Living in the past: how London's history is revealed behind doors of celebrated homes

Author Alice Loxton uncovers some of the capital’s historic gems like the townhouse that was home to both Handel and Hendrix

- Alice Loxton

London is one of the oldest cities in the world. So it’s no surprise that every winding alley, quirky street name or hidden passageway has a remarkable story to tell. Did you know, for example, that there is a chunk of Roman wall next to Tower Hill Tube station? Or that Lincoln’s Inn Fields was once a grisly execution site? Or that 10 Downing Street was a location for cock fighting?

Some of the best ways to dive into this past are by going behind closed doors and entering the private homes of historic figures. These are the rooms where George Frideric Handel slept and walked, where Charles Dickens ate his breakfast, where Jimi Hendrix chatted with friends. There are plenty of houses to discover across London, but these five are a good place to start.

CHARLES DICKENS MUSEUM

48 Doughty Street in Bloomsbury was once the home of Charles Dickens. Though he only lived here for two years (1837-39) he was inspired to write some of his greatest works, including Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby.

Today, the house is a charming museum, with many mementos from Dickens's life and writings. A highlight is the desk where he wrote Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities (originally located in his home in Kent). In the basement - the working quarters - is the washhouse copper. Usually used for washing clothes, this basin was cleaned out every December and used to boil the Christmas pudding. Dickens wrote of this in A Christmas Carol: "The two young Cratchits hustled Tiny Tim, and bore him off into the washhouse, that he might hear the pudding singing in the copper."

How thrilling to imagine the possibility of Dickens's inspiration. Did he see the Christmas pudding in the washhouse copper at 48 Doughty Street, only to hurry upstairs to his writing desk and pen those famous lines?