House museums are in a special category of their own. For a start, they give you a fascinating insight into the life of the famous person. You can see where they lived, how they lived and where they created some of their finestworks. Sir John Soane’s Museum in London is a great example of a house museum. Sir John lived in London during the 18th century (1753-1837) and his house is exactly as he left it. In fact, visiting the house is just like stepping back in time. It’s full of thousands of weird and wonderful objects from around the world, including valuable paintings, beautiful sculptures and an Egyptian mummy.
The Dickens House Museum is in honour of the famous English writer, Charles Dickens. It is in the town of Broadstairs, Kent, which Dickens regularly visited. There are numerous personal artefacts and documents (including many letters) in exhibit rooms. The town also has an annual Dickens Festival, which takes place in June. During the festival, townspeopledress up in Victorian clothing. There are exhibitions, parades, theatre plays and musicians.