend a trip here for history lovers.

How much?
£10