Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1707 (House) 1901 (Museum) |
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| Location | Breadmarket Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England |
| Type | Biographical Museum |
| Collection size | 8,000 items |
| Visitors | 16,000 |
The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum is a special museum and bookshop. It is located in the middle of Lichfield, a city in Staffordshire, England. The building itself is very old and important. It is known as a Grade I listed building, which means it's one of the most important historic buildings in England. You can find it on the corner of Market Street and Breadmarket Street, right across from the market square.
This museum opened its doors in 1901. It tells the story of Samuel Johnson, a famous writer and dictionary maker. He created the very first important Dictionary of the English Language. Samuel Johnson's father built this house in 1707. Samuel was born here on September 18, 1709. He lived in this house for most of his first 27 years before moving to London in 1737. After Johnson passed away in 1784, the house was used for different shops. Then, in 1900, a man named John Gilbert bought it for the city. He wanted it to become a museum to honor Samuel Johnson. The house is still a busy museum today.
Contents
What Does the Museum Look Like?
Samuel Johnson's father, Michael, built the house in 1707. It stands on the corner of Breadmarket Street and Market Street. The house was built using a timber frame (wooden beams) with bricks filling the spaces. Today, the outside is covered in a smooth finish called stucco.
The building has four floors. It was built in a style called Palladian, which is a classic design. The top floor used to have special windows called dormer windows. These were removed in the 1700s but put back in the 1970s. The front of the house faces the Market Square. On this side, the upper floors stick out over the ground floor. This part was once held up by plain pillars. These pillars continued upwards on the corners of the upper floors as decorative columns called pilasters. The house was originally made of red-brown bricks with blue-black roof tiles. Over time, changes were made. In the 1800s, the decorative columns were removed, and the outside was covered in stucco.
A Look Back: The Museum's History
Before It Was a Museum
Michael Johnson built the house in 1707. It was both his home and his bookshop. Samuel Johnson was born here on September 18, 1709. He spent most of his early life in this house. He left for London with his friend David Garrick on March 2, 1737, when he was 27.
Samuel's mother, Sarah, continued to live in the house after he left. In 1739, Samuel and his mother borrowed £80 using the house as security. They borrowed it from Theophilus Levett, a family friend. Samuel later paid back this loan completely. After his mother passed away in 1759, Samuel asked his stepdaughter Lucy Porter and his parents' servant Catherine Chambers to live in the house and keep the bookshop running.
We don't know exactly when the Johnson family stopped owning the house. Samuel might have owned it until he died in 1784. In 1785, a year after his death, the house was sold for £235 at an auction. A bookseller named Major Morgan bought it. He continued to use the building as a bookshop. From 1817 to 1835, the house was the office for the Lichfield Mercury newspaper.
It is believed the house was empty for some years after that. Sometimes it was used as a grocery store, a dentist's office, or an ironmonger's (a shop selling metal goods). In 1887, James Johnson of Stockport bought the house. He wanted to save the house where Dr. Johnson was born. James Johnson's will stated that the house should be sold to the city in 1900. John Gilbert provided the money for this purchase. Finally, on May 27, 1901, the museum dedicated to Samuel Johnson opened.
What You Can See at the Museum Today
The museum opened in 1901. It has a huge collection of old writings and books. This includes over 1,000 books collected by Dr. Peter Hay Hunter. His wife gave them to the museum in 1911. The city council managed the museum until 1974. Then, a group called the Dr Johnson Birthplace Trust took over. The city council became the trustee again in 1982. The museum is also the mailing address for the Johnson Society, which started in 1910. The entrance to the bookshop, which faces Market Street, was fixed up in 1990.
Today, the museum has many different things to see. There are displays, rooms set up as they would have been, and videos. Visitors can learn about Samuel Johnson's amazing life. You'll discover his difficult childhood, his struggles with money, and how he became world-famous. The collection includes pictures, paintings, and sculptures. One sculpture is a carved figure of Johnson by Denis Alva Parsons. There's also furniture, old writings, and many rare books written by Johnson.
Most of the books came from two big donations. These are now kept in libraries named after the people who donated them: the Hay Hunter and Blum Libraries. The Wood library has another 2,000 books. You can also see some of Johnson's personal items. These include his armchair, tea set, breakfast table, and a writing desk he could carry. There's even David Garrick's walking stick and a bookcase that belonged to James Boswell.
The Museum in TV Shows
The museum was shown in a BBC TV show called Seven Ages of Britain. This was in the fifth episode. The host, David Dimbleby, visited the museum. He read parts from Johnson's famous dictionary there.
