Furnival's Inn (Dickens' former residence), London

Step aside, posh Inns of Court鈥擣urnival鈥檚 Inn was where the real (legal) magic once happened. Marking the spot where the Holborn Bars now loom, this lesser-known Inn of Chancery was founded around 1383, when Lord Furnival, who ultimately lent it his name, leased a boarding house to the Chancery clerks. These were the guys who drafted legal documents for the king鈥檚 courts, aided by eager apprentices just dipping their toes into lawyering. The setup stuck around until 1817, when the Society of Furnival's Inn was dissolved and the medieval structure was replaced by flats that politely kept the Furnival name alive.

Between 1834 and 1837, a young Charles Dickens moved into Furnival鈥檚 Inn with his brother Frederick, mostly because he had to keep their dad out of debtor鈥檚 prison again. The place wasn鈥檛 glamorous, but Dickens made the most of it. While living in those not-so-grand chambers, he began writing The Pickwick Papers, networked his way into London鈥檚 literary elite, and married Catherine Hogarth. Not bad for a guy dodging family debts and living above what was essentially Legal Airbnb.

Dickens liked the place enough to sneak it into his novel Martin Chuzzlewit, where John Westlock describes it as 鈥渁 shady, quiet place鈥� with a side of 鈥渕onotonous and gloomy鈥濃€攕o, basically, Victorian vibes in full force. Yet, he also mentions the 鈥渟nug chambers鈥� and how the single guys there seemed to be thriving.

Today, Dickens's old stomping grounds are long gone, but a bust and plaque mark the spot鈥攋ust in case you want to stand there, gaze thoughtfully, and mutter, 鈥淚t was the best of Inns, it was the worst of Inns.鈥�

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Sight Name: Furnival's Inn (Dickens' former residence)
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Charles Dickens Tour

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