Dr Johnson's House

A beautiful 18th century private house, now entirely surrounded by commercial premises and offices, stands behind Fleet Street and away from the main stream of bustling London tourists. It was from this inconspicuous residence that Dr Samuel Johnson founded and wrote articles for 'The Rambler', and later compiled the first comprehensive English dictionary, which was published in 1755.

Settling in the City from the age of 27, Samuel Johnson lived at some 17 different addresses in London throughout his lifetime, but this house in Gough Square is the only one still in existence today. Attracted by its proximity to the printers he used, Dr Johnson and his wife rented the house in 1749 and he remained there for the next 10 years. As the son of a Staffordshire bookseller, Samuel Johnson was never a wealthy man and, despite working long and hard on his dictionary and other literary works, there never seemed to be sufficient money available. During the three years it took to produce the dictionary in the garret, Johnson employed six clerks to stand writing at a long desk. Three years after publication of his great work, Johnson was offered a handsome pension by King George III and this enabled him to live the rest of his life in relative comfort.

When Samuel Johnson left the house in 1759 it continued to be occupied but seemingly not maintained to any standard because when it came on the market in 1911 it was in an advanced state of dereliction. With sympathetic restoration and necessary repairs, the house is now considered to be a close representation of the period when Dr Johnson was living there. With a large basement kitchen, a dining room and a parlour on the ground floor, two rooms on the first floor which could open up to provide one large space, and a further three rooms (including the garret) at the top of the house, it was indeed the house of a gentleman in the mid 18th century. The garret has subsequently received extensive restoration due to it being severely damaged in the 1941/42 air raids over London.

There are numerous paintings in every room of the house, each one having a personal association to Dr Johnson, and through these it is possible to build up a picture of this generous man who was a brilliant scholar, lexicographer, and master of the literary circle of his time. What might initially seem a rather dull and ordinary house from the exterior, turns out to be a fascinating insight into the life and times of a well respected, and well connected extraordinary man.