Learning English

Martin Wyatt
Deputy Director, Handel House Museum
This building was put up in 1722 and Handel was the first person to live here. He moved in in 1723 and lived here for 36 years until his death in 1759. It’s quite a small Georgian town house, very simple, that has one room at the front and one room at the back. The front room is where Handel had rehearsals with his singers and musicians and would give recitals for his friends. Handel moved into this house when he was writing the opera Giulio Cesare in 1723 and that was the first piece of music that he completed in this building.

Handel moved into Mayfair when it was a very up-and-coming area. All the houses on this street were new when he moved here and it was part of the expansion of London after the Great Fire of 1666.

I think the piece of music that Handel is most well-known for is Messiah, which was written in this house in the summer of 1741.

The most rewarding thing about working here is seeing how our visitors connect with the museum and Handel. When they come into the museum, they feel almost as though Handel is here in the room with them.

Coincidentally, Handel’s house is next door to a house in which Jimi Hendrix lived in the 1960s and that building is also part of the museum. And in about a year’s time, we will be opening the Jimi Hendrix flat for visitors to come and see as well as Handel's House.