The ever-popular Sir John Soane's Museum is about to get a tiny bit bigger.
The Lincoln's Inn Fields museum is much-loved for its jumble of rooms, strewn with the motley treasures of antiquity. Now, you'll have a new room to explore. Well, it's a very old room, but one that's never been open to the public.
Soane's Drawing Office was once the "creative heart" of the building. This was where the great architect's draftsmen and apprentices would work up their plans and elevations. Soane and his underlings were responsible for many notable buildings in London, including the Bank of England and Dulwich Picture Gallery.
While restoring the Drawing Office, the conservation team uncovered a time capsule from the 1920s. Among its contents were a railway ticket from South Kensington and a pipe with tobacco still inside. A new time capsule has now been buried within the Office.
The newly restored room will be used by architectural acolytes once again, in the form of artist residencies. The first two residencies go to an artist researching theatrical spaces and a graphic novel artist.
Tours of the new space take place on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2pm on a first come, first served basis. The wider house is free to visit without pre-booking (Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm). Sir John Soane's Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP. Nearest tube: Holborn.
