Photo: Gainsboroughs House by Oxyman, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
About this place
Thomas Gainsborough was born in this Sudbury townhouse in 1727, and it now carries his name as a museum and gallery.
Gainsborough's House stands on Gainsborough Street in Suffolk and is a Grade I listed building.
It holds the largest collection of the painter's work anywhere, spanning oils, works on paper and personal artefacts.
It operates today as the National Centre for Gainsborough, an independent charity rather than part of a national heritage body.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
Thomas Gainsborough was baptised at the Independent Meeting-House in Friars Street on 14 May 1727, the youngest of John and Mary Gainsborough's nine children. The house itself dates back to around 1520, making it a centuries-old building by the time of his birth. In 1958 the newly formed Gainsborough's House Society bought the property to establish it as a permanent memorial to the artist, and it has operated as a museum ever since.
Architecture
The building dates back to around 1520, an early structure behind a later frontage, and is listed Grade I.
Worth knowing
The house is the birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough, one of the leading portrait and landscape painters of eighteenth-century England, and some of the works on display have been acquired with help from the Art Fund.
Gardens & grounds
The house keeps a garden behind the museum, with a café overlooking it for visitors.
Facilities
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Sudbury (Suffolk) Rail Station (0.3 miles)
Nearby properties
St Mary's Church, Chilton
View St Mary's Church, Chilton on heritage mapAll Saints Church, Newton Green
View All Saints Church, Newton Green on heritage mapMelford Hall
View Melford Hall on heritage mapHistoric places nearby
Within 5 miles of Gainsboroughs House there are 5 historic properties, including 2 churchs and 2 historic houses, across Churches Conservation Trust, Historic Houses and National Trust sites.
Within 10 miles of Gainsboroughs House there are 13 historic properties, including 6 historic houses, 5 churchs and 2 historic buildings, across Historic Houses, Churches Conservation Trust and National Trust sites.
Within 20 miles of Gainsboroughs House there are 43 historic properties, including 16 churchs, 13 historic buildings and 13 historic houses, across Churches Conservation Trust, Historic Houses and English Heritage sites.
Facts
The actual birthplace of Thomas Gainsborough, now holding the largest gathering of his work anywhere.
- Type
- historic house
- Location
- Suffolk, England
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