48 Doughty Street

On March 25, 1837, Charles Dickens moved into 48 Doughty Street, London, on which he had a three year lease at £80 a year.

"It was a pleasant twelve-room dwelling of pink brick, with three stories and an attic, a white arched entrance door on the street level, and a small private garden in the rear. It was located just north of Gray's Inn ... a genteel private street with a lodge at each end and gates that were closed at night by a porter in a gold-laced hat and a mulberry-colored coat with the Doughty arms on its buttons."

-Source-

Dickens brought with him not only his wife Catherine, but also her 17 year old sister Mary, who moved with them from Furnival's Inn. A new addition to the household was Dickens younger brother Frederick.

It was a happy time for all who lived there, but the happiness was short lived. In six weeks a tragedy befell the home, a tragedy that Charles Dickens would carry with him the rest of his life.

48 Doughty Street is the address of The Dickens House Museum.