Handel Hendrix House, formerly Handel & Hendrix in London, is a museum in two adjoining Mayfair townhouses on Brook Street: the home of the composer George Frideric Handel at number 25, where he lived from 1723 until his death in 1759, and the top-floor flat at number 23, where Jimi Hendrix lived in 1968 and 1969. One ticket covers both houses, at £14.50 for an adult, and the museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, a short walk from Bond Street station.

History of Handel Hendrix House

Handel Moves into 25 Brook Street, 1723

George Frideric Handel took 25 Brook Street in the summer of 1723, shortly after being appointed composer to the Chapel Royal at a salary of £400 a year. The house was brand new, built by George Barnes with its neighbours as part of the extension of Brook Street that linked Hanover Square with Grosvenor Square between 1717 and 1726. As a foreign national, Handel could not buy property or take long leases in London, and even after he became a British subject in 1727 he kept renting on short leases. He nonetheless stayed for the rest of his life, 36 years in all, and the house is Grade I listed because of him.

What Handel Composed at Brook Street

According to histories of the house, almost all of Handel’s works after 1723 were composed and partly rehearsed at Brook Street, including operas, oratorios and ceremonial music. The large first-floor front room was his rehearsal room, and the room behind it is believed to be where he composed some of his best-known works, Messiah among them. Messiah was also rehearsed in the house before its first performance in Dublin in 1742. Mrs Pendarves, who heard a rehearsal of the opera Alcina here, compared Handel to a necromancer in the midst of his enchantments.

Handel’s Death in 1759 and Burial at Westminster Abbey

Handel died at 25 Brook Street on 14 April 1759, aged 74, in what is probably the second-floor front bedroom, and he was blind in his last years. According to Westminster Abbey, his funeral was attended by about 3,000 people and he is buried in the abbey’s south transept; our guide to Westminster Abbey covers the building itself. A detailed inventory of the house’s contents, taken in August 1759, is what later allowed the museum to furnish the rooms as they were in his day.

From Shop to Museum: 25 Brook Street After Handel

After Handel’s death, 25 Brook Street stayed largely unchanged until 1905, when it was converted into a shop and lost its original façade and internal walls. Interior decorators and antiques dealers occupied it in later years, and the Co-operative Insurance Society acquired it in 1971. The idea of a Handel museum dates back to 1958, when a Lake District dentist, Leslie Sparey, arranged a family visit to the house. In the early 1990s the musicologist Stanley Sadie and his wife Anne set up the Handel House Trust, which used a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to buy the lease. The house opened as the Handel House Museum on 8 November 2001. Paint analysis during the restoration found that the original 1720s colour was lead grey, and the rooms were redecorated accordingly.

Jimi Hendrix’s Flat at 23 Brook Street, 1968 to 1969

Jimi Hendrix arrived in London in 1966 as an unknown American guitarist. In the summer of 1968 he and his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham took the top-floor flat at 23 Brook Street, and several accounts give 4 July 1968 as the day they moved in. The National Lottery Heritage Fund records that Hendrix described the flat as the only home he ever had, and it remains his only officially recognised home, marked by an English Heritage blue plaque placed in 1997 with Etchingham’s help. He left by October 1969 and died on 18 September 1970, aged 27. The building is Grade II listed.

The Blue Plaque Mix-Up: How Hendrix Found Handel

Handel’s blue plaque sits ambiguously on the wall between numbers 23 and 25, and according to Etchingham’s account, people including Hendrix assumed Handel had lived at number 23. However he learned the truth, Hendrix was delighted by the connection and bought recordings of Handel’s Messiah and Belshazzar. Several versions of Messiah are among the records on display in the flat today.

The Hendrix Flat Opens to the Public, 2016

Hendrix’s former flat became the museum’s administrative office, and for years the public could see it only during the annual Open House weekend, when the few tickets available sold out at once. A three-year project restored it using archive photographs and Etchingham’s memories, and it opened to visitors on 10 February 2016 under the name Handel & Hendrix in London.

The 2023 Reopening and the New Name

In 2022 the museum began a £3 million project to open all of Handel’s house to the public for the first time, and it reopened in May 2023 with much more space. It now trades as Handel Hendrix House, although the earlier names, Handel & Hendrix in London and the Handel House Museum, are still widely used.

Why Handel Hendrix House Matters

Handel Hendrix House matters because it puts two very different musical émigrés under one roof: a German-born baroque composer who became a British subject in 1727 and an American guitarist who made his name in London, living in adjoining Georgian houses two centuries apart. It is run by a charity, the Handel House Trust, rather than a national body. For more of Mayfair’s music history, our Beatles London Walking Tour takes in the Savile Row rooftop where the Beatles played their last show.

Visiting Handel Hendrix House: Practical Information

Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Ticket prices: Adult £14.50; student £10.50; ages 13 to 17 £5; children aged 12 and under free as part of a family group (maximum six per group); carers free. Groups of 10 to 20 receive 10% off each ticket. Blue Badge Tourist Guides enter free if they contact the museum in advance, and National Art Pass and Historic Houses members enter free by showing their card at reception (advance booking is not available for them). A general admission ticket covers both houses. Book through the museum’s ticket site.

Nearest stations: Bond Street (Central, Jubilee and Elizabeth lines), a short walk away and step-free according to the museum, with Oxford Circus also nearby. A third-party guide puts the walk from Bond Street at about four minutes.

How long to allow: About 1 to 1.5 hours, according to a recent visitor guide.

Accessibility: The entrance and exit are step-free, but the museum’s Facilities & Access page says its lift is currently out of service, and a third-party guide reports that all four floors of Handel’s house are therefore reached by stairs only. The museum’s pages also describe public areas as wheelchair accessible, so phone 020 7495 1685 before you go to check what is possible. Stairs have handrails on one side, floors are original and uneven in places, and some rooms are dimly lit; the museum advises sensible shoes and says stilettos and leather soles are unsuitable. The accessible toilet is on the ground floor by the shop, and the nearest Changing Places toilets are at Paddington Station and the Wellcome Collection. Assistance dogs are welcome.

House rules: Food and drink are not permitted, apart from bottled water. Lockers hold small bags but not large suitcases, and luggage may not be wheeled around the museum. Only trained assistance animals are allowed.

Photography: The museum’s visit and access pages do not state a photography policy, though a ticket-seller listing says flash photography is not allowed. Ask at reception if you are unsure.

Managing body: The museum is run by the Handel House Trust, a registered charity, and is independent of the national museums and of Historic Royal Palaces.

Best time to visit: The museum publishes no crowd guidance, so the practical advice is to arrive well before the 4pm last entry; one recent reviewer reported being turned away at exactly 4pm. Check the museum’s What’s On page for concerts and events.

Facilities: There is a shop on the ground floor, and volunteers in the historic rooms can talk to visitors about the objects and the two residents.

Nearby: Handel’s parish church, St George’s Hanover Square, is round the corner from Brook Street, and Bond Street and Oxford Street are a few minutes away.

Prices last checked: September 2026. Opening hours last checked: September 2026. Prices, hours and access notes checked against handelhendrix.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Handel Hendrix House the same as Handel & Hendrix in London?

Yes. Handel Hendrix House is the museum’s current name, and it was previously called Handel & Hendrix in London and, before the Hendrix flat opened in 2016, the Handel House Museum. It is the same museum at 25 Brook Street.

Can you visit Jimi Hendrix’s flat in London?

Yes. Hendrix’s top-floor flat at 23 Brook Street, where he lived in 1968 and 1969, is open to visitors as part of Handel Hendrix House, and one ticket covers both his flat and Handel’s house next door.

How much does Handel Hendrix House cost?

Adult tickets are £14.50, students pay £10.50 and ages 13 to 17 pay £5, according to the museum. Children aged 12 and under are free as part of a family group, and National Art Pass holders enter free.

Did Handel really compose Messiah at 25 Brook Street?

He is believed to have composed Messiah in the first-floor back room of the house, and it was rehearsed there. It was first performed in Dublin in 1742, not at Brook Street.

Did Jimi Hendrix know Handel had lived next door?

Yes. Handel’s blue plaque sits between the two front doors, and Hendrix reportedly first assumed Handel had lived in his own flat. He went on to buy recordings of Handel’s Messiah and Belshazzar.

Is Handel Hendrix House wheelchair accessible?

The entrance is step-free, but the museum says its lift is currently out of service, so the upper floors are reached by stairs. Phone 020 7495 1685 before you go to check what is possible.

What are the opening hours of Handel Hendrix House?

Handel Hendrix House is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Nearby Chronicle Trails Guides

Handel is buried at Westminster Abbey, and the Beatles London Walking Tour covers another slice of Mayfair’s music history. For more Museums & Galleries, visit the England hub. We chronicle the history, then we walk you through it: here, that means a Georgian staircase on one side of the wall and a 1960s bedroom on the other.