2022 will see some small but important changes at Johnson’s Birthplace. This year, new displays in Michael Johnson’s Workroom will recreate an 18th century book bindery and share more information about the Johnson family business. We’ll also be adding visitor toilet facilities in our yard.
In this month’s blog post, we share images from the Museum’s photograph archive which chart some of the changes to Johnson’s Birthplace over the centuries
A shop front on Breadmarket Street
Thomas Clarke occupied the house from 1841 and ran his Drapers business on the ground floor. It was this very different frontage on Breadmarket Street which Charles Dickens would have seen on his visit to Lichfield – you can read about his visit in this blog post. The shop front was removed and the famous frontage of pillars and steps restored after 1887, when the house was purchased by philanthropist James Henry Johnson (no relation to Samuel)
When the Museum was given to the city in 1900, the committee set about on further work to restore the shop, removing floral wallpaper and changing the Market Street windows which you can read more about in our blog post here.
Changes in the 1960s
Some of our visitors still recall coming to Johnson’s Birthplace before significant changes were made at the end of the 1960s. Visitors entered into a hallway in the years before the Parlour wall was removed and a staircase was added to enable access to the basement floor of the building.
The main focus of the 1960s work was opening up access to the attic floor, now one of the most striking areas of the house. Dormer windows were reinstated on the roof as part of the works, which were carried out by the well-known Lichfield firm Linfords.
While working in the attic an interesting collection of items came to light. No missing literary gems from Samuel Johnson, but the scraps of paper give an insight into the life of the house – from pieces of magazines from 1721 which Michael Johnson’s apprentices may well have been reading in their rooms, to correspondence with Mr Hinde, the editor of the Lichfield Mercury in the 19th century, and an advertisement for the Lichfield Races.
In addition to the parlour work and the opening of the attic, the basement was turned into an archive area in the 1960s, which later became the kitchen display.
Displaying the Collection
In the 1910s, the Birth Room contained the majority of the Museum’s collection in a huge display case, and the top floors of the house were not yet open to the public.
The Birth Room looked very different after the 1960s renovations. Part of the original part of the cabinets were still in use in the room which is now our Bookshop until the 1980s.
