Photo: Charles Dickens Museum by Peter Trimming, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About this place
Charles Dickens lived at 48 Doughty Street from 1837 to 1839, and the Georgian terraced house he rented is now the Charles Dickens Museum.
It stands in Bloomsbury, on the edge of King's Cross in the London Borough of Camden, and is the only one of Dickens's London homes still standing.
The Grade I listed building holds the world's most comprehensive collection of Dickens material, over 100,000 items including manuscripts, letters and personal effects.
Historic Houses supports the museum, though entry is not included in membership.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
Dickens moved into the house a year after his marriage to Catherine Hogarth, and it was here that he completed The Pickwick Papers and wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. He left in December 1839 as his growing success allowed him to move his family to a larger house nearby. The building later opened as a museum and now serves as the headquarters of the international Dickens Fellowship.
Architecture
The museum occupies a standard Georgian terraced townhouse of the kind built across Bloomsbury in the early nineteenth century, its rooms arranged over four floors much as they would have been when Dickens and his young family lived there.
Worth knowing
The house is where Dickens became established as a writer and rose rapidly to international fame, and it remains a place of pilgrimage for readers, scholars and researchers from around the world. It also serves as the headquarters of the Dickens Fellowship, the international society devoted to his life and work.
Facilities
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Russell Square Underground Station (0.3 miles)
Open year-round; check the official website for current opening days and times.
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View Winchester Palace on heritage mapHistoric places nearby
Within 5 miles of Charles Dickens Museum there are 23 historic properties, including 13 historic buildings, 3 historic houses and 2 museums, across English Heritage, National Trust and Historic Houses sites.
Within 10 miles of Charles Dickens Museum there are 35 historic properties, including 18 historic buildings, 7 historic houses and 3 palaces, across English Heritage, National Trust and Historic Houses sites.
Within 20 miles of Charles Dickens Museum there are 70 historic properties, including 32 historic buildings, 19 historic houses and 4 palaces, across English Heritage, National Trust and Historic Houses sites.
Facts
The only surviving London home of Charles Dickens, holding the world's largest collection of his letters, manuscripts and belongings.
- Type
- historic house
- Location
- Greater London, England
- Visit duration
- Allow around 2 hours
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