Sir John Soane's Museum

The Museum was designed by one of Britain's greatest architects, Sir John Soane (1753-1837) and was his home as well as his private Museum. Listed Grade I, it is a building of outstanding originality with its picturesque vistas and inventive handling of light and space. Soane’s collections – architectural fragments, Graeco-Roman marbles, casts, paintings, sculpture and furniture – are integrated with the architecture of the building, and are still arranged today as they were at the time of his death. Behind its unusual projecting facade lies London’s most unexpected interior, every aspect of which reflects its creator’s architectural ingenuity, imagination and love of beauty.

On the north side of leafy Lincoln’s Inn Fields, one of the first London Squares built, the Museum is centrally located and convenient to both the City and the West End. This iconic and prestigious Museum is suitable for high-end corporate dinners and drinks receptions, and for intimate private celebrations.

Dinners: Pre-dinner drinks are served in the elegant double Drawing Room on the first floor, restored to its original Patent Yellow colour with yellow silk curtains and authentic carpet.

This is where Mrs Soane sometimes held ‘little dances’ (as detailed in her diary) or played cards for sixpences in the evenings when the Soanes entertained their guests. Prior to dinner, guests are offered a tour through the labyrinthine spaces of the Museum, many of which are lit with candles, transporting guests back to Regency times and allowing guests to experience Soane’s creation exactly as he intended.

Dining in the spectacular setting of the candlelit Library-Dining Room is truly a never-to-be-forgotten experience; diners are surrounded by mirrors reflecting the Pompeian red decoration, the Greek vases and other works of art. This is perhaps the most remarkable and atmospheric Regency interior anywhere, where Sir John himself entertained Turner, Coleridge and the Duke of Sussex – the glitterati of the day.

Receptions: Guests have exclusive access to all areas of the Museum and can wander freely amongst Soane’s fascinating collections. They can visit the celebrated double-height Dome area, crammed full of architectural fragments and cinerary urns and look down onto the 3,000 year old Sarcophagus of the Egyptian King, Seti I, with its intricate carvings of hieroglyphics and one of the finest examples in the world. They are able to experience the famous Picture Room with its series of uniquely-designed folding ‘picture planes’, opening and closing to display paintings and drawings by Canaletto, Hogarth and Piranesi. The gloomy and atmospheric Crypt can also be available for viewing if required, along with the rooms created by Soane for Padre Giovanni, (Father John, the monk) his alter ego.

The artist and writer, Benjamin Robert Haydon, attended a party held by Soane to celebrate his acquisition of the Sarcophagus in 1824, and later wrote:

‘…it was the finest fun imaginable to see the people come into the Library after wandering about below, amidst tombs and capitals, and shafts, and noseless heads, with a sort of expression of delighted relief at finding themselves among the living, and with coffee and cake. Fancy delicate ladies of fashion dipping their pretty heads into an old mouldy, fusty hierogliphicked coffin, blessing their stars at its age, wondering whom it contained…’

In mid-2012, the first phase of the Museum’s £7 million redevelopment project ‘Opening up the Soane’ will be completed and guests will have access to a new Exhibition Gallery, designed by Caruso St John Architects. Its inaugural exhibition entitled ‘Stadia: Sport and Vision in Architecture’ opens on 6th July as part of the Cultural Olympiad, and is timed to coincide with the London Olympics.

A senior member of the curatorial staff, aided by members of the museum’s warding team, is on hand throughout the evening to ensure your guests’ enjoyment.

Exclusive Candlelit Private Tours: These are available for parties of less than 20, evenings only and on a restricted basis. 

Event Types

Christmas Party, Dinner, Exhibition, Party, Press Launch, Reception.