PICKFORD’S HOUSE

Pickford’s House Museum. as it now is, was built by eminent architect Joseph Pickford between 1769 and 1770 for his own occupation. The façade was designed to impress clients who might well only see the front of the house. For those who entered the premises, they would find the hall richly decorated with ornamental plasterwork and probably be taken into the house’s finest room, the saloon. Here they would be entertained. Pickford’s builder’s yard and stonemason’s workshops were at the rear of the house.

Today, the house has been converted into a museum and was opened to the public in 1988. A scene of Georgian domestic life is delightfully recreated with furnished rooms and fine costume displays. Downstairs, the kitchen and laundry re-constructions are particularly popular with visitors. One of the cellars is equipped in the style of a 1940s air-raid shelter. The house forms an important part of the Friar Gate Conservation Area.