Issue 39 Sept 23 - Journal - Page 23
Handel Hendrix House
Hallelujah! Handel’s London home has been fully restored and exhibitions shed new light on the
great composer and his next-door neighbour, rock legend Jimi Hendrix
Handel Hendrix House cares for and presents to the
public the homes of two of the greatest musicians ever to
have lived in London.
George Frideric Handel lived at 25 Brook Street from
1723 until his death in 1759. It was here that Handel
wrote and rehearsed his greatest works, including Messiah
and its ever popular ‘Hallelujah chorus’ - perhaps the most
famous piece of classical music ever written. His stirring
anthem ‘Zadok the Priest’, was also written in Brook
Street and has accompanied the coronation of every
British monarch since George II (for whom it was written
in 1727), including HM King Charles III.
In 1968, Jimi Hendrix moved into an adjoining flat at
number 23. Here, in the only place he said he felt truly at
home, Hendrix entertained, inspired and collaborated
with other icons of British 60s rock music.
Handel Hendrix House has completed a £3million project
to open all of Handel’s house to the public for the first
time by restoring the basement and ground floor, until
recently a luxury goods shop, and refurbishing the upper
floors which were first opened in 2001. Through this
project, the charity has:
• Faithfully recreated Handel’s basement kitchen with all
its fixtures and fittings, carefully detailed on research and
an inventory made shortly after the composer’s death.
This involved a lot of specialist metalwork and joinery
including a new lead cistern, stoves, boiling coppers,
copper pots and pans, spit racks, timber dressers and a
kitchen table. The modern ceiling was removed and
reinstated with lath and plaster. The fireplace was
carefully reconstructed using arched brickwork and lime
render.
• Restored the ground floor parlours in which Handel
would receive his guests and aristocratic patrons and
in which his assistant, J.C. Smith, would sell tickets and
subscriptions to new works. Until recently, these rooms
were an independent shop. This involved new timber
paneling matching the original profiles, lath and plaster
ceilings, reinstating a historic floor with period floor
boards, removal of the modern shopfront and infilled with
brickwork, which was tuck pointed and tinted to carefully
match in with the original historic fabric. New timber sash
windows were installed to match the originals and the
lightwell was re-opened with wrought iron railings
installed.
Below, Handel Hendrix House photo by Christopher Ison
