Every now and again someone will stop me in the street and mention that they are trying to find the House of Detention. And, while this may sound like the lyrics to a Bob Dylan track, it is in fact a serious request.
Throughout the year, the House of Detention – just a few doors down from our office in Clerkenwell – attracts a steady stream of location managers, directors and photographers who come to take advantage of its present incarnation as an unusual venue for filmmakers. However, it’s so well hidden almost no one can find it.
I must admit I’ve always been a little intrigued by the House of Detention, as have a few of my colleagues. None more so than Lauren Bishop – checking into her hotel on a recent work trip to Munich she was asked by the hotel receptionist to confirm her home address as the House of Detention. Purely a postcode error she was told. We wondered whether her anarchistic tendencies might be related.
Anyway, for one reason or another, the House of Detention has achieved some sort of mythical status in the Catalysis office, so we were beyond excited to hear that it would be opening its doors to the general public as part of this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week. At last, a chance to look inside this sinister cesspit of Dickensian filth – or so we imagined.
In Victorian times, the 286-cell House of Detention was used as a holding bay for prisoners awaiting trial. Some say there was even an underground tunnel leading all the way from the House to the Thames so that prisoners could be escorted directly onto boats bound for Australia. Although an official source for this detail has yet to be found, it does make a good story.
This week the House of Detention played host to a far less rowdy and infinitely more style conscious crowd by bringing together small exhibitions from small design studios across the country. I particularly liked these wood laminate hanging chairs from rawstudio and these ‘teanest’ table and chairs from designer Jody Leach – offering stylish dining for those short on space.
RAD gallery displayed a magical collection of hair filament chandeliers, bringing an air of decadence to a gloomy corner of the catacombs, as did, futuristic lighting specialists ACDC. In addition to this there were exhibits from designers of bicycles and storage solutions, sideboards and longboards, fabrics and lamps, and much more besides.
Design Week is an inspiring time to be in Clerkenwell. As well as browsing the large exhibitions in the House of Detention and the Farmiloe building, visitors come to check out local design companies taking part in open house programme, while others just come to enjoy a pint and some live music outside the Crown. Personally I’m all up for events like this.
What do others think? Has anyone else been along to this year’s festival? How does it compare with similar events across London and the UK?