Hidden in the back alleys off Fleet Street and Fetter Lane is the house of Dr Samuel Johnson whose most important work is his dictionary commissioned by a syndicate of booksellers in 1746. There are copies for you to peruse in one of the rooms. His most famous saying is:
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life….
The house has a quiet disposition but one can imagine the sound of horse and carriage moving through the square. In fact we heard horses hooves and moved to the window only to observe two police horses clip clopping across the cobbles!
The rooms are sparsely furnished but with plenty of information and a chance to sit at a table to read the information sheets and take in the atmosphere. I never realised how much this man wrote…a man who could write a novel in a week! He was friends with David Garrick of the Garrick Theatre and there is a trunk in the withdrawing room containing some theatre costumes from the Garrick.
On the first floor containing the Withdrawing Room is a unique moving partition wall and doors.
Samuel Johnson married a widow with children but does not appear to have had any children of his own. He was born in Lichfield in 1709. His father was a bookseller who seemed to be incompetent with money. Unable to stay at Oxford University for more than a year Johnson headed to London with his wife where he worked as a freelance journalist. Johnson was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree before his dictionary was published. Sadly his wife died in 1752 before the book was published.
Johnson wrote essays, poems and biographies as well as plays.
The house is owned by National Trust, so free to members, and £7 for everyone else (there are concessions for students). Nearest tube station is Temple.
After leaving the house there was time for a short wander nearby. We found a little church tucked away behind all the new buildings near St Paul’s and One New Change. The church, St Vedast-Alias-Foster, is small but beautiful inside. Sir John Betjeman (former Poet Laureate) was part of the Parochial Church Council. I was fascinated by the sermon timer. I’ve never seen one before. There is enough sand in there for an hour! To the side of the church is a small and peaceful courtyard. Finding this church was just by chance, but what a lovely find. The church on Foster Lane, off Cheapside.
My London+ 