Entrance Door from a House in Hanover Square c. 1720 - 1740

This entrance door from a house in Hanover Square is an evocative, if anonymous, object, reminding us of the stories architecture can tell. Removed from its original context and placed in a museum, it invites us to consider the world of 18th-century London, a world of empire, class division, and burgeoning industrialization. Consider the lives that passed through this doorway. Did enslaved people and indentured servants enter this space? Did women have the same freedom of movement as men? The door, with its imposing pediment and classical columns, speaks to the wealth and power of its original owners. Its very design proclaims a hierarchy, a separation between those who were welcome and those who were not. As you stand before this entrance, think about the thresholds in your own life, the spaces you are invited into, and the spaces from which you are excluded. What do these entrances say about our society, and what can we do to make them more open and equitable?