Benjamin Franklin House
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Benjamin Franklin House and Science

Benjamin Franklin House has witnessed many significant innovations and discoveries.

During his time at Craven Street (between 1757 and 1775), Benjamin Franklin conducted numerous important experiments at 36 Craven Street such as measuring the effects of the Gulf Stream, exploring Daylight Saving Time and inventing bi-focal lenses. One of his inventions, the glass armonica, is an instrument for which Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven composed.

The House also served as the anatomy school of the pioneering anatomist William Hewson, who married Polly, the daughter of Franklin’s landlady Margaret Stevenson in 1770. Basement excavations in 1998 revealed over 1200 cut and trepanned bones, apparently discarded following student dissections. The bones are now being catalogued by scientists at the University of London's Institute of Archaeology and provide fascinating information about the history of surgery.

Benjamin Franklin House More Recent History

While Benjamin Franklin was the most famous resident of 36 Craven Street, the Franklin connection has attracted many famous visitors to the House over the years including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Senator George Mitchell, Dame Judi Dench, and then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

Though built as a lodging house, in the 20th century the building was used as a hotel and as a base for several non-profit groups. By the end of the century, when the Friends of Benjamin Franklin House were granted the freehold to 36 Craven Street from the British Government, the property was in dire condition. The management team and numerous organisations and volunteers have worked tirelessly to realise a dynamic museum and educational facility that will highlight the timeless relevance of Benjamin Franklin and the tumultuous times in which he lived.

To read more about the Conservation Philosophy of the House please click here.

What Happens Next

As conservation and installation of the Historical Experience, Student Science Centre and Scholarship Centre is now finished, the public have, for the first time, access to a Grade I Georgian House, remarkable for its simplicity and original features, including a single staircase that links all floors of the House (which Franklin says he traversed for exercise!), featuring balustrades, three to a tread, with cut strings and curved brackets. The public will be exposed to a 'work-a-day' building of early 18th century construction with fielded panels, molded cornices, integral shutters, and the like.

Conservation of the building thus provides a platform on which to further understanding of the past, including the history of science. One part of the Historical Experience, the theatrical tour of the House using live interpretation, sound, and lighting, provides a fascinating glimpse into Benjamin Franklin's world of energy, dynamics, and invention. The Student Science Centre allows young people to explore this world through hands-on activities, encouraging them to think, question, and test. Through the model of Franklin, who translated scientific inquisitiveness into useful devices like the lightning rod, they discover it is possible to make positive and lasting contributions in science - and not just for personal gain; as they learn, Franklin never patented any of his inventions.

A completed building also allows the establishment of the Scholarship Centre. Franklin helped shape the Age of Enlightenment celebrating reason, respect for humanity, and the ideals of political and economic liberalism, freedom, and democracy. Those values are as essential now as they were in the 18th century. The objectives of the Scholarship Centre include: providing access to the Franklin Papers in both print and CD-Rom; lectures on Franklin-related subjects; providing support and a 'home base' to visiting scholars; special exhibitions; and development of on-line resources for a global public.

Outreach programmes reinforce in-House offerings including the Benjamin Franklin Science Fair bringing together young people from disadvantaged London schools with their American counterparts allowing them to interact through hands-on exploration in Franklin science and the scientific method - the process of finding out how things work.

 

 

Franklin's Parlour windows

Read Benjamin Franklin's Craven Street Gazette