Benjamin Franklin House is a museum in a terraced Georgian house at 36

Craven Street Craven Street is a street in the City of Westminster, London, near Strand. A number of notable historical figures have lived in the street which was the home of Benjamin Franklin when he lived in London before the American Revolution. History Th ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, close to

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

. It is the last-standing former residence of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, one of the

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the Am ...

. The house dates from c. 1730, and Franklin lived and worked there for sixteen years.Tom Huntington
"Franklin's Last Home," ''American Heritage'', April/May 2006. The museum opened to the public on 17 January 2006. The chairman is American-British investment banker and philanthropist

John Studzinski John Joseph Paul Studzinski, CBE (born March 19, 1956) is an American-British investment banker and philanthropist. Since September 2018 he has been Managing Director and Vice Chairman of the global investment-management firm PIMCO. Prior to j ...

. The house is

listed Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

for its historic association with Franklin.

Conservation

The house was renovated and restored in 1998 by The Friends of Benjamin Franklin House in order for the house to be turned into a museum. During the excavation the remains of 10 individuals were identified, consisting of numerous bones and bone fragments; six of them identified as possible children.Newsletter of the friends of Benjamin Franklin House
Issue 2, Autumn 1998. benjaminfranklinhouse.org Tests conducted on the remains showed that they were around 200 years old, which means that they may have been buried in the basement at the same time that Franklin was living there. However, further evidence showed that a close friend of Franklin, William Hewson, was the one responsible for the human remains. Hewson, an early

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

, had lived in the house for two years and had been working in secret, since there were still legal issues in dissecting certain

cadaver A cadaver or corpse is a dead human body that is used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a living human being. Stud ...

s at the time. Franklin likely knew what Hewson was doing, but probably did not participate in the dissections. The museum at 36 Craven Street is a Grade I listed property and retains a number of its original features (include original floorboards, original ceilings, and original staircases) with relatively few later alterations. Current conservation policies emphasise the need for minimal modern interventions. Artefacts at the house include a modern, playable replica

glass armonica The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, glass harmonium, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica or harmonica (derived from , ''harmonia'', the Greek word for harmony), is a type of musical instrument that uses a ...

, based on Franklin's design.

Modern facilities

The "Historical Experience" includes an actor portraying historical characters associated with the house along with dialog, sound, lighting, and special effects. The character used in the "Historical Experience" is

Polly Hewson Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Paula (g ...

, the daughter of Franklin's landlady who became a "second daughter" to Franklin. The "Student Science Centre" allows students to re-create experiments from Franklin's sojourn in London. It includes a Medical History Room (focused on the medical research of William Hewson, who did his work from the house for a time), a Discovery Room (containing historical artifacts), and a Demonstration Room (in which students can replicate Franklin's experiments). The Benjamin Franklin House is open free-of-charge to school visits on Tuesdays. Although designed for

key stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The t ...

students, visits can be tailored for students of all key stages.Benjamin Franklin House School Visits, http://www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org/site/sections/education/school_visits.htm The "Scholarship Centre" on the top floor of the House is a centre for study of the many subjects Franklin pursued. Benjamin Franklin House runs an annual Literary Prize in which people interpret a Benjamin Franklin quote in its significance today.

References

External links

Official website
* Th
Friends of the Benjamin Franklin House, U.S. Records
documenting many aspects of the project to restore 36 Craven Street, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

.
Benjamin Franklin House
on Museums London directory. * {{Museums and galleries in London Houses completed in 1730

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

Houses in the City of Westminster Franklin House Museums established in 2006 Science museums in England Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Historic house museums in London Museums in the City of Westminster Grade I listed houses in London Homes of United States Founding Fathers

Conservation

Modern facilities

See also

References

External links