"You either see it or you don't" - that's the motto at Dennis Severs' House. Somebody on the Happier app had recommended it to me. Another one of the hidden sights in London.
The house on Folgate Street is a short walk from Shoreditch High Street station. You walk through in silence and are not allowed to take photos. Most rooms are simply lit by candlelight. The idea is that you follow the lives of a family of Huguenot silk-weavers from 1724 to the dawn of the 20th century. You don't meet the family, but the rooms are left as if they've only just walked out. Lots of every day items, plus sound recordings and smells.
I did enjoy the experience but I was struggling to be 'transported back in time'. I just couldn't really relate to it. I was thinking of all sorts of different things:
How does my own flat reflect me and my life? Not very well, I would have thought... Other than that it's messy all the time. Which might mirror the chaos inside my mind!
I suddenly had this yearning for a family home. The thought was immediately followed by how much family life really takes place when people live under the same roof though?
I was wondering how much longer until the house falls apart.
About how little Dennis would have paid for the house in 1979 and how much it will be worth now.
And about how few families would be able to afford such a house in that part of London these days.
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