Join us online for a talk by historian Brady Crytzer, where he will detail how in 1756, Benjamin Franklin’s skills in diplomacy helped to yield a compromise Pennsylvania’s Quaker pacifists and the imperial regime that demanded a provincial militia to support North American efforts. In many ways, it’s his first great political achievement.
Join us as we host our friend George Boudreau, who will deliver a talk entitled “A Glimpse of Franklin on the Cusp: Unraveling an Often Forgotten Image of Franklin at Craven Street”. Focusing on Franklin in portraiture, the talk will fittingly take place in Franklin’s Craven Street parlour!
Talk only : £5
Tour + Talk: £15*
*The House tour will begin at 4:30pm
Walking Tour: American History in London
In April 1775, the American Revolutionary War began when the ‘shot heard around the world’ was fired at Lexington and Concord, MA.
To celebrate it’s 250th anniversary, Benjamin Franklin House is launching a brand-new walking tour, that retraces Franklin’s footsteps through the city and stops by some rather unique sites of American history in London.
When?
On each date there will be two tours. One at 10:30-12:30 and the other at 13:30-15:30.
*Afternoon only
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on our Eventbrite page here.
Did you know that Benjamin Franklin spent 16 years (1757-1775) living in London acting as a colonial agent? Some even argue that he was the first de-facto American ambassador to the UK!
During much of his time in the city, Franklin fought to maintain the union between the American colonies and Great Britain. He lived and worked in the city, delivering speeches at the Houses of Parliament, attending royal coronations at Westminster Abbey and meeting with some of the most important figures from the 18th century.
Did you know he also visited a waxwork museum run my an alleged American spy who corresponded with him during the Revolutionary War?
What’s included on the tour?
The tour begins at Benjamin Franklin House where you will get a private look around the world’s only remaining Franklin home. We will see where Franklin lived and hear about some of the famous guest he hosted.
We will then depart from the House on a circular route that retraces Franklin’s movements around Westminster.
Along the way we will pass by the office of John Quincy Adams, the formal residence of George III, the site of an embassy for the Republic of Texas, and come face to face with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
The tour will finish on Craven Street, outside Benjamin Franklin House.
What are we seeing?
As well as uncovering American history in London, you will also be ticking off some of the most iconic landmarks the city has to offer!
Key sights are:
Who’s leading the tour?
The tour will be led by Henry Wilkinson, who has served as Education Manager at Benjamin Franklin House for over 3 years. He is a graduate of History from the University of Cambridge and a former History teacher. He has lived in London for over 5 years and also supports other museums across the UK with education advice through his work with the Historic Houses Association.
Need to know
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased on our Eventbrite page here.
Join us for a FREE day of family fun — enjoy a self-guided tour by downloading the Bloomberg Connects app, test your observation skills with a scavenger hunt, try your hand at arts and crafts, and enjoy hot chocolate and practice proper etiquette with Mrs. Polly Hewson, the lady of the House!
Pre-booking is not required. Just drop in, and stay as long as you’d like! Last entry will be from 3:30pm.
6pm
Join us either in person or online as Patrick Baty talks us through his long career of conserving some of England’s most remarkable historic homes, including his process of restoring the original ‘Franklin green’ color to the wooden-panelled walls of Benjamin Franklin House!
March 20, 2025 – 6pm
To mark the 250th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s hasty departure from London, we’re hosting a hybrid roundtable discussion featuring leading historians of Early America.
Founding Director Márcia Balisciano will deliver a special keynote speech highlighting the remarkable conservation efforts of the original board that saved Benjamin Franklin House. Then, moderator Ben Marsh will lead Liz Covart, Patrick Griffin, and Tara Bynum in a discussion reflecting on Franklin’s legacy 250 years on.
If you can’t join us in Ben’s parlour at 36 Craven Street, London, then we hope you’ll tune in online!
Join us for an after-hours tour of Benjamin Franklin House to celebrate Ben’s 319th birthday, complete with a glass of prosecco and a slice of birthday cake!
The event will start at 5pm, and capacity is limited.
Note: party hats strongly encouraged!
Márcia Balisciano is founding Director of Benjamin Franklin House. She is also founding Chief Sustainability Officer at RELX. She holds a PhD in Economic History from LSE and serves on the board of the Foundation for the (UN) Global Compact and the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens.
Michael Cox is a Founding Director of LSE IDEAS. He was Director of LSE IDEAS between 2008 and 2019. He is author or editor of several books, including Agonies of Empire: US Power from Clinton to Biden, a collection of essays titled The Post-Cold War World (2018), a centennial edition of J.M. Keynes’s The Economic Consequences of the Peace (2019), and a new edition of E. H. Carr’s 1945 classic Nationalism & After (2021).
9-11am: FREE drop-in social for postgraduate students
Whether you’re an American studying abroad, you have an interest in American studies, or you’re just hoping to celebrate Thanksgiving in the home of one of the United States’ most preeminent founding fathers, we hope you’ll join us a hot drink and a Thanksgiving treat! We’d love you meet you and hear about your research interests and experiences.
1-2:30pm and 3-4:30pm: Architectural Tour & Talk
Join us for a tour of Benjamin Franklin House, which will include autumnal refreshments and a talk on Benjamin Franklin and Native American relations in pre-Revolutionary Pennsylvania by Dr. Megan King (University of Kent).
Tickets for the Tour & Talk should be pre-booked here.
Join moderator Justin Webb, the BBC’s first North America Editor, Host of the Today Programme, and BFH’s Journalist in Residence, for a debate between Kristin Wolfe of Democrats Abroad UK and Greg Swenson of Republican Overseas!
Attend in person or online on Thursday, 24 October, with a chance to ask your own questions on who is best placed to lead the United States over the next four years: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.
