New exhibition offers new perspectives on Handel's life and times in London

A new exhibition at Handel Hendrix House explores the working life of George Frideric Handel and his extraordinary popularity at his London home on Brook Street, Mayfair.

Opening on 17 September, Hallelujah House: Inside Handel’s HQ brings manuscripts, letters, portraits and instruments into the rooms where the composer wrote and rehearsed. It follows his music into London’s theatres, palaces and coffeehouses, introducing the people who helped it reach its audiences.

Highlights include a letter in Handel’s own hand asking his Messiah librettist Charles Jennens which passages needed improving, a handwritten leaf from a revival of Esther and a manuscript prepared for his friend Elizabeth Legh, lent by the Foundling Museum.

From the National Portrait Gallery comes Philip Mercier’s The Music Party, depicting Handel’s royal pupils, Queen Caroline’s children. A portrait of coal merchant and concert organiser Thomas Britton, alongside a violin believed to have been played in his band, introduces Handel's less grand connections.

A more sobering exhibit is a book by the notorious eye surgeon John Taylor, lent by the College of Optometrists. His unsuccessful operations on both Handel and JS Bach earned him an unwelcome place in musical history.

‘Handel was not just a creative genius but someone who could organise, entertain, network and work ferociously hard to produce his brilliant music,’ says curator Olwen Foulkes. Visitors can hear that music as they walk around the house and continue listening at home through an accompanying playlist.

'Hallelujah House: Inside Handel's HQ' runs from 17 September 2026 to 14 March 2027. Entry to the exhibition is included in the price of admission to the museum. Open Wednesday–Sunday, 10am–5pm; adults £14.50, students £10.50. For full details, including how to book, visit the Handel Hendrix House website.