Want to Run Your Own
My Guide Website?
Find Out More
My Guide Website?
Benjamin Franklin House
London
Benjamin Franklin is perhaps best- known as the man who was struck by lightning while flying a kite in a thunderstorm, and then invented the lightning rod. However, he was also one of the most influential politicians and diplomats in the early days of the United States. Benjamin Franklin's House, a dynamic museum and educational facility near Charing Cross Station in Embankment pays a worthy tribute to this powerful American figure, and provides a chance to experience some of the scientific discoveries he made. As such, Franklin was also a scientist, inventor and renowned author and satirist.
The house itself shows how Franklin spent his 16 years in London on the eve of the American Revolution- where he played a significant role in creating an alliance with the French, and ensuring American independence. It is also the first de facto US Embassy and presents a fascinating history of medical developments with which he was involved (he lived with a family who used to carry out operations in the house). The exhibition, A Historical Experience, uses the House's historic rooms to put on an amazing visual, and fascinating live performance display of Franklin's life in the house and how he faced the turbulence of the era.
Architecturally, this Georgian terraced house was built around 1730, and is of great interest to anyone who enjoys visiting listed buildings with personality. It has been kept pretty much the way it was originally built, and still retains the central staircase; as well as the majority of its interior woodwork and kitchen appliances.
