Ever wondered about the origins of the English dictionary?
The first ever English dictionary was created over a 9 year period by Dr Samuel Johnson and published in 1755.
Why not spend a couple of hours exploring one of the most important landmarks of the English language by visiting Dr Johnson’s House in Gough Square near Chancery Lane.
This wonderful 18th century town-house is one of the few surviving residential homes of it’s kind in the city of London. It was built in 1700 and Dr Johnson rented it for £30 per year.
As you enter the house from the side entrance you will pass by the original main entrance on the right hand side. There you will see some examples of security devices used at the time of Dr Johnson in the form of a heavy chain across the door and an iron bar across the fan-light above the door. This iron bar was designed to stop burglars lowering children through the fanlight to gain entry through the door from the inside.
On the ground floor there is a room called The Parlour. This is the room where visitors would have been shown before being received by Dr Johnson. Above the fireplace there is a portrait of Dr Johnson by his good friend the artist Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). There is also an etching of James Boswell who wrote Dr Johnson’s biography “The Life of Johnson” (1791).
To the right of the fireplace there is a cupboard referred to as “The Powder Closet”. In the mid-18th century it was considered the height of fashion for men to wear powder wigs and this closet was used to house Dr Johnson’s collection.
On the first floor, you will enter The Withdrawing Room. This is the room to which ladies would withdraw after meals and where friends could be entertained.
In this room there are some interesting paintings. There is one of John Wesley, Founder of the Methodist movement. Johnson had praised the Methodists for expressing themselves in a plain/familiar manner.
Other paintings include William Strachan (by J Jones) – publisher of Johnson’s dictionary and a print of the notorious John Wilkes former MP who entered Parliament in 1757 as a supporter of Pitt but was soon attacking Pitt’s foreign policy.
Wilkes founded North Britain a paper devoting to satirising the government. Due to one particularly controversial article attacking George III’s speech at the opening of Parliament in 1763, Wilkes was arrested but discharged due to his position as a MP. However, he was expelled from Parliament. Dr Johnson had dismissed Wilkes as “an abusive scoundrel”. Wilkes went to live in Paris and Italy until 1768 when returned to Britain and was elected MP for Middlesex. He continued to represent Middlesex until 1790.
The design of the first floor of the house is particularly innovative for it’s time. There are a set of panels which can be drawn across in order to create two separate rooms with a lobby in between. This enabled Dr Johnson to use the area as either an open plan room or two separate rooms
Other portraits of good friends of Johnson include Anna Williams (by Frances Reynolds – sister of Joshua) and Charlotte Lenox. Anna was a welsh poet who developed cataracts and came to London hoping to save her sight. She was unsuccessful in finding a cure but eventually came to live with Johnson after the death of his wife Tetty and he became very close to her, treating her like a sister. Charlotte Lenox was a struggling actress but came to the attention of Johnson through her poetry. When her first novel, The Life of Harriot Stuart, Written by Herself, appeared, Johnson threw a lavish party for Lennox, with a laurel wreath and an apple pie that contained bay leaf. Johnson thought her superior to his other female literary friends and ensured that Charlotte Lennox was introduced to important members of the London literary scene.
On the first floor of the house, you will also find an old wooden chair from The Old *** Tavern in Fleet Street. This is known as Dr Johnson’s Dining Chair. Behind the pannelled doors you can also see a 19th century stained glass panel showing Dr Johnson and Litchfield Cathedral (Litchfield was Johnson’s birthplace).
On the second floor, you’ll find the Library. This room may at one time have been Dr Johnson’s bedroom but now houses an extensive collection of literature and publications about Dr Johnson and his work. On this floor you can also watch a fascinating DVD lasting about 25 minutes all about the early life of Dr Johnson and the history of the house. The museum has also left some of Johnson’s wonderful quotes on some of the prepared information for you to read such as
“Men may be convinced, but they cannot be pleased against their will”.
“I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be silent as to his works.”
Opposite the Library, you will find The Will Room. To the right of the fireplace in this room you will see an engrossment of Dr Johnson’s Will. As he had few surviving relatives, Johnson left the bulk of his estate to his black servant Frances Barber.
You will also see an interesting painting in this room of Flora MacDonald (who it is said helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape in 1745) meeting Dr Johnson and Boswell.
Finally you climb the narrow staircase to the top floor of the house and enter the room known as “The Garrett”. This is the actual attick room where Dr Johnson compiled the first English Dictionary. The dictionary was very expensive to compile even in those days. Johnson was under contract with a syndicate of booksellers and employed 6 clerks to help with it’s production. Johnson took words partly from other dictionaries and partly supplied by himself. Many were obtained from books written by his literary friends. In these books, words of interest were under-lined in black ink and rendered unreadable by the time Johnson had finished with them.
According to Johnson’s biographer Boswell, The Garrett contained one long desk behind which several people could comfortably stand to work.
It’s amazing to think that you are standing in a room where one of the most significant reference books in history was produced.
After Johnson’s death the house fell into disrepair until it was bought by the MP Cecil Harmonsworth in 1911 who later opened the building to the public. In the 1940s the house became a victim of the blitz and once again became badly damaged but was saved from far worse destruction by the brave actions of London firemen. The curator at the time discovered that there was no-where nearby for the firefighters to rest. Therefore, it was decided to open Johnson’s house to firefighters as a place where they could go and rest and relax.
Dr Johnson’s House is located at:-
17 Gough Square, London EC4
Nearest tube stations: Blackfriars and Chancery Lane
Bus: Aldwych, Chancery Lane, Fleet Street, Strand
The house is well sign-posted from Fetter Lane, Shoe Lane and Fleet Street
Telephone: 0207 353 3745
Email: curator@drjohnsonshouse.org
Website: www.drjohnsonshouse.org
Opening Hours
Monday to Saturday
11am to 5.30pm (5.00pm in winter)