Keats House Museum

02/06/2026

At Keats House our volunteers support all aspects of our work. Each week, when we are closed to the public, one of our volunteers helps to carefully clean one of the historic rooms and the items on display.

Today it was the turn of Mrs Brawne's Kitchen and we hope she would be proud of the care we continue to take, helping conserve it for current and future generations to enjoy and learn from.

You can see it for yourself on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays, 11am - 1pm & 2 - 5pm.

Perhaps you'll meet one of our volunteers or even decide to join our volunteer team!

31/05/2026

Happy !

We’re celebrating with a defining moment in Romantic literary history: the writing of Ode to a Nightingale. Sat beneath a plum tree in the garden of Wentworth Place (now Keats House), John Keats penned what is now one of the most celebrated poems in the English language.

His friend Charles Brown recalled: “In the spring of 1819 a nightingale had built her nest near my house. Keats felt a tranquil and continual joy in her song… he sat for two or three hours.”

When he returned indoors, Brown found scraps of paper tucked behind books. Written on them, in fragments and in handwriting "not well legible", was Ode to a Nightingale.

🎭 Join us today, Sunday 31st May, when we’ll be bringing this moment to life at Keats House through live interpretation, re-enacting Brown’s discovery of the Ode.

29/05/2026

This is Keats House the racehorse! He is doing well at the moment!
Can you think of anything else named after Keats?

26/05/2026

Looking for something to do this half term?

Live interpretation is running all week for half term at Keats House. John Keats and his friend Charles Brown will be bringing history to life as they recreate the moment Brown discovers Keats’s newly-written Ode to a Nightingale.

All included in your admission ticket – and under-18s go free!

🎟️ Keats House is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays, 11am-1pm & 2-5pm. Performances will be repeated throughout the day at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm & 3:30pm.

24/05/2026

The heatwave has got us looking forward to summer in Hampstead! Take a look at what's on at Keats House this June:

🎷 Summer Poetry and Jazz - 11th June
Musician Catherine Lima and the Keats House Poetry Ambassadors will be coming together to bring you a fusion of poetry and live jazz on a summer evening at Keats House.

🪶 Afternoon Poems: Wild Animals - 14th June
Enjoy a free one-hour reading of famous poems about wild animals, in the beautiful surroundings of Keats House.

🎨 Kids at Keats: Handy Nightingales - 18th June
Join our free family drop-in workshop, aimed at children ages 18 months to 5 years, where you can create your own Keats nightingale!

Tickets for our events are available to book on Eventbrite - link in bio.

22/05/2026

Enjoy a free one hour reading of famous poems about wild animals at 2.15 on 14 June! In the beautiful surroundings of Keats House.
Join us for a fun afternoon of poetry all about wild animals! Whether you love lions, owls, or anything in between, this event’s perfect for anyone who enjoys creative vibes and nature’s wonders.
FREE, reserve a place at https://tinyurl.com/yhefxtuc
Image: 'Tiger in a Tropical Storm' by Henri Rousseau. National Gallery, London
Image credit: National Gallery, London

Enjoy a free one hour reading of famous poems about wild animals! In the beautiful surroundings of Keats House.

15/05/2026

in 2009, Jane Campion’s Bright Star was first released 🎬

The film tells the story of Keats’ years at Wentworth Place (now Keats House), where he lived, wrote his most celebrated poetry, and fell in love with F***y Brawne.

You can visit the place at the heart of that story:
🎭 Join our live interpreters every Sunday in May and 27–29 May, bringing John Keats and his friend Charles Brown to life at the House.
🕊️ Discover our latest art exhibition, The Nightingale Suite by Martin Huxter.
🎟️ Keats House is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays, 11am–1pm & 2–5pm.

14/05/2026

Join us for a reading from John Keats's first published collection of poetry, on Thursday 21 May, 6.30 - 7.30pm! The collection contains 'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer', amazing sensual imagery, and the seeds of his greatness.
Tickets £7, book at https://tinyurl.com/yrra6wzy

After his first published poem 'O Solitude' was printed in Leigh Hunt's 'Examiner' in 1816, Keats was encouraged by his family and friends to publish his first volume - 'Poems' - in March 1817.

Sales were disappointing. Keats's friend Charles Cowden Clarke wrote, 'it might have emerged in Timbuktoo with far stronger chance of fame and approbation. . . '

13/05/2026

Join us for a special late opening of Keats House tomorrow, Thursday 14th May, and experience the beautiful Regency villa where John Keats found inspiration, after hours ✨

Discover Keats’s life, love and poetry, see our current exhibition, and join a volunteer‑led tour of the House.

📅 Thursday 14th May, 5-7pm - drop in at any point.
🎟 Tickets can be booked via our Eventbrite page (link in bio), or just turn up! Regular admission prices apply.

12/05/2026

On Thursday 21 May our Poetry Ambassadors will be reading from Keats's first volume of - 'Poems' - published in 1817.

After his first published poem 'O Solitude' was printed in Leigh Hunt's 'Examiner' in 1816, Keats was encouraged by his family and friends to publish this volume.

Sales were disappointing. Keats's friend Charles Cowden Clarke wrote, 'it might have emerged in Timbuktoo with far stronger chance of fame and approbation'.

Were the first signs of genius already apparent in Keats's earliest poetry? You be the judge!

Booking essential via keatsevents.eventbrite.co.uk