Soho House is a museum run by

Birmingham Museums Trust Birmingham Museums Trust is the largest independent charitable trust of museums in the United Kingdom. It runs nine museum sites across the city of Birmingham, including Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) and Thinktank, Birmingham Science ...

, celebrating Matthew Boulton's life, his partnership with

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fun ...

, his membership of the Lunar Society of Birmingham and his contribution to the

Midlands Enlightenment The Midlands Enlightenment, also known as the West Midlands Enlightenment or the Birmingham Enlightenment, was a scientific, economic, political, cultural and legal manifestation of the Age of Enlightenment that developed in Birmingham and the wide ...

and the Industrial Revolution. It is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

18th-century house in Handsworth, part of Birmingham since 1911, but historically in the county of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. It was the home of entrepreneur Matthew Boulton from 1766 until his death in 1809, and a regular meeting-place of the Lunar Society.

History

Matthew Boulton, one of the 18th century's most significant entrepreneurs, acquired the lease of the five-year-old Soho Mill in 1761 and developed it into Soho Manufactory. He expanded the cottage next to it into Soho House, changing it several times. It is faced with sheets of painted slate to give the appearance of large stone blocks. Boulton moved into Soho House when the Manufactory was completed. The Soho Manufactory was demolished in 1863. In 1766, Boulton became one of the founders of the Lunar Society. In 1789, Boulton commissioned Samuel Wyatt to extend the buildings and fully revamp it and the gardens. Work on extending the building was completed in 1796 following the submission of designs by James Wyatt, Samuel's brother, for the additions of a main entrance front. Wyatt was also responsible for the large dining room, the regular venue for meetings of the Lunar Society. It is a Grade II* listed building. After Boulton's death, in the house, it passed to his son Matthew Robinson Boulton and later his grandson, Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, who eventually sold it in 1850. It then had a number of owners, and was at one time used as a residential hostel for police officers, before being acquired by Birmingham City Council in 1990 and being opened by them as a museum in 1995.

Features

Soho House has been restored, retaining its 18th-century appearance, with "fine collections of ormolu, silver, furniture and paintings". Of particular note are the displays of silver and ormolu which were made in the manufactory, and the ormolu Sidereal clock made by Boulton and Fothergill, in 1771-72. There is a

Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

commemorating Matthew Boulton on the house. The garden, once over 100 acres in size but now less than half an acre, contains a walk with sphinxes, dated to around 1795. Part of the garden has been recreated using Boulton’s original planting notes.

Museum

Soho House is a ''Heritage Site'' and branch museum of the

Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, ...

, owned by Birmingham City Council. Since April 2012 the Heritage Sites and all other museums formerly run by the council have been run by

. It hosts exhibitions of local and community interest. Previously free, since April 2011 admission charges apply for entry to the house. It remains free to under 16s. Gardens, grounds and visitor facilities are free to all visitors. Artists-in-residence at the house have included

Vanley Burke Vanley Burke (born 1951) is a British Jamaican photographer and artist. His photographs capture experiences of his community's arrival in Britain, the different landscapes and cultures he encountered, the different ways of survival and experie ...

and Pauline Bailey.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Soho House
Official website

- Educational teaching sessions and resources at Soho House

- fun and games for children based on Soho House {{Buildings and structures in Birmingham, England Lunar Society of Birmingham Houses in Birmingham, West Midlands Museums in Birmingham, West Midlands Biographical museums in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) Museums established in 1995 Historic house museums in the West Midlands (county) Houses completed in 1796 Handsworth, West Midlands 1796 establishments in Great Britain Birmingham Museums Trust