The Ground Floor > The Front Hallway
An Overview of The Front Hallway
The entrance hall, staircase and landings are hung with original
ink and wash drawings by Fred Barnard (1846-96). They depict scenes and characters from Dickens's novels, and were executed by Barnard between 1871 and his death. Many are related to wood engravings, much admired by Vincent Van Gogh, that Barnard made for the Household Edition of Dickens's works (1871-79).
Farther down the hall is
Dickens's clock which was in the hall at Gad's Hill Place, Rochester. Beneath the clock is a
plaque with a brief history of the Dickens House; how the Dickens Fellowship was able to acquire the building. To the left of this plaque is a poster with a
detailed timeline of Dickens's life.
On the wall of the passage leading to the shop you can see an unusual mixture of fact and fiction:
the attic window through which Dickens gazed as a boy, when living in Bayham Street, Camden Town (north London); and above it a
pantry window from a house in Chertsey (20 miles south-west of London). The window and the house were the models for the ones featured in the burglary episode of Oliver Twist. Also featured on this portion of the wall are
two drawings by Sir Luke Fildes.