A Spitalfields Christmas

18 Folgate Street, Spitalfields

"You either see it or you don't"
The late Dennis Sever's teasing invitation to immerse oneself into the sensory experience that  he created in a former derelict Weavers House in Spitalfields.  Dennis Severs artfully restored the house eschewing modern conveniences and making do and mending to beguile the eye when original 17th/18th Century furnishings were too costly. He 'shared' his house with a Huguenot family named  Jervis. The experience is to suspend the 21st Century at the door and walk silently through the candlelit rooms warmed by open fires and to be always one step behind the family members who have seemingly just left a room with meals discarded and shards of a broken cup knocked hurridly onto the floor.  The Christmas experience has become something of a ritual for me and a spiritual and sensory feast  shared with my daughter Jess.   It is  a house that underpins my love of maximalism, history, clutter and candlelight.  Thanks to Mick - the long standing retainer who maintains the house, organises the bookings and is a genial host.  Until next year..........God willing.

The ground floor dining room.

http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/