Benjamin Franklin House

The Benjamin Franklin House

The Benjamin Franklin House, located at 36 Craven Street in the heart of London is known as a ‘heritage gem’ as it’s the world’s only remaining home of Benjamin Franklin. It was opened to the public for the first time on the 17th January 2006, which would have been Benjamin Franklins’ 300th birthday, as a dynamic museum and education facility. Thus, we have included this famous site in both the American Legacy and the Pilgrimage package.

The House Today

The House, built circa 1730, is architecturally significant. It holds England’s highest Grade I heritage listing and retains a majority of original features including the central staircase (which Franklin said he used for regular exercise), flooring and panelling. The House today is massively intriguing and historically significant as Franklin lived and worked there for nearly sixteen years on the eve of the American Revolution (1757-1762; 1764-1775). It was the first de facto US Embassy which means it holds a special place in Anglo-American history and it holds a fascinating history of medicine dimension as Franklin’s landlady’s son-in-law, William Hewson, ran an anatomy school from Craven Street.

Furthermore, the house has gained official recognition by being recognised by The Tercentenary Committee for celebrating 300th anniversary of Franklin’s birth in 2006, By the Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Milestone location and for holding two English Heritage ‘blue’ plaques.

While Benjamin Franklin was the most famous resident of this house, 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, Sir David Frost, and Jon Bon Jovi! Though built as a lodging house, in the 20th century the building was used as a hotel and 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, numerous organisations, and volunteers worked tirelessly to make the dynamic museum and educational facility what it is today - highlighting the timeless relevance of Benjamin Franklin and the tumultuous times in which he lived.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts to an American mother, Abiah Folger and a British father, Josiah in 1706. Considered the father of electricity, through his inventions, writings, and extensive activities as a printer, philosopher and more, Franklin helped advance the Age of Enlightenment. As a key founder of the United States, he is the only statesman to have signed all four documents that created a new nation: The Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), the Treaty of Paris establishing peace with Britain (1783) and The Constitution (1787).

It was diplomatic work that took Franklin to London for two vital periods: 1757–62 and 1764–75. During these years, as agent of the Pennsylvania Assembly, Franklin encouraged pro-American sympathies, continued his scientific experiments, mixed in circles that included James Boswell and Joseph Priestley and was active as a writer.

Franklin was amazed by the ‘dearness of living’ in the capital and in 1758 wrote to his wife: The whole Town is one great smoaky House, and every Street a Chimney, the Air full of floating Sea Coal Soot.

A Great Mystery - Skeletons in the Basement

Something not as well known about the house is that the basement was found to be filled with skeletons. This could be a great mystery however if you’ve been paying attention throughout this blog you may have guessed why already.

It was in fact the fascinating historical medicine dimension that was the reason behind the skeletons being found.

At this time in history, anatomy was still in its infancy and was massively frowned upon. A steady supply of human bodies was hard to come by legally, so Hewson (as mentioned previously) had to turn to grave robbing to get his hands on specimens.

Researchers thus think that 36 Craven was an irresistible spot for Hewson to establish his own anatomy lab. The tenant was a trusted friend, the landlady was his mother-in-law, and he was flanked by convenient sources for corpses. Bodies could be smuggled from graveyards and delivered to the wharf at one end of the street, or snatched from the gallows at the other end. When he was done with them, Hewson simply buried whatever was left of the bodies in the basement, rather than sneak them out for disposal elsewhere and risk getting caught and prosecuted for dissection and grave robbing.

See, that wasn’t as dark as you were expecting!

Sources Used:

https://benjaminfranklinhouse.org

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/benjamin-franklin/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-was-benjamin-franklins-basement-filled-with-skeletons-524521/