In Focus: The Soane Museum in World War Two

In Focus is a series of lunchtime talks with Sir John Soane’s Museum curators and conservators in which they select an item from Soane’s vast and eclectic collection for an in-depth investigation.

Join Helen Dorey, Deputy Director and Inspectress, at this special talk in commemoration of the 80^th anniversary of VE day. This talk will explore the impact of World War II on Sir John Soane’s Museum. It will examine the reaction of staff and the Museum’s Trustees to this national emergency, the consequences for the Museum and its collections and the story of the miraculous survival of the Museum amidst so much destruction and of its restoration and re-opening after the War. 

About the Speaker

Regarded as one of the leading scholars of Sir John Soane, Helen Dorey joined the Museum in 1986 and has been its Inspectress since 1995. She has published extensively on the Museum and its collections and has led numerous restoration projects within the Museum over 30 years, including the restoration of Soane’s private apartments. She is a member of the Council of the Attingham Trust, the National Trust’s Collections and Interpretation Panel and the Advisory Council of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. She was awarded an MBE in 2017 for services to heritage.

About the Event

The doors will open at 12:50 for a prompt start at 13:00.

Image: Case of an incendiary bomb which landed on the Museum on the night of 24-25 September 1940 (SM X1317)