Christmas with George Frideric and Jimi: the Handel Hendrix House celebrates the season

Handel Hendrix House (Photo: Christopher Ison)

We don’t know how George Frideric Handel celebrated Christmas, but certainly Queen Charlotte brought the idea of the Christmas tree to England when she married King George III in 1761, decorated yew branches being traditional in her native Mecklenurg-Strelitz, and by 1800 she had set up a Christmas tree in Queen’s Lodge, Windsor.

So, we can perhaps forgive Handel Hendrix House for celebrating the season with a Christmas tree and much else besides. From now until 22 December 2024, the house is in decorated festival mode with both Handel’s 18th-century rooms and Hendrix’s 1960s flat, bedecked with decorations. There is live music on Fridays and Saturdays, with late openings on Thursdays Late featuring mulled cider or mulled apple juice and plus the Meyer Dancers offering lessons in go-go dancing in Jimi’s bedroom!

More immediately of interest perhaps is an immersive display about the composition of Handel’s Messiah, which was written in the house (in 1741), and Handel’s newly restored kitchen will be laid out for a feast.

Full details from the Handel Hendrix House website.