Deep in the heart of London on Doughty Street
lived the most celebrated victorian writer. Oliver Twist and Pickwick Papers
were written right here on this street. Let's go and visit Charles Dickens home.
We enter the museum at 49 Doughty Street, next door to Dickens actual home. This cleverly
allows for the shop and cafe to leave his actual property undisturbed from modern distractions.
It is a typical Georgian terraced house which was his home from the 25th of March
1837, a year after his marriage to Catherine, until December 1839 so less than three years.
We visited in December and the whole property had just been dressed for a
wonderful victorian christmas. Let's move room by room starting in the basement.
The kitchen would have been Catherine's domain. An accomplished cook and housekeeper
she published a book of recipes in 1851 entitled "What shall we have for dinner".
That gives us insight into the sort of food the Dickens would have eaten
featuring things like, lobster cutlets, rabbit curry, rice dumplings and mashed and brown
potatoes. They also loved cheese and many of the recipes featured that ingredient. December
would have seen a hive of activity in the kitchen with food that we would now class as traditional
christmas fair like, turkey, plum pudding and mince pies actually being eaten all year round.
A hedgehog might well have been seen in the kitchen to eat insects that were
constantly attacking the food. Hygiene was very important to the victorians.
By the time Charles and Catherine left Doughty Street they had three children
under the age of three and employed four servants.
The preparation room as its name suggests was for preparing food and storing dry goods
as well as a place to store domestic items like candles. This property did not have gas lighting
so they would have relied on the oil lamps and candles.
The room is dressed to show some of the wonderful treats puddings and jellies
that would have been created here ready to head up to the dining room.
Through the window you catch a glimpse of the wine cellar that Charles used to lavish fine
wines on his guests but more importantly it was a cool, dark place to store his rare madeira wines.
The tiny wash house is where clothes were washed and water was heated for the house.
The brick copper in the corner had a copper bowl and a wooden lid heated with coals underneath.
Interestingly dickens mentions a copper in a christmas carol where the cratchit family
boiled their christmas pudding.
Heading up to the ground floor we arrive at the front door and the
grand hallway that Dickens once walked. The museum holds a large collection of personal belongings,
portraits and original manuscripts. You can see some of these on the hallway walls and
in the corridor. Here we see a cane, a bag, a money purse amongst other things. The eight-day
chiming clock made by London clockmaker John Bennett is still in working order today.
Just off the hallway is the lavish dining room dressed today for christmas day.
Charles was only 25 when he moved into the house, his fortunes changed from his early
life and becoming a literary sensation this dining room would have been an ideal place
for intimate social occasions to wine and dine journalists, authors and many leading artists.
Catherine would have been a busy glamorous host, juggling family life with the fame her
husband had gained. They rented the property for 80 pounds a year on a three-year lease.
Moving into the morning room, this would have been used mainly for Catherine and the children.
She would deal with household matters, spend time with the children, welcome visitors or
write a letter. Charles travelled all the time and so Catherine would write to him.
Many of the letters give us a sense of how happy they were in their early days. Of course we know
that they ultimately separate in 1858. There are young portraits of the couple in this room.
You can also see some personal items of Catherine's including a copy of her recipe book.
The elegant staircase takes us up from the hallway to the first floor.
The phrase "deck the halls", meaning to decorate for christmas has been put into practice in the
house and here on the banisters they are dressed in holly, ivy and bows. Victorians would often
collect greenery to make garlands, centerpieces and door wreaths for the festive period.
On this floor we have the drawing room and study and here you can cross over back into
49 Doughty Street to see an exhibition called technicolor Dickens a new addition to mark the
150th anniversary of his passing, including some new colorized portraits. The exhibition shows how
images of dickens were consumed and circulated throughout his life and following his death
as well as clothing, personal items and descriptions of those who knew and saw him.
After dinner guests would retire to the drawing room for drinks and entertainment.
Dancing, music, amateur dramatics and parlor games were popular pastimes for the Dickens.
The christmas tree is set in this room, decorated in hand-crafted wooden decorations
and presents neatly wrapped under the tree ready for the big day.
The original reading desk that Dickens used when delivering his public readings can be viewed in
this room. He designed it himself and even took it on tour with him to America in 1867.
The study is probably the most important room in the house.
Right here in this room Dickens completed Pickwick Papers, wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby.
Filled with a vast collection of books many now showcasing his life's work.
Charles had a strict routine writing from breakfast till lunch
and then he might visit his club or work on one of his charitable ventures or even take a long walk.
The desk and chair are from a later property he owned and was purchased into the collection
from a private owner in 2015. Writing on this desk Charles wrote much of his later works,
Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and his final unfinished work The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Moving to the second floor, and apologies for the poor light
but all around the house the lighting is dimmed to reduce the risk of uv damage.
We arrive at a small dressing room used by Charles to wash,
shave and dress himself. He always dressed well and commented on how you feel better if you do so.
The court suit is the only surviving example of Dickens clothing
and he only wore it the once for a special occasion hosted by Edward Prince of Wales.
The Dickens bedroom is dominated by the grand four-poster bed. Catherine gave birth to Mary and
Katy in Doughty Street. They would ultimately have 10 children by the time they separated in 1858.
On the vanity desk are artifacts relating to the separation and a serpent ring owned by Catherine.
There is a large mirror in the room, Dickens was well known for impersonating his fictional
characters to get to know them better. He may well have done so in front of this very one.
The Dickens experienced a tragic event in the Mary Hogarth room.
Mary was Catherine's sister and lived with them for a year. After a trip to
the theater Mary returned home, collapsed and died of heart failure at the age of 17.
This shocked the household and affected Charles for the rest of his life. As a result of
Hogarth's death Charles missed the publication dates for Pickwick Papers and Oliver Twist.
Also in this room is an open draw relating to the death of Charles
this includes a copy of his unfinished work as mentioned earlier,
the remains of a rose that was placed on his grave and a lock of hair.
Moving on from this sad room we climbed the last flight of stairs
to arrive in the nursery and servants quarters.
The children slept and played in this room. Charles was an affectionate father and spent
as much time as he could with them when not travelling. He had fun nicknames for each of them.
Part of the nursery is taken up with artifacts from Charles difficult early life.
His father was sent to prison for debt in 1824 and Charles at the age of 12 was forced
to work in Warren's blackening factory. He pasted labels and tops on bottles.
The servant's quarter was a basic but spacious room and the housemaid would have slept here.
The walls are littered with quotes from Dickens campaign for the working class.
Ccharles Dickens died at the age of 58 on the 9th of June 1870 having suffered ill health for
many years. He is buried in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey.
If you would like to visit 48 Doughty Street then visit this website for further details and booking information. That's
it from Charles Dickens home, we hope you enjoyed the video. We've got lots more on our channel you
may also like our Blists Hill Victorian Town video that you can see. Please remember to
subscribe and we hope to see you next time on the Memoryseekers. Until next time, happy travels!