Benjamin Franklin House

I did the «historical experience» but I think I might have preferred the «architectural tour.» The historical experience consists of a woman in a period costume who plays the part of Franklin’s landlady and takes you from room to room, in each of which ceiling-​mounted projectors display ambient images against the walls and an audio soundtrack plays through speakers. The woman who played Franklin’s landlady was a fine actor and did an excellent job, however, this style of presentation — by its very nature — becomes tiring rather quickly.
At the beginning and and end of the «experience» an American-​accented girl came in and mentioned a few anecdotes for 2 – 3 minutes. This was the best part and I wish the entire experience had just been her taking us through the house and doing a straight narration-​style, traditional tour.

Having just finished Walter Issacson’s book on Franklin, I was interested in seeing where he lived while in London. Although the house has none of the original furnishings through a combination of audio, video and live acting the story came alive in a unique way. It was entertaining and interesting. To move from room to room while the actress spoke as though part of the video. You learned history, personal anecdotes about the visitors Franklin received, and stories of his family relationships. It is necessary to make advance reservations as the rooms are very small.

This is a true hidden gem a few minutes away from Trafalgar Square. I didn’t know about Ben’s house until a friend suggested I try it when I visited London. It’s a small place with a lot of history. I took the Historical Tour which included actors in garb. It was about an hour long and I enjoyed it. This is a great thing to do if you have any free time in London.

It’s not ready a place I would recommend let’s put it this way the best thing about the house is the outside

I came here because it was a part of the London Pass. I thought that I could just walk through the house and see signs that said like, «this is where Benjamin Franklin pooped» or something. If you want to walk through the rooms, you have to go on a tour with people. The tour lasts about 45 minutes. It’s a somewhat interesting tour, unique by the fact that there are people who are dressed up in clothing of Ben Franklin’s era and they have dialogue that is interactive with a movie projected on the walls of each room. After being in one room for ~10 minutes, there will be a sound in the next room which cues the staff to move on (like a kid crying). I thought this was pretty cool.
Is going to this museum worth it? I’d say only if you have a London Pass or if you really love the history and contributions of Benjamin Franklin. It’s conveniently near lots of other POI (right next to Trafalgar Square). Nothing crazy happened here, it’s just where Ben Franklin had a home and had meetings with other science dudes. So, my experience was ok.

A true hidden gem just off Trafalgar Square. If you’re a yank like me, you’ve got to visit to see the dealings of Mr. Franklin in London. I mean, he lived in the city for years, away from his family, and set up a sort of American embassy where luminaries at the time paid a call.
Alas sparse furnishings, but all the rooms of the house remain, including the famed backyard where bones were dug up from years of medical experimenting by the proprietor’s son-​in-​law (that got you interested, didn’t it?).
The staff are great and I fully bought into the role played by our gracious tour guide. It was fun and informative. A good rainy afternoon well-​spent.

One of the great things about London is its continuing capacity to surprise and delight, even to long-​term residents like me! Wandering up a random side-​street beside Charing Cross station, I stumbled across Benjamin Franklin House.
The blue plaque on the wall coonfirmed that Ben Franklin did live and work here at 36 Craven Street for 16 years on the eve of the American Revolution and it served as the first de-​facto American embassy
However, to get into the museum, you have to sign up for one of the guided tours.
With an American mother and British father, Ben Franklin was quite the renaissance man. Considered the father of electricity, he had quite a few other strings to his bow — he had a love of science (exploring bifocal glasses and inventing the energy-​saving Franklin stove), health (innoculation, cure for the common cold), music (veleoping the glass armonica for which Mozart, Bach and Beethoven composed) as well as being a prolific writer.
As a Founding Father of the United States, he is the only statesman to have signed all 4documents that created thew 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).
The museum is explored partly through films in the historic rooms of the house, which has most of the original features and some hands-​on exhibitiions of his scientific work. Fortunately, this doesn’t include exhibits from the anatomy school, which was run from this building his landlady’s son-​in-​law!
The building is also a scholarship centre with a full set of Franklin’s published works for study.
This is a most fascinating part of London’s history

During my trip to England, i visited the museum of Benjamin Franklin. I found that museum really interesting ! I learned a lot things ! Thank you so much

If you are looking for a faithful period recreation of Benjamin Franklin’s then this isn’t the place for you. However this is a wonderful multi-​media (and live actor) experience that gives you a real feel for the life and times of Franklin while he stayed in London as a politician, scientist and philosopher. Not only his life both his interactions with others and even some of the edgy bits of his life. The house is located remarkably close to Trafalgar Square and worth a visit. However make sure to pre-​purchase your tickets online since tours occur at fixed times and also plan ahead. We almost weren’t able to go because they didn’t have tours on the next day because the actress had lost here voice. Overall this is a fun experience and worthwhile especially if you want to get off the beaten path and away from crowds.

In a city so flushed with art and history, even the locals don’t know half of the museums. Ask anyone about the Ben Franklin House and you’ll probably be hit with puzzled looks and told to get on a plane to Philadelphia. But here it is, tucked down next to Charing Cross station — the old townhouse that became the USA’s first embassy abroad long ago.
The house has recently been converted into a museum by a group of expeditious expats loaded with American donations. It’s aim is to tell the story of Benjamin Franklin’s time in the UK… lightning experiments, diplomacy, revolution and all. If you’ve seen the John Adams TV series you’ll know he was an interesting dude and you’re probably itching to find out more.
The museum itself is one of the weirdest formats I’ve seen.
1. Book ahead to arrange a time — it’s done by appointments.
2. Enter and be led through to a room to see a TV presentation.
3. A girl shows up dressed in period attire and takes you to each room
4. Each room is empty but they beam some fuzzy images on to the walls at strange angles and play audio illustrating how Franklin fitted his life into each room. Somewhat uncomfortably the girl in period dress will occasionally talk back to the random audio conversation.
5. That’s it — empty rooms, projections and audio conversations.
If you’re a history nut you’ll love it — from the slim pickings on his social life, to the gruesome detail of the operations performed by the physician family he stayed with here. If you’re looking to be captivated — well maybe like me you’ll find the museum format a struggle and feel let down by the lack of visible history. It’s interesting enough, but I left wanting more.

Benjamin Franklin did a bit of most things: this is the man who invented the lightning conductor, signed the Declaration of Independence, compiled books of sayings He also spent a number of years living in this London house, making it effectively the first US embassy.
Rather than a conventional museum or historic house tour, this is a multimedia theatrical event. Less gimmicky than that sounds, it combines projected images, sound recordings and a costumed character guide to lead you through the story of Franklin’s life. A volunteer guide was also on hand to introduce the show and answer questions at the end.
Altogether, an entertaining experience which lets you learn a lot without feeling lectured.