Benjamin Franklin House, London
Who was Benjamin Franklin? A trip to Benjamin Franklin House, where he stayed during his time in London, will tell you that he made major contributions to science and politics. Exactly what those contributions were, how he made them and under what circumstances is far less clear.
A tour of Benjamin Franklin House, the only access available to the general public, is a very tightly controlled affair. As a result the life and times in London of one of the key figures of the 18th century are done a disservice.
Franklin lived at 36 Craven Street in London between 1757 and 1775, with a break of two years from 1762. He arrived as diplomat for the Pennsylvania Assembly and lodged with Margaret Stevenson, becoming an integral part of her family. During his time in London, Franklin was in the thick of political and scientific life.
Among other things he opposed the levy of stamp duty on goods in America, exposed the double-dealing of the governor of Massachusetts, charted the gulf stream and investigated lead poisoning and magnetism. He returned to Philadelphia to become one of the founding fathers of the US.
So it is no overstatement to say that 36 Craven Street was the home of a remarkable man. The building is remarkable too: constructed in about 1730, it retains most of its original features. The Friends of Benjamin Franklin House obtained the freehold in the 1990s. It was in a parlous state with severe subsidence, and the conservation and restoration has been a great achievement.
But visitors coming to the house will not be able to find out anything about its restoration. In fact, they will not get much chance to see the house at all and will only be able to discover a few selected snippets of information about Franklin.
To visit the house you must first go to the New Players Theatre, round the corner in Craven Street Passage. At the appointed time the tour party (maximum 12) is led to the front door of 36 Craven Street and ushered into a basement room. This is the only exhibition element of the house, and its content is scant to say the least.
A small case contains objects such as a trepanning device, which removes bone, and some replica 18th-century bifocal glasses. The trepanning device relates to the anatomy school run in the basement by William Hewson, Margaret Stevenson's son-in-law.
Nearby a case set into the floor displays some bones that are remains from the school. Elsewhere there are three text panels showing a timeline of Franklin's life and other information. The rest of the room is empty except for some plastic chairs and a large screen.
After ten minutes visitors are asked to sit down and the screen springs to life with what can only be called a Benjamin Franklin corporate video. Words describing Franklin's achievements flash across the screen over images of London: 'A Modern Fighting Service', 'Education', 'A Strong Democratic Nation', 'Paper Money'.
All this is in time to the frantic, celebratory music that would make a blue chip company proud. When it ends a woman in period costume introduces herself as Polly Hewson - Margaret Stevenson's daughter, and wife to William - and the tour begins.
This is not a typical guided tour. 'Polly' does not interact with her visitors at all; instead she interacts with an audiovisual presentation in each room. First is the kitchen; the room is empty, the lighting is dim and video images of cranberries play across one wall.
The audio track features the voices of three children to whom Polly speaks, and we learn that Franklin has received food parcels from Philadelphia. Next is the front parlour. It too is empty except for three chairs where 'visitors' sit; more voices, more projections. This time we hear Margaret Stevenson talk to guests about Franklin. Her speech is a long list of his inventions and interests - another Franklin fanfare.
And so it goes on for another three rooms, all empty except for video and audio; the audience passive throughout. The content assumes a high level of prior knowledge of 18th-century politics, and visitors don't learn anything substantial about exactly what Franklin did, or how, or why, or when.
The presentation is often confusing. Sometimes the audio track is Franklin speaking. But are these his own words? Or are they scripted by the curator? What about the images? Some portraits are recognisable, but who are the other people? And what about the timeframe of the presentation? Franklin's study contains a kite hanging against a wall.
This symbolises his discovery of electricity, but he made that before he came to London, so why is it hanging here? 'Stevenson' mentions that Franklin thinks the experiments of inoculation against smallpox will be successful.
But she doesn't mention Edward Jenner who is regarded as the inventor of vaccination and whose experiments took place in 1796 - long after Franklin had left. It is impossible to clarify these points because there is no opportunity to ask questions.
Finally visitors are led down the stairs and ushered out of the front door on to the pavement. There is no chance to ask for additional information or to look around the house at leisure. The website says the top floor has a scholarship centre, but access is by appointment only. The impression is one of control and exclusivity.
One can see why Benjamin Franklin House chose a tour format. The house is hard to get around, with narrow corridors and staircases, and the rooms are small, so it is understandable that it wants to control the flow of visitors.
But this does not mean that the tour must be so prescribed, with no chance for visitors to explore their own interests. Among other things, Franklin enjoyed dialogue; he would be disappointed with the efforts made in his name.
Rachel Souhami is a freelance curator and lecturer in science communication at Imperial College London
Project data
Cost: £1.7m
Main funders: Heritage Lottery Fund £1.5m, Equitable Charitable Trust, Fidelity Foundation, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Foundation, Royal Society of Arts, Starr Foundation, US Embassy in London, Weston Foundation, Wolfson Foundation
Main contractor: Wallis
Who was Benjamin Franklin? A trip to Benjamin Franklin House, where he stayed during his time in London, will tell you that he made major contributions to science and politics. Exactly what those contributions were, how he made them and under what circumstances is far less clear.
A tour of Benjamin Franklin House, the only access available to the general public, is a very tightly controlled affair. As a result the life and times in London of one of the key figures of the 18th century are done a disservice.
Franklin lived at 36 Craven Street in London between 1757 and 1775, with a break of two years from 1762. He arrived as diplomat for the Pennsylvania Assembly and lodged with Margaret Stevenson, becoming an integral part of her family. During his time in London, Franklin was in the thick of political and scientific life.
Among other things he opposed the levy of stamp duty on goods in America, exposed the double-dealing of the governor of Massachusetts, charted the gulf stream and investigated lead poisoning and magnetism. He returned to Philadelphia to become one of the founding fathers of the US.
So it is no overstatement to say that 36 Craven Street was the home of a remarkable man. The building is remarkable too: constructed in about 1730, it retains most of its original features. The Friends of Benjamin Franklin House obtained the freehold in the 1990s. It was in a parlous state with severe subsidence, and the conservation and restoration has been a great achievement.
But visitors coming to the house will not be able to find out anything about its restoration. In fact, they will not get much chance to see the house at all and will only be able to discover a few selected snippets of information about Franklin.
To visit the house you must first go to the New Players Theatre, round the corner in Craven Street Passage. At the appointed time the tour party (maximum 12) is led to the front door of 36 Craven Street and ushered into a basement room. This is the only exhibition element of the house, and its content is scant to say the least.
A small case contains objects such as a trepanning device, which removes bone, and some replica 18th-century bifocal glasses. The trepanning device relates to the anatomy school run in the basement by William Hewson, Margaret Stevenson's son-in-law.
Nearby a case set into the floor displays some bones that are remains from the school. Elsewhere there are three text panels showing a timeline of Franklin's life and other information. The rest of the room is empty except for some plastic chairs and a large screen.
After ten minutes visitors are asked to sit down and the screen springs to life with what can only be called a Benjamin Franklin corporate video. Words describing Franklin's achievements flash across the screen over images of London: 'A Modern Fighting Service', 'Education', 'A Strong Democratic Nation', 'Paper Money'.
All this is in time to the frantic, celebratory music that would make a blue chip company proud. When it ends a woman in period costume introduces herself as Polly Hewson - Margaret Stevenson's daughter, and wife to William - and the tour begins.
This is not a typical guided tour. 'Polly' does not interact with her visitors at all; instead she interacts with an audiovisual presentation in each room. First is the kitchen; the room is empty, the lighting is dim and video images of cranberries play across one wall.
The audio track features the voices of three children to whom Polly speaks, and we learn that Franklin has received food parcels from Philadelphia. Next is the front parlour. It too is empty except for three chairs where 'visitors' sit; more voices, more projections. This time we hear Margaret Stevenson talk to guests about Franklin. Her speech is a long list of his inventions and interests - another Franklin fanfare.
And so it goes on for another three rooms, all empty except for video and audio; the audience passive throughout. The content assumes a high level of prior knowledge of 18th-century politics, and visitors don't learn anything substantial about exactly what Franklin did, or how, or why, or when.
The presentation is often confusing. Sometimes the audio track is Franklin speaking. But are these his own words? Or are they scripted by the curator? What about the images? Some portraits are recognisable, but who are the other people? And what about the timeframe of the presentation? Franklin's study contains a kite hanging against a wall.
This symbolises his discovery of electricity, but he made that before he came to London, so why is it hanging here? 'Stevenson' mentions that Franklin thinks the experiments of inoculation against smallpox will be successful.
But she doesn't mention Edward Jenner who is regarded as the inventor of vaccination and whose experiments took place in 1796 - long after Franklin had left. It is impossible to clarify these points because there is no opportunity to ask questions.
Finally visitors are led down the stairs and ushered out of the front door on to the pavement. There is no chance to ask for additional information or to look around the house at leisure. The website says the top floor has a scholarship centre, but access is by appointment only. The impression is one of control and exclusivity.
One can see why Benjamin Franklin House chose a tour format. The house is hard to get around, with narrow corridors and staircases, and the rooms are small, so it is understandable that it wants to control the flow of visitors.
But this does not mean that the tour must be so prescribed, with no chance for visitors to explore their own interests. Among other things, Franklin enjoyed dialogue; he would be disappointed with the efforts made in his name.
Rachel Souhami is a freelance curator and lecturer in science communication at Imperial College London
Project data
Cost: £1.7m
Main funders: Heritage Lottery Fund £1.5m, Equitable Charitable Trust, Fidelity Foundation, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Foundation, Royal Society of Arts, Starr Foundation, US Embassy in London, Weston Foundation, Wolfson Foundation
Main contractor: Wallis
