A Unique London House

Photo by Alan Will
Dennis Severs House

Who doesn’t like to peek into other’s lives? Well at 18 Folgate Street in Spitalfields, London you can do just that at Dennis Severs house, which is part museum, part local history and part, antiques. The creator, Dennis Severs was a transplanted American who moved to London in 1967. He bought the Brick George I terraced house in 1979 and spent the rest of his life working on it.

Severs invented a family of Huguenot silk weavers named Jervis, who had lived in the house for centuries to "inhabit" the house. To the visitor, it seems as the Jervis family has just left each of the rooms. They can sometimes be heard, but not seen in any of the ten rooms which are lit by fire and candlelight. As the visitor comes upon half eaten meals, and hear but not sees the family members the viewer begins to use their imagination, which is Mr. Severs’ intention and his art. He called his unique house a "still-life drama" his goal was to provide his visitors with a way to get lost into another time and place.

Mr. Severs was undoubtedly a unique individual who says he was a dreamy and imaginative child who was regarded by his teachers as somewhere between "exceptional" and "mentally retarded." He died in 1999 and the Spitalfields Trust subsequently bought the home. His home is open to visitors and more information can be found at http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/

To see a bit about the house and an interview with Mr. Severs please follow the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr2HtBYSNY0