House museums #21: Handel Hendrix House

When Jimi Hendrix moved in to the attic flat of 23 Brook Street in 1966 he was apparently delighted to learn that George Frideric Handel had lived next door more than two centuries earlier, leasing the brick-fronted townhouse from 1723 until his death in 1759. For the unlikely neighbours, life in Mayfair was creatively — and commercially — rewarding. 

Until 2019, the lower floors of Handel’s house were occupied by a shop. Following a meticulous £3mn restoration programme, the entire house has recently reopened to the public. New exhibition spaces and material — recordings, portraits, photography, engravings — explore both artists’ cultural legacies.

Their domestic arrangements were equally intriguing. None of the original contents (Handel’s art collection, listed in a 1760 auction catalogue, included two Poussins and a Canaletto) remain but curators have tracked down era-appropriate furnishings. Original photographs supplied the details for Hendrix’s eyrie — a batik hanging, Persian carpets, a guitar and the low bed where he held court and gave interviews. All that is missing is the perpetual haze of cigarette smoke. “Some of our American visitors are disappointed it’s not an Airbnb,” confided our guide.

London cemented Hendrix’s rising reputation. He performed at the Royal Albert Hall, captivating smaller audiences at clubs like the Bag O’Nails. The Seattleite described Brook Street, where he lived with his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham until 1969, as “the first real home of my own”. He was fascinated by the Handel connection, heading to the One Stop Records in South Molton Street to buy works such as Water Music and Belshazzar. 

While Hendrix made do with takeaways from the Mr Love café downstairs, Handel’s catering requirements, according to an inventory made after his death, were more elaborate. Typical of the period, the kitchen, which has been recreated from scratch, was in the basement. A faux lead cistern, marked with Handel’s initials, supplied the cooks with fresh water. Elsewhere, Georgian paint hues (based on originals unearthed by historic paint consultant Patrick Baty), period instruments and reinstated panelling conjure an 18th-century atmosphere.

Born in 1685 in Halle, Germany, Handel also flourished in London. Some of his stateliest works were written at Brook Street: Messiah (a new display explores its composition) and “Zadok the Priest”, commissioned for George II’s coronation and performed at every coronation since, including that of King Charles III last month. Philippe Mercier’s portrait, which may have been painted here, captures the musician at work, ink quill hovering over sheet music, dressed in his hallmark dashing red house coat. 

According to news reports and visiting diarists, he was entrepreneurial, too. The ground floor parlour doubled as a ticket office for concerts and subscriptions to fund new works. It was also a rehearsal space — arias and oratorios wafting through sash windows — with candlelit performances held upstairs for friends and patrons. 

That tradition continues today. Live musical performances take place regularly — heady Hendrixean guitar riffs or the trill of a spinet evoking the history of this most musical of London addresses.

handelhendrix.org

Find out about our latest stories first — follow @FTProperty on Twitter or @ft_houseandhome on Instagram