BIID Tour of Sir John Soane’s Museum

BIID members, plus a guest, are invited on a guided tour of the Sir John Soane’s Museum with a special visit to the Private Apartments and the Adam Study Centre to view selected drawings with curator Dr Frances Sands. This tour has been crafted to focus on the interior design aspects of this intriguing property for our members.

Sir John Soane (1753 – 1837) was one of the most inventive architects of his time. He built his extraordinary home by buying, demolishing and rebuilding three houses in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the site of the now known Sir John Soane’s Museum.

In 1809, Soane toyed with turning all of numbers 12 and 13 into a museum for architectural models, casts and drawings. Soane’s collection grew further. He ended up with spectacular items – like the sarcophagus of the Egyptian king, Seti I. He was constantly arranging and rearranging these objects throughout his life, not just to incorporate new acquisitions, but to enhance their poetic qualities through inspiring juxtapositions. The organisation of the museum can seem chaotic. It is, in fact, quite purposeful – each room a work of art in its own right.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Programme

• 2.50pm - Meet BIID representative outside the museum for registration
  
• 3.00pm - Enter the museum to cloak bags and coats
  
• 3.10pm - Visit to the Adam Study Centre to view selected drawings with the curator
  
• 3.30pm - Tour of the museum’s ground and first floor drawing rooms, which includes the famous picture rooms featuring works by Canaletto, Turner and two Hogarth series’, A Rake’s Progress and The Election.
  
• 4.30pm - Tour of the Private Apartments. This unique tour gives exclusive access to Soane’s domestic rooms, known as the Private Apartments, which were opened in 2015 after an extensive restoration project.These rooms are not included in the standard museum entry, a treat to see them on this tour and for a group interested in interior design with a wonderful wallpaper story as well as a close up look at some of Soane’s ‘mod-cons’.  

About the venue

Please arrive promptly as the tours are timed, we will not be able to accommodate any late arrivals.

Please note that there is no level access to the Private Apartments. The venue is sorry for any inconvenience that this causes.

Please note that stiletto heels, photography and food and drink are not permitted within the museum.

Additional information

Prices are not inclusive of VAT.

This event is exclusively for members of the BIID plus one guest.

When booking please provide the name of the person(s) who will be attending the event - we will use this for their delegate badge and materials.

If you have any queries please email the office at info@biid.org.uk or call 020 7628 0255.

All BIID events and training courses are subject to standard terms and conditions which can be read in full here.

Image: Copyright John Soane’s Museum, London. Photo: Derry Moore.

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