Dennis Severs' House
Museum · Spitalfields, England
Dennis Severs' House is a Huguenot silk-weavers' house of about 1724 at 18 Folgate Street, staged across ten rooms on four storeys and a basement as the interior of an imagined weaving family, the Jervises. It is shown in silence, by candlelight, with no labels and no glass. The terrace is Grade II, NHLE 1357829, listed on 29 December 1950 as '10-18, Folgate Street E1', and stands in the Elder Street conservation area. Visits are by timed booking, and the operator publishes bookable slots rather than fixed opening hours.
History
The American artist Dennis Severs bought the house in 1979 and lived in it until his death in 1999. The Spitalfields Trust, formally the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust and a registered charity numbered 273695, acquired it shortly before Severs died and runs it today. In 2021 recordings of Severs' own commentary were rediscovered and adapted into a guided Dennis Severs' Tour delivered by an actor. Historic England covers the whole terrace in one entry, NHLE 1357829, which includes number 18.
Visit
18 Folgate Street, Spitalfields, London E1 6BX
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