Carlyle's House in Chelsea, a journey through time

Behind Cheyne Walk is this house of the 1708 typical of old Chelsea where the historian Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881) and his wife Jane (1801 – 66) lived after moving from Scotland and until their deaths. The house has been kept in pretty much the same condition they left it.

By a series of coincidences, Carlyle became a star of the literary world of 1800. Now you can visit the house as it was seen by Dickens and other artists of the 1800.

From 1895 belongs to the country and from 1936 is managed by the National Trust . The house is interesting as it contains documents and furniture from the Victorian era but it was also the home of a celebrity couple in those days, Thomas was an intellectual while his wife Jane was a famous beauty. Many of the artists and intellectuals of the 1800 visited this house. From Darwin to Dickens and from Thackeray to Browning, they all came here.

The living room is still very similar to the one painted by Robert Tait, in the painting on the right one can see Carlyle’s dog called Nero, it seems that Mrs. Carlyle was annoyed at how Tait painted her dog: as big as a sheep.

Mrs Carlyle died early, it is said from the shock of  Nero escaping from the carriage. Thomas Carlyle died in 1881 in this house. You can also visit the garden which is practically the same as it was left by the Carlyles, at the bottom of the garden the famous Nero is buried.`

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