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!
