Gift an Unforgettable Experience

Quartet for Worm with Paul Noble

During his residency in the Drawing Office at Sir John Soane's Museum in 2024, Paul Noble hoped to find a new rule that would get the measure of both himself and Sir John Soane. At the heart of all the works on display in this exhibition are scale and measurement which Noble, as an artist, architect and town planner, uses as a way of understanding the world and as a generative force in itself.

Central to this display is the Lesbian Rule. Originating from a malleable type of lead on the island of Lesbos, the Lesbian Rule is a curved rule that lends itself to measuring complicated forms such as the architecture left behind by worms tunnelling through the earth.

This exhibition will be accompanied by the first performance of Noble's Quartet for Worm in our Soane Late event on 25 April 2025.

Lesbian Rule,
Can you measure wormish infinity?
Measure the white, free chasm, infinity,
the only reality, infinity the abyss, the bottomless
pit to which the mind falls?
Lesbian Rule, are you he who will never be caught,
never delivered, who crawls between the thwarts,
towards the new day that promises to be glorious.
Lesbian Rule: Do you know, the mind disdains
what it can’t control,
Which will in turn destroy it –
The mind cannot conceive being wholly physical,
not metaphorical.
Lesbian Rule, what is your word?
INFINITY,
meaning that which cannot be measured.
Darwin was a Lesbian.
He said: ‘(the worm’s) attention indicates
the presence of a mind – some degree of
intelligence appears’.
I bend my will to fit the world.
I fit in Well. My limbs and my body are my measure.
I am you, the Lesbian Rule.

— Paul Noble / Artist

Descent into the Underworld. October 2024

An exclusive, after-hours tour of the Museum, this special Halloween Twilight Tour offers a journey through the stories and objects of the basement of Sir John Soane’s atmospheric house-museum.

Filled with artefacts related to mortality, the basement of the Museum evokes a gloomy underworld. Our expert guides will steer you through this labyrinthine space, sharing stories of death and the Beyond, from ancient Egyptian gods to the rise of Gothic literature. As twisting shadows dance across the walls, explore the lodgings of the resident monk who is said to still haunt his parlour, experience the artistry of the catacombs of ancient Rome, and know that death is not the end.

Soane Drawing Late

A candlelit evening celebrating the mastery of architectural drawing.

Sir John Soane had one of the best drawing collections put together by an architect, which he used for his own work and to instruct the pupils in his studio. Original sketches from Soane’s long and varied architectural career will be on display throughout the evening including rarely seen sketches in Soane’s own hand. Enjoy a complementary drink in the Library-Dining room whilst listening to a spotlight talk on the newly opened Architectural Drawing Prize exhibition which celebrates hand-drawn and digital architectural drawings globally.

As well as exploring the Museum by candlelight you can also try your hand at creating some architectural drawings of your own using objects from the Museum’s handling collection for inspiration.

Make It New

This special drawing themed Soane Late was inspired by the exhibition Soane and Modernism: Make It New. It featured exhibition talks and the opportunity to see drawings from the exhibition longlist that didn't quite make the final display.

About Soane and Modernism: Sir John Soane has often been referred to as the first modernist architect due to his emphasis on light, open space, abstract forms and restrained use of ornament. The exhibition will be the first to investigate this by placing drawings from Soane’s collection, some on display for the first time ever, in dialogue with work by modernist architects such as Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Ernő Goldfinger.

Pride Month 2024

This Soane Late celebrated Pride Month in style, exploring objects with LGBTQ+ connections in Sir John Soane’s eclectic collection. The evening was centred on the appearances and alter-egos people have adopted to express their identities, from Ancient Greece to Regency London.

Delectable gin cocktails were provided by MarGin Gin in the oh-so-elegant Library-Dining Room. Spotlight talks highlighted the fascinating objects from the collection which relate to queer lives and the gloriously-camp Chevelier De Neon (Arkem) gave a drag performance inspired by the Chevalier d'Éon, who challenged the gender norms of the Georgian period. Guests were also invited to take inspiration from the Chevelier and other Regency figures who expressed themselves through dress, in a creative workshop exploring costume as self-expression.

Personalities Past and Present with the Soane Visitor Assistants

This special Soane Late was curated in collaboration with the Soane's expert Visitor Assistants. Themed around the characters, people and personalities who shaped the life of Sir John Soane and his unique Museum, as well as those who have protected, interpreted and cared for it since his death in 1837. 

The evening featured hidden stories which have sparked the imaginations of those who know the Museum spaces best. The team researched and prepared spotlight talks on a range of topics and objects which, on a first visit, may be easily overlooked but have come to be beloved by those who have worked alongside them for months, years or even decades. 

Spotlight on Lina Iris Viktor

This Soane Late explored Mythic Time / Tens of Thousands of Rememberings, a collaborative exhibition between artist Lina Iris Viktor.

About the exhibition | Lina Iris Viktor: Mythic Time / Tens of Thousands of Rememberings

Viktor’s work unearths connections across time and cultures, from ancient Egypt to medieval illumination and indigenous Australian art. In bringing together these connections, she mirrors Soane’s own eclectic approach to collecting objects from varied cultures and time periods. Viktor’s sculptural works, made especially for this exhibition, are interspersed throughout the Museum, introducing new presences and memories into Soane’s former home.

Gin Lane with Portobello Road Gin

A Gin Late themed Soane Late, in collaboration with Portobello Road Gin, exploring London's legendary relationship with Gin, from Hogarthian excess to high society cocktails.

The event included a gin cocktail from Portobello Road Gin, and talks on the history of gin and gin drinking in the Library-Dining Room. 

The Museum's original 'Gin Lane' engraving by William Hogarth was on display. 

Pride Month 2023

In celebration of Pride month, a special Soane Late focusing on objects in Sir John Soane’s extensive and eclectic collection with an LGBTQ+ connection.

Our guides have uncovered fascinating hidden histories relating to queer lives and identities, from the rumours about Soane’s own grandson Frederick to a bust of Sappho which sits in the Library Dining Room, as well as objects purchased by Soane from the notorious William Beckford – the one-time wealthiest man in England, described by his biographer as ‘the most scandalous connoisseur of hedonism in the modern world’. A Molly Spoon Salon with  Lady Pineapple Mary taught visitors about the history of Molly Houses – 18th and 19th century queer meeting spaces – while they crafted a spoon doll of your ideal self.

There was also a performance from Arkem in the South Drawing Room. 

The Grand Tour with the Soane Youth Panel

In this special Soane Late, organised by our Soane Youth Panel, guests followed in the footsteps of the young John Soane as he travelled through Europe on his Grand Tour.

Guided by Soane's own diary entries and original drawings, not usually on display to the public, guests learnt what it took for the aspiring young architect to break into the elite world of Regency architecture. There were also drawing workshops in the Art Room and Amalfi Spritz cocktails in the Library-Dining Room. 

A Georgian Christmas 2023

A joyously festive Late to celebrate the winter season. Get into the holiday spirit with a mince pie and glass of prosecco in hand. 

Guest's joined us by candlelight for this Soane Late to celebrate a Georgian Christmas. The night featured a display in our historic kitchen on Soane’s housekeeper Mrs. Conduitt's Georgian winter recipes, and more. During Lates the who Museum is open to explore with corridors lined by Sir John Soane’s sculptures, paintings and treasures, to the accompaniment of a classic repertoire of tunes by our choir.

Drawing Inspiration with Ella Baron

This Soane Late delved deeper into the stories and design of this unique Museum after dark and discovered how contemporary artists continue to be inspired by it. 

Co-curated by Artist-in-Residence Ella Baron, there was a display of Ella's drawings in the South Drawing Room as well as an opportunity to hear her discuss her residency, and her work as a political cartoonist and graphic novelist. The whole Museum, beautifully illuminated, was open to explore with corridors lined by Sir John Soane’s vast collections including works by Canaletto, Turner and Hogarth.

Curating Fanciful Figures

This atmospheric Soane Late took a closer look at the exhibition Fanciful Figures which explored the small figures seen in architectural drawings with material selected from Sir John Soane’s extensive collection. Dr Frances Sands talked about the process of curating the exhibition and showed a display of additional material from Soane's collection of 30,000 architectural drawings pulled from the exhibition's long list. 

Literary Late

Join us for a candlelit evening to celebrating all things literary with pop-up poetry readings, book displays, and more.   

Sir John Soane was an avid book collector and had a vast personal collection of works which he kept at his home and studio in Lincoln Inn Fields. Our Archivist and Head of Library Services will present a display of some of Soane’s favourite books, rarely on show to the public, in the Museum's elegant Drawing Rooms.

With a glass of prosecco in hand, you can also enjoy pop-up readings by Robert Seatter, Head of History at the BBC, from his latest book The House of Everything: Poems Inspired by Sir John Soane’s Museum, in the very spaces these poems were first imagined.

A Georgian Christmas 2024

As December arrived, Sir John Soane's house, as the rest of Georgian England, would begin to welcome Christmastime. At the heart of this season was gathering with friends and making merry - a tradition that even as a workaholic Soane was keen to uphold. Soane's office would be briefly closed over Christmas to give his students and employees respite. Despite this, Soane worked throughout the season, including in many years on the Big Day! Nevertheless, the evenings were reserved for entertaining and celebrating with close friends.