DB Lenck's Mutinous Musings: Dreams of Times Past: The Magic of Dennis Severs House

Last Friday I finally fulfilled a long-held ambition and went to see Dennis Severs House in Spitalsfield in London. If I had known quite how magical and compelling it is I would have gone much earlier!

I had first read about 18 Folgate Street in a period house magazine more than fifteen years ago. Dennis Severs was still alive then. But in those days I was poor and couldn’t really afford anything. But now I am much richer, and shelling out £17.50 for an hour in the magical kingdom of the make belief that is Dennis Severs House is not beyond my means anymore.

Having determined that this Christmas Season was going to be my best ever, I had scheduled all sorts of special presents and experiences for myself this year, and when my dentist confirmed that Friday would be a good time to investigate my dentures I bethought myself what else I might do to make this day a successful one.

I googled for unusual museums in London, and up came Dennis Severs House. I immediately remembered it and decided on the spur of the moment to book two places for the special Christmas visit. I gave R first refusal, because she has been much abused by fate recently and needed a special treat.

After coffee & gossip at the Club we walked along the Embankment from Pall Mall to the City. It was a glorious evening which we much appreciated after a day of heavy rain. I took all sorts of photos, which mainly turned out very badly, which is just as well, since this post is about 18 Folgate Street and nothing else.

Since photography is not allowed, I asked whether the Spitalsfield Trust who runs Dennis Severs House would send me some photos, which they very graciously did. As you can see, they are absolutely stunning, much better than anything I myself could have done, and I cannot thank them enough for their generosity.

I am determined to motivate every single one of my readers to come and visit 18 Folgate Street and see for themselves just how amazing it is. To this end I have posted links not only to the Dennis Severs House website, but also to various Youtube clips about the house and its creator at the bottom of this post. I have not been this excited about anything since I went to the spider-silk exhibition!

Mind you, the house cast an influence over me which is not entirely positive – I have unearthed several items from the attic which I had decluttered previously, and bought three pairs of candlesticks since Friday. Now I spend the last hour of the evening in my dining room, which is the most Victorian of my rooms, with all the lights turned off and all the candles lit, listening to the ticking of my grandfather clock and enjoying a contemplative silence. Weird, if you ask me!

Back to 18 Folgate Street. I am not going to explain all the background, that is covered by the Youtube clips if you are interested, and I see no point in regurgitating facts which others have explained so much better than I ever could. Let me just quickly give you the basics.

Dennis Severs was an American who bought an 18^th century house in Spitalsfield. He restored and renovated it, such that every room became an homage to a different period between the early 18^th and early 20^th century. He invented a family who lived in the house through the centuries, and created the house around this literary device. The family is present in every room, which looks as though the inhabitants have just stepped out for a while.

This is not a museum! It is an evocation of past times, a dream of previous centuries. It endeavours to give a flavour of what the past was like, not an exact replication of it. There are all sorts of inaccuracies, but that is not the point – the overall impression, and the feelings it evokes, is the point. It is a piece of performance art, a theatre of the past which you can step straight into.

Imagine an alien from outer space visiting earth and asking why human beings keep cats as pets. Showing the alien the skeleton of a cat, or an imprint of a paw, isn’t going to be helpful. But thrusting a furry toy into the alien’s arms and letting him cuddle it might do the trick!

That’s what 18 Folgate Street does. It allows you to step into earlier times and see, hear, smell, feel, what the people who used to live there might have seen, heard, smelled, and felt. It is a dream of times past, and I for one am hooked!

And I am so glad that I went in the Christmas season, because the whole house was decked out in festive finery, each room in the spirit of the time it evokes. I went through the house as in a dream, and left completely spellbound. So did R, incidentally!