Sir John Soane'S Museum

Join us for our next Late on 27 July - explore the Museum after hours and discover Soane's obsession with #Shakespeare https://shop.soane.org/…/soane-lates-a- mid-summer-s-soanean…

★★★★ "A key moment in British architecture" - The Times Discover one of British architecture's most radical moments in The Return of the Past: Postmodernism in British Architecture http://soane.org/Postmodernism

'The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name.' Soane loved a good #Shakespeare quote. Join us on 27 July for a Shakespearean #Late in the Museum shop.soane.org/pro…/soane-lates-a-mid-s ummer-s-soanean-dream #WisdomWednesday

#OnThisDay 1812 Sir John Soane commenced demolition of No.13, which would become his home and Museum. Here's the famous facade today.

Our new #Postmodernism exhibition situates exhibits throughout the Museum, creating a dialogue between the exhibits and Soane's interiors. Join Curator Owen Hopkins for a tour exploring this idiosyncratic curation https://www.soane.org/…/tours/curator-l ed-tour-return-past-1

Carl Laubin's painting of the Royal Opera House visualises a contemporary design through a historical, perspectival oil painting. See more of Laubin's work and Postmodernism in our exhibition https://www.soane.org/postmodernism

Every month we run a candlelit Late at the Soane. Explore the Museum in this month's event, which looks at Soane's fascination with Shakespeare https://shop.soane.org/…/soane-lates-a- mid-summer-s-soanean…

"Come, thou monarch of the vine, Plumpy Bacchus with pink eyne!" Join us for an evening of Shakespearean merriment at the Soane at our next Late: https://shop.soane.org/…/soane-lates-a- mid-summer-s-soanean…

Planning a day out in #London? The Soane makes it into the Evening Standard's top 12 weird and wonderful, alongside a number of other fantastic small Museums.
https://standard.co.uk/…/london-museums -the-weird-and-wonde…

"We shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us." - Winston Churchill #WisdomWednesday Pictured: the model room at Sir John Soane's Museum. Book a highlights tour https://shop.soane.org/products/soane-hig hlights-tour

Emily Allchurch's 'Grand Tour: Homage to Soane' reconstructs a Gandy painting of Soane's unbuilt works using photography. To 'photograph' these unbuilt designs, Allchurch stitched together similar elements from other classical buildings. Find out more: https://www.soane.org/…/emily-allchurch -visions-architectur…

This July we're holding a Shakespeare-themed, candle-lit Late and a host of talks and tours around our Postmodernism exhibition. Read on to find out more! https://www.soane.org/features/whats-july -highlights

Creepy medieval gargoyles in the Monk's Parlour - one of Soane's most imaginative spaces. Soane often told stories of a fictional monk, "Padre Giovanni", who lived in this space. Visit for free today!

"Out, out, brief candle!" Delve into the Soane for our next Friday #Late where we'll be exploring the Georgian obsession with #Shakespeare. Interact with Shakespearean actors and take part in poetry slams. shop.soane.org/pro…/soane-lates-a-mid-s ummer-s-soanean-dream

To mark our current exhibition, The Return of the Past: Postmodernism in British Architecture, the Soane Museum has invited architects Charles Holland, David Knight and Geoff Shearcroft to host a series of conversations which explore the legacy of postmodernism in contemporary architecture. 30 years on, how has Postmodernism shaped our cities, outraged our critics and influenced our relationship with our architectural past? Why do some practitioners reject the postmodern labe...l while others embrace embellishment and pastiche? In the second talk, David Knight interviews Job Floris.
Job Floris co-founded the Rotterdam-based studio Monadnock with Sandor Naus in 2006. Projects include Monadnock's viewing tower project developed for the municipality of Nieuw Bergen (NL), which was shortlisted for the 2017 Mies van der Rohe Award. Floris is post-graduate course leader at the Rotterdam’s Academie Van Bouwkunst, where he obtained his master’s degree. He has worked in various practises, including Christian Kieckens Architects in Aalst, Architectenbureau Poulissen & Partners in Antwerp and Rapp+Rapp, Netherlands. Floris publishes in various architecture and art magazines and has been editor of OASE Journal for Architecture since 2008.
David Knight is a designer, author and co-director, with Cristina Monteiro, of DK-CM, an architecture, planning and research studio based in London. He teaches MA Architecture at the Royal College of Art, running ADS2 with Diana Ibáñez López and Finn Williams, and is currently completing his PhD at the RCA, ‘Making Planning Popular’. He was formerly a Lecturer at Kingston University School of Architecture and Landscape, Senior Lecturer at the University of East London and a Project Co-ordinator at General Public Agency. DK-CM’s work, chiefly in the public sector, has been published and exhibited internationally and in 2016 the practice’s work in the London suburb of Barkingside won a Special Mention in the 2016 European Prize for Urban Public Space.
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One month from now: our next #SoaneLate. Experience an immersive Shakespearean evening in the atmospheric, candle-lit surrounds of Sir John Soane’s Museum. https://shop.soane.org/…/soane-lates-a- mid-summer-s-soanean…

The Picture Room is one of the Museum's most spectacular rooms. This summer, we've added a new work to its walls. Senior Curator Owen Hopkins reveals the work and why it's here https://soane.org/features/new-addition-p icture-room

On 27 July, join our Senior Curator, Owen Hopkins, for a tour of our Postmodernism exhibition. https://shop.soane.org/…/copy-of-curato r-led-tour-of-the-re…

What a scorcher! The bright #heatwave sun is producing dramatic lighting in the Museum

Architectural writer Charles Jencks joins Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic for the keynote conversation of Postmodernism Now symposium on 30 June. Tickets £25 / £15 students https://www.soane.org/…/postmodernism-n ow-politics-culture-…

Wonderful museum and very knowledgeable and friendly staff. We had a very enjoyable time and will return.

What wonderful place. I just blows the mind, With all its exquisite objects and paintings. The room guides were friendlyand very informative.

We were sitting out the front of the Tate Modern deciding what other galleries to see while in London when a lovely man suggested the Sir John Soanes Museum. He was so right! An amazing museum with friendly and knowledgable staff. The highlight of our trip!

We visited the museum for the first time today and we just fell in love with it – what an amazing place – and many thanks to all the lovely volunteers who showed us round and made it really come alive for us – adding the little personal touches that you just don’t get from a guide book, however good – can’t wait to come back

Very good museum a must see in London I was pleased as was Francis des Rosiers Cambridge to see our relative Sir Francis Bourgeois 1753-1811, 1 oil portrait and 1 engraving more 2 of his paintings my mother was a Bourgeois from Giez Yverdon Grandson Switzerland as was Sir Francis Bourgeois 1753-1811 his father came to London, I founded again all those painting on Sir John Soane's Museum Collection Online thanks so much

This museum reflects the man and his life. The painting gallery was stunning. Hogarths and Canelettos. The house is his collection of antiquities and look out for the mausoleum that inspired the old red telephone boxes.

This is a truly extraordinary place crammed with artefacts and paintings. I was stunned to discover Hogarth Rakes Progress and The Election series as well as wonderful Canaletto. The picture room alone is worth visiting. I only had a couple of hours so I will go back and look more closely at the hundreds of items on show. Not many houses have an Egyptian sarcophagus in the basement. All the staff are volunteers who were exceptionally helpful and well informed.

Thank you so much for preserving & conserving this absolutely stunning "museum in museum". Its full of an special aura and brings joy in the heart of a museum-lover.

Quite simply the greatest house that I have ever seen. Crammed full of treasures that are close at hand, not tucked away in cases. Really knocked my socks off!

Pretty unique collection of archeological stuff plus much more !

Very unusual place which was the home to a very unusual character.

It’s a must.

It’s free but donations are encouraged, plus lots of quite nice and different things to buy.

My sister and I visited yesterday and absolutely loved it. We opted for the hour long Private tour which was well worth the money. Our guide was well informed and an excellent story teller - she inspired me to buy the book about Hogarth's Rake's Progress which is on sale in the shop. I learnt so much and will visit again. We also took advantage of the 15pct of lunch at Field's. All in all a very positive experience which I can highly recommend.

My husband and I visited the museum yesterday and loved it. Fascinating place, full of wonders around every corner. It's free to visit, another hidden gem in London. Can definitely recommend.

Last night I had the unique experience of exploring Sir John Soane's Museum by candlelight, a faithful recreation of the original party that sir John Soane threw back in 1825 when he bought the Belzoni Sarcophagus!

Sir John Soane (1753 – 1837) the son of a bricklayer, rose to become the top architect of his time. He was a great collector of antiquities & architectural salvage. When he bought the alabaster sarcophagus of pharaoh Seti I in March 1825, he held a three-day party, to which 890 people were invited, the great and the good of England. The basement where the sarcophagus was housed was lit by over one hundred lamps and candelabra!

The #SoaneMuseum is London's hidden gem, you must pay a visit!

It's an amazing and very personal house designed for himself by the renowned British architect, Sir John Soane. It shows off many of Soane's architectural ideas and his amazing collections. The house has been preserved as it was upon his death in 1837, and has been a museum (created by an Act of Parliament ever since. A must for anyone interested in architecture.

I really enjoyed the walk inside the museum, lots of interesting things to see

I loved this Museum!

I have never seen so much stimulating exhibits per square meter in any space before. The museum has the feeling and atmosphere of a treasure room , filled with an incredible variety of architectural moulds, artefacts, sculpture and paintings, must be experienced to be believed ! Amazing that such a gem could also be free!

I dropped into this museum on spec not knowing what to expect and was absolutely captivated for an hour and half. My favourite thing was the ‘revelation’ of Hogarth’s The Rake’s Progress, wonderful. The staff are extremely well informed and receptive to questions. You’ll need to be able to walk up & down stairs, by its very nature this museum is a rabbit warren. So worth a visit.

Had the opportunity to see this place with friends last week a hidden gem. I wonder who does the dusting !! . Well worth a visit but be warned no photography or mobile phones allowed.

Great quirky museum, try to visit when it will be quiet as it's pretty small.

Fascinating and the guides are just wonderful to talk to with an answer for anything that you would like to know about the museum

Fantastic quirky place with a lovely ambiance . Such a gem . A must to visit . I loved it and will visit again . Do go for the guided tour . Lovely guides .

Eclectic and eccentric, quirky and unexpected! A high density of artifacts hidden in this urban gem make the wait worth every minute.

Both the collection and the building itself were amazing. It was an amazing experience from the very beggining. From the, I am sorry about this, drop-dead gorgeous woman assiting the visitors at the entrance door to the moment I looked through the windows of the drawing room at lincoln Inn's Fields.

I found the experience a really moving one...

Best museum I’ve been to in London so far. Stunning collection with the most generous staff (Val, Phil, and Paul clued us in on some pretty wild secrets of the house) overall an incredible experience.

Amazing! I've lived in London for over 20 years and yet have never come across this museum before. It's such a hidden treasure and I was lucky enough to be taken around this morning by Diana. Thoroughly recommend people to visit; it's an absolute treat and I can't see how anyone would be disappointed by this gem!

Amazing time capsule of an eccentric man from the 1830's. His public areas are as they were when he passed away in 1837 and being maintained by a dedicated team. The best is to take a guided tour but you have to book well in advance.

Amazing spaces, chock full of bits and bobs from every age and every place. Parts are cramped and fussy, but a couple of rooms are gorgeous and large. Take your time and enjoy.

Amazing place. Really a gem in London and one I utterly recommend. In particular, the staff were the best staff I have ever come across at a museum/ business. Special shout out to Philip!

Amazing and incredible collection and seeing it by the candle light gave it that sense of how was living there in the past without electricity. Definitely recommended.

Absolutely the best place on the map of London with the most amazing and very passionate staff.

Absolutely stunning. A great discovery.

Absolutely incredible. So much to see, makes you look in every direction, the place is crammed with artefacts. Particularly enjoyed the Picture Room and the intervention of 2 museum staff whose comments were very enlightening. Deserves more than one visit, and it's free!

One thing though, there's another 3 floors which are not open to the public. I wonder what they hide? :)

Absolutely fantastic collections in this residence turned museum. Staff are friendly and helpful (there are no labels so you do need to talk to them to extract their knowledge about collections!) and the current Belzoni exhibition is beautifully curated and compliments one of the most famous artefacts in the museum, the coffin base of Pharaoh Seti I. It has inspired me to come back again and again and I will be joining the friends association. Also a great little giftshop �

Absolutely amazing staff - I brought my 88 year old nana and they couldn't have been more helpful with the lift etc, making sure we knew where everything was. Thank you so much for making it a wonderful visit

A unique museum well worth visiting. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. The collection is very impressive as are the combination of spaces and the ingenious ways of making the most of the daylight.

A piece of Paradise in the city for all the architects, for all the Roman and Greek art lovers...for the dreamers!

Moreover, there's the kindest museum's team I've ever met in my life.

A must-see Museum. Exceeded all expectations. Worth booking the tour.

An eclectic mix of artefacts of an extraordinary man with an enquiring mind and a distinct classicist.

Located in his house with collections left in situ it’s an extraordinary experience with helpful staff who clearly love the place and are only too happy and willing to pass on fascinating insights into the author of the collection.