The House of Words

There are some historic houses in London that seem to bee hidden out of sight and which are not well publicized at all. One of these is the home of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who is famous for compiling the first Dictionary of the English Language in 1755.

The history of Dr. Johnson and his house on Gough Square is fascinating. The attendant at the door took us through the first couple of rooms and told us a bit about him and the house. As a baby Dr. Johnson suffered from scrofula, also known as the King's Evil, which left him partially blind and deaf, as well as noticeably scarred. It is now thought that he also suffered from Tourette's syndrome. His family was not well-off but seeing how intelligent he was, they did their best to provide him an education. He worked in his father's bookbinding business where, it is thought, he read many books which contributed to his knowledge. After his father's death he found work as a teacher and later with a publisher. Johnson spent time with a close friend, Harry Porter, during Porter's terminal illness. He later married Porter's widow, Tetty, who was more than 20 years his senior, Her inheritance was his sole support for many years. He wrote and published and had establish a reputation such that in 1746, a group of publishers approached Johnson with the idea of creating an authoritative dictionary of the English language. He estimated that it would take three years to complete; it took nine. His wife fell ill so to be closer to his publisher and to give him and his many assistants more room to work, they moved to Gough Square. Tetty died at her countryside home in 1752. When word reached Johnson in London he was distraught. From that point on he filled his house with friends and strangers in need of accomodation because he was convinced that were he to be alone without Tetty, he would go mad.

Ultimately, the English language dictionary was completed and Johnson's fame was guaranteed.

Dr. Johnson lived in the house from 1748 to 1759. In the 18th century it was used as a hotel, a printshop and a storehouse. In 1911 it was purchased by newspaper magnate and politician, Cecil Harmsworth, who restored the house under the direction of architect Alfred Burr. He opened the house to the public in 1914 and it is now operated by a charitable trust.

Throughout the house are exhibits about his life and works, though the furnishings are generally not those of De. Johnson.

The hall has a wonderful door which was heavily "armed" to protect the house from thieves. Note the spikes across the top window to prevent any "Artful Dodgers" from climbing in.

The chain across the door is attached to a corkscrew-style hook to prevent anyone reaching in with a rod and slipping the link off the hook.

Visitors to Dr. Johnson would be asked to wait in the parlor.

To the right of the fireplace is the "powder closet" used to store wigs. It was large enough to sit in while your wig was covered with the grey or white powder which was used to achieve the fashionable pale-haired effect.

The withdrawing room:

Throughout the house are small cards with witty sayings which I found most amusing.

In the hall area outside the withdrawing room are hinged walls. These were often moved around to create separate rooms for the people who lived there. They're very cleverly designed.

This room was probably the bedchamber of Anna Williams, a poet, translator, and friend of Johnson's who lived with him for over 30 years.

This room was probably Johnson's bedroom, but is now set up as a small library.

It houses many copies of Johnson's dictionary, including an original copy from 1755. Johnson is said to have owned over 3,000 books. Another room contains artifacts, books, and drawings which belonged to him.

The top floor is dedicated to the dictionary. It is where much of the work of compiling the entries was done.

Dr. Johnson:

In the garret there's a table with a bowl containing small pieces of paper upon which are printed words. Visitors are invited to look them up in the dictionary - the 1755 version. The results are wonderful.

There's a poster in the room dedicated to Hodge, Dr. Johnson's cat. It was by visiting Hodge's statue outside the house that I first learned about Dr. Johnson. It's good to see that he is represented in the house.

In the square outside the house is a small bronze statue of him.

This year, Hodge has company.

It's part of a fundraising effort. The penguins will be on display until January 5th in the Fleet Street area. Guess I know what I'll be doing next week.