Sir John Soane's Museum

An architect's house frozen in 1837: a sarcophagus in the basement, Hogarths on folding walls, and not a spare inch anywhere.

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🏛️ Soane Essentials

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No. 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields

Three townhouses knitted into one

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Free Entry

Donations welcome; book ahead at busy times

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Tube: Holborn

About five minutes on foot

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Photography OK

No flash; the wardens will tell you the stories

🏛️ The House That Is a Museum

Sir John Soane built the Bank of England, but his masterpiece may be his own house at 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields. He spent decades knitting three townhouses into a private museum of casts, marbles, paintings, and mirrors, then obtained an Act of Parliament in 1833 requiring it be kept exactly as he left it. He died in 1837 and it has barely changed since.

🕯️ The Party of 1825

When the British Museum declined the alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I, Soane bought it for 2,000 pounds and installed it in his basement. Then he held a three-day reception, the house lit by hundreds of lamps and candles, so London society could file past an Egyptian king in a Georgian crypt.

💎 Why People Walk Past It

From Lincoln's Inn Fields it is just another Georgian terrace, and that is the trick. Inside is the most surprising interior in London, and it is free. We gave it a quick afternoon hour and could have stayed three. Even repeat visitors to London miss it, which is exactly what makes it a hidden gem.

Ground Floor

Crimson and Gold

The library and dining room in Pompeian red, hung with painted glass.

Red-walled Library Dining Room of Sir John Soane's Museum with round table
The Library Dining RoomPompeian red walls, mirrored recesses, and the dining table where Soane entertained. The room sets the tone: nothing in this house is plain.
Panels of historic stained glass glowing in a window at the Soane Museum
Painted LightPanels of 16th and 17th century glass, collected by Soane by the crate. He set them wherever a window could carry color.
The Maze

The Museum Passages

Corridors of casts, columns, and models, three townhouses knitted into one.

Colonnade of classical casts and columns inside Sir John Soane's Museum
The ColonnadeA corridor of casts and columns, sightlines running clean through the house. Soane knitted three houses into one continuous experiment.
View between Corinthian columns down a corridor of the Soane Museum
Through the ColumnsCorinthian capitals frame the route toward the lit rooms beyond. Every doorway is staged like a stage set.
Corridor lined with architectural models and plaster fragments, Soane Museum
The Architect's ModelsArchitectural models and fragments line the passage walls. Soane taught at the Royal Academy, and the house was his teaching collection.
Plaster cast of Diana of Ephesus statue among wall fragments, Soane Museum
Diana of EphesusA cast of the many-breasted Diana of the Ephesians presides over the passage, one of hundreds of casts Soane arranged floor to ceiling.
The Heart

The Dome

The skylit core, stacked with antiquities from floor to lantern.

Skylight oculus of the Dome area at Sir John Soane's Museum with antiquities below
The DomeThe skylit heart of the museum, ringed with marbles, casts, and busts. Soane built for daylight the way other architects built for stone.
Tiers of classical busts and fragments around the Dome, Soane Museum
Tiers of AntiquityBusts, urns, and fragments stacked three stories around the Dome. There is no spare inch, by design.
Cinerary urns and classical reliefs arranged on a wall, Soane Museum
Urns and ReliefsCinerary urns on a mantel of reliefs and capitals. Almost everything is real; what is cast is cast from the best.
Dark bronze classical bust on red porphyry column, Soane Museum
Bronze on PorphyryA dark bronze bust holds a corner among the marbles, one glare of character in a crowd of white stone.
The Crypt

The Sarcophagus of Seti I

The museum's greatest treasure, three thousand years old, lit from above.

Alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I in the crypt of Sir John Soane's Museum
The Sarcophagus of Seti IThe alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I, carved around 3,000 years ago and discovered by Belzoni in 1817. Soane bought it in 1824 for 2,000 pounds after the British Museum passed, then threw a three-day candlelit party.
Interior of the Seti I sarcophagus showing carved translucent stone
Inside the StoneThe interior, cut from a single block of semi-translucent calcite. A goddess is carved on the floor to receive the king.
Hieroglyphic carvings covering the side of the Seti I sarcophagus
The Book of GatesHieroglyphic text from the Book of Gates runs the length of the stone, once inlaid with blue pigment.
Fold-Out Walls

The Picture Room

Hogarth, Canaletto, and walls that open like cabinet doors.

Canaletto painting of Venice above a door in the Soane Museum Picture Room
The CanalettoCanaletto's Riva degli Schiavoni hangs over the Picture Room door, casually, the way other houses hang a mirror.
Picture Room of the Soane Museum with paintings stacked on hinged walls
The Picture RoomHogarth's Rake's Progress lives here, on walls that unfold. Soane fitted hinged planes so one small room could hang a hundred paintings.
Convex mirror reflecting a distorted view of a room in the Soane Museum
The Convex MirrorOne of the house's many convex mirrors bends the room into a lens. Soane used them to multiply light and space.
First Floor

Upstairs in Yellow

Soane's patent-yellow drawing rooms and the colored loggia glass.

Yellow drawing room of the Soane Museum with portrait and antique sofa
Patent YellowThe No. 13 Drawing Room in Soane's own patent yellow, his portrait keeping watch over the sofa.
Open doors connecting yellow drawing rooms with chandelier, Soane Museum
Rooms Into RoomsDoors open through the yellow rooms, chandeliers and convex mirrors carrying the light along.
Stained glass loggia window framing a view of Lincoln's Inn Fields
The Loggia GlassColored glass in the loggia frames Lincoln's Inn Fields in blue and red, an architect playing with a kaleidoscope.
Behind the House

Below Stairs and the Court

The 1820s kitchen and the pasticcio column in the light well.

Historic cast iron kitchen range in the basement of the Soane Museum
The Kitchen RangeThe 1820s cast iron range in the basement kitchen, restored and soot-black, maker's name across the top.
Kitchen dresser with rows of blue and white plates, Soane Museum basement
Blue and WhiteThe kitchen dresser with its blue and white plates, plain domestic order under a house of marvels.
Pasticcio column in Monument Court light well of the Soane Museum
Monument CourtThe pasticcio column in the central light well, a stack of architectural quotations under an open sky.

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Getting There

  • Walk from Covent Garden in about ten minutes; the square itself is a lovely lunch stop
  • First hour of the day or the last is quietest; the rooms are small and fill fast

Local Know-How

  • Ask a warden to open the Picture Room planes; the Hogarths hide behind the walls
  • The convex mirrors, colored skylights, and the crypt below are half the show

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sir John Soane's Museum really free?
Yes. Entry has been free since the museum opened in 1837, per Soane's own Act of Parliament. Donations are welcome and special tours are ticketed.
How long does a visit take?
An hour covers the house; add time if a warden opens the Picture Room walls or if you linger in the crypt. It is compact but extraordinarily dense.
What is the one thing not to miss?
The alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I in the crypt, bought in 1824 after the British Museum declined it, and the Hogarth paintings on the Picture Room's folding walls.
Why is it called a museum if it is a house?
Soane arranged an Act of Parliament in 1833 requiring the house be preserved exactly as he left it at his death. It is both his home and his self-curated museum.

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