It seems as if it has not stopped raining since we arrived in London three months ago. Most days there are intermittent showers but sometimes there are days like today when the deluge is never-ending. This rainy day was perfect for a visit to Sir John Soane's Museum. The historic residence is situated on the largest public square in London (and a very beautiful square, at that), Lincoln's Inn Fields.
I expected to find inside a lot of large oil paintings in gilded frames. Was I in for a surprise! I was thrown into an intriguing maze, hemmed with curious artifacts, where, pardon my reference to modern culture, I had an Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom experience. This is one quirky, kind of spooky, spellbinding place.
John Soane was born in 1753, the son of a bricklayer. He became a renowned architect and married heiress Eliza Smith. Soane hoped to create a dynasty of architects but both his sons took other paths. His eldest son, John, did not care for architecture and his other son, George, a novelist, wrote spiteful articles, published anonymously in a London newspaper, about his father's work. When Eliza found out the articles were written by her son, she fell ill and died and Soane never forgave George. Curiously, Eliza's tomb, designed by her husband, located in old St. Pancras Cemetery, inspired the design for the iconic red telephone boxes that one still sees all over London.
The house looks exactly as it did when Soane died 180 years ago and it is amazing. In some parts one must traverse very narrow corridors, both sides of which are cluttered with eclectic pieces evoking the ancient world. In the basement (or crypt) one encounters the actual sarcophagus of the Egyptian Pharaoh Seti who died in 1279 BC. A volunteer at the center pointed out an image upon the sarcophagus depicting the sun-god Ra in a canoe carrying souls to the afterlife, a journey boobytrapped with danger. Inside the sarcophagus is an image of the goddess Nut, who ancient Egyptians believed swallowed Ra each night and gave birth to him each morning, thus evoking eternal life for Seti.
Explore the Soane House in 3D: Click Here
The museum did not allow photography, but I did manage to take a few photos from inside Lincoln's Inn Fields. This is a very old part of London and the architecture surrounding the square reflects that.
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| From Lincoln's Inn Fields |
Later we stopped into the National Gallery. Wow. I'll have to do a separate blog entry for that, but here is a photo taken from the Gallery overlooking Trafalgar Square on this very wet day.
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