Useful things to know before your visit
Address: Dr. Johnson’s House, 17 Gough Square (off Fleet Street), The City EC4A 3DE. Telephone: 0207 353 3745. Website: drjohnsonshouse.org
How much do the tickets cost?
You can buy adults tickets from £10, and children (5-16 years) from £5. Infants under-5 are free. Family rates are available from £15 (1ad+up to 3ch, late Jul-Aug only).
What are the opening hours?
Opening times are 10am to 5pm (Tue-Sat); 12 noon to 4pm (Sun). Last entry is 30 minutes before closing time.
How much time do you need?
A typical visit to Dr. Johnson’s House takes 45 to 60 minutes.
Which buses go to Dr. Johnson’s House?
Bus routes 8, 11, 15, 17, 23, 25, 26, 45, 46, 76, 242 and 341 all stop close by.
Which is the closest train station?
The nearest station is Temple, which connects with the Circle and District lines. You can walk the ⅖ mile to Dr. Johnson’s House in about 8 minutes.
Which other attractions are nearby?
These attractions are all within 15 minutes walk of Dr. Johnson’s House: Temple Church, Temple Bar, Lincoln’s Inn, Staple Inn, Royal Courts of Justice, Hunterian Museum, London Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Postman’s Park, St. Bartholomew-the-Great, Sir John Soane’s Museum, One New Change and Courtauld Gallery.
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Email My review of Dr. Johnson’s House
If you flick through a few London guidebooks then it won’t be too long before you come across the phrase “when a man is tired of London he is tired of life”. It’s the go-to quote when you’re writing about our city. And the guy who wrote that line used to live here.
Samuel Johnson was a famous writer and wit who wrote an English dictionary. Everybody seems to believe that it was the first dictionary, but he was actually beaten to that by a Frenchman. And that’s pretty much everything that we remember him for: that opening quote plus the world’s first (but not actually the first) dictionary. And this house. And the cat statue out the front.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub
Photo: londondrum.comYou’ll find his house tucked away in a little courtyard behind Fleet Street. What you need to do is find his local pub, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (which is still standing), and then head down the side of that dark and dingy alley. The great man used to come down here himself (or stagger down here) and have a few beers before heading home. All of the best writers had a pub on their doorstep. Many did their best thinking when they were drunk. I wonder how much of his wisdom and wit was written three sheets to the wind in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese? In my experience you either do your best work when you’re drunk, or your worst. The trick is knowing which is which. Samuel Johnson was lucky because he had James Boswell to filter out all the drunken banter from the good stuff.
Photo: londondrum.com
Photo: londondrum.comI definitely recommend having a quick look inside the pub because you can sit where he sat, and bang your head on the same low oak beam. I have smacked my head against that oak beam a couple of times and trust me: it hurts! Go inside and have a nose around and you’ll see what I mean. I managed to smack my head on it when I was stone-cold sober, so Lord knows how many drunks have done it.
The actual house looks quite interesting from the outside but it’s rather dry and quiet once you step through the door because there’s not enough stuff inside it. They need to bring the house alive a bit and pipe in some Georgian music, have some waxwork models sitting in the seats playing cards, gossiping, writing their letters… let’s see how Georgian society actually lived! Unfortunately none of his original furniture has survived and they’ve been too coy about what they’ve allowed in so it’s all brown walls and floorboards, and gloomy-looking portraits of people you don’t recognise.
Photo: londondrum.com
Photo: londondrum.comSamuel Johnson’s English dictionary
They’ve placed a few cabinets of curiosities in the rooms with some old yellowing letters and old editions of his books. They’ve got a copy of his big dictionary on show as well, but everything else is locked away inside a couple of cream-coloured bookcases to keep them safe. You can peer at their spines through the glass if you want to.
Upstairs is a little museum of wartime photos showing how Hitler remodelled the roof, but if you’re expecting to see a Samuel Johnson museum then you’re going to go home disappointed, because you’re really here to see the house.
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Niamh Whats the nearest tube to Dr. johnsons house. (reply)
↳Craig Hi Niamh. Blackfriars might be a tiny bit closer, but it’s a nicer walk if you get off at Temple and then head up Arundel Street and then turn right down Fleet Street, because you’ll pass the Royal Courts of Justice and Temple Bar. You could even pop in to see Temple Church along the way. (reply)
mack "If a man is tired of London then he is tired of life" – a fitting phrase to describe this house. I find it so interesting to explore the back alleys of London because every now and then you’ll stumble across a hidden treasure like this. (reply)
EuniceP I absolutely love how Dr. Johnson’s House is tucked away through an alley and you feel as if you are exploring a hidden part of London. If you enjoy this period of history then it is a wonderful place to visit. (reply)
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