Table Of Content
- Museum Mega Menu Title
- Homeless encampments are on the ballot in Arizona. Could California, other states follow?
- A Guide to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month 2024 in Philly
- The Best English Civil War Sites and Battlefields
- Getting to Benjamin Franklin House
- Visiting the Benjamin Franklin Museum

When he was done with them, Hewson simply buried whatever was left of the bodies in the basement, rather than sneak them out for disposal elsewhere and risk getting caught and prosecuted for dissection and grave robbing. Made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, it complements our in-House Historical Experience, where time, place and story are evoked through performance, sound, and digital projection. It is an integral part of a visit to Benjamin Franklin House, but we are making it available online until we can open the doors of 36 Craven Street widely again.
Museum Mega Menu Title
This small merchant’s house, near the River Thames and not far from the Houses of Parliament, and where Franklin lived between 1757 and 1775, is the only one of his homes on either side of the Atlantic that still survives. Craven Street was at the very centre of Franklin’s domestic life from the first week he arrived in London in 1757 to the day he left in March 1775. In that time, Franklin spent only a short eighteen months back in Philadelphia. In London, Franklin had an extremely strong platonic relationship with his widowed landlady, Margaret Stevenson, and was like a father to her daughter Polly.
Homeless encampments are on the ballot in Arizona. Could California, other states follow?
So while bodies in Franklin's basement might conjure up ideas that a Founding Father was harboring dark secrets, the truth is less nefarious. While it's likely that Franklin knew about Hewson's school, the Friends of Benjamin Franklin House believe that it's unlikely he participated in the actual dissections. Researchers think that 36 Craven was an irresistible spot for Hewson to establish his own anatomy lab. The tenant was a trusted friend, the landlady was his mother-in-law, and he was flanked by convenient sources for corpses. Bodies could be smuggled from graveyards and delivered to the wharf at one end of the street, or snatched from the gallows at the other end.
A Guide to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month 2024 in Philly
It was with Franklin’s help that Hewson was ultimately elected into the Royal Society — the U.K.’s national science academy. “[Franklin] thought [Hewson] was a polite and promising young man,” Balisciano says. Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.
The Best English Civil War Sites and Battlefields
Hewson had been a lecturer at a prominent anatomy school run by William Hunter but left after the men had a falling out. Once he moved in with Franklin, he ran his own anatomy school out of the basement, which accounts for the remains. There is proof of this thanks to liquid mercury found on turtle bones and vermillion coloring connected to dog bones that were found in the basement.
Life in Tudor England
The French government provided military assistance, including troops, naval support and supplies. The support was vital to the pivotal triumph of the Continental Army at Yorktown in 1781. Without French aid, the American Revolution would probably have failed; with it, the British were defeated. Douglas’s father was a Hollywood titan; Franklin’s was a candle and soap maker from England who married twice and had 17 children. Born in Boston, Franklin left school aged 10 and began an apprenticeship in his brother’s print shop at 12. He ran away at 17, had a spell in London then set up a print shop in Philadelphia and began to publish the Pennsylvania Gazette.

The Benjamin Franklin Museum explores the life and legacy of Philadelphia’s most famous citizen. Benjamin Franklin House is a five-storey townhouse with a staircase between each floor. There are handrails on all of the staircases and there is visitor seating in all of the historic rooms.
Visiting the Benjamin Franklin Museum
The Chilling Story Behind The Skeletons In Benjamin Franklins Basement - The Culture Trip
The Chilling Story Behind The Skeletons In Benjamin Franklins Basement.
Posted: Sat, 23 Sep 2017 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The basement, which was a windowless room under the garden, contained the remains of 28 human bodies. Analysis of the remains found that they were about 200 years old, which placed them in the home at the same time Franklin resided there. As Mount Vernon is to George Washington and Monticello is to Thomas Jefferson, 36 Craven Street in London is to Benjamin Franklin.
It is believed that, during this time, he carried out dissections in the basement. They were found by a worker who discovered a thigh bone sticking out of a pit in the basement that was about 3 feet by 3 feet wide. Police continued the excavation, and 1,200 bone fragments were ultimately pulled from the pit. Many of the bones showed signs of surgical cuts, and one skull even had holes in it. One of the best ways to visit Benjamin Franklin House is through their ticketed events.
In 1753 the Royal Society awarded Franklin the Copley Medal, the 18th century equivalent of the Nobel Prize. The British government’s denunciation of Franklin before the Privy Council, in the wake of the Boston Tea Party, reflected a breakdown in Franklin’s relationship with ministers, but it did not end his search for peace. In early 1775, Franklin and William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, finalized their plan for settling the Anglo-colonial dispute.
Governance – Benjamin Franklin House is managed by Director Dr Márcia Balisciano and a Board of Governors, that is chaired by John Studzinski. The Board provides the strategic direction of Benjamin Franklin House and meets on average four times a year. For nearly sixteen years between 1757 and 1775, Dr Benjamin Franklin – scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, Founding Father of the United States and more – lived at 36 Craven Street. While he may have been in London as chief colonial diplomat, his time here encompassed much more than politics. Facilities include the Benjamin Franklin House Shop and restrooms located in the basement. Benjamin Franklin House runs an annual Literary Prize in which people interpret a Benjamin Franklin quote in its significance today.
Plan your visit to the Benjamin Franklin Museum and the Franklin Court sites with information on our website. The Visit Philly Overnight Package — booked more than 190,000 times since 2001 — comes with free hotel parking (worth up to $100 in Center City Philadelphia), overnight hotel accommodations and choose-your-own-adventure perks. 36 Craven Street is a Grade I listed building, which retains many of its original features, including the staircase, floorboards, wall panelling, and fireplaces. After the death of the Earl of Craven, his property passed in 1697 to William, 5th Earl of Craven. William Craven the Younger eventually decided that his Strand property was ripe for development, and after raising some capital by mortgaging the ground, he proceeded to pull down the houses in Spur Alley and Brewer’s Lane. It holds England’s highest Grade I heritage listing and retains a majority of original features including the central staircase (which Franklin said he used for regular exercise!), flooring and panelling.
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