Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum reopens with free entry

Portsmouth’s Charles Dickens’ Birthplace Museum celebrates its reopening with three days of free entry.

The museum opens for the summer season on Friday 31st March, and marks English Tourism Week with free admission through to Sunday 2nd April.

The building, in Old Commercial Road, will then be open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 10:00am to 5:00pm, ‘til the end of September.

Portsmouth residents will still be able to get free entry, just by showing proof of their address.

Novelist Charles Dickens was born in the small terraced house in 1812. It has been lovingly restored and furnished to illustrate the middle-class tastes of the era.

An exhibition room features a display on Dickens and Portsmouth, and a collection of memorabilia, including the couch on which he died, his snuff box, his inkwell, and his paper knife.

Special events include volunteers appearing in costume, and readings by the Dickens Fellowship. Details of these special occasions can be found by calling the museum on 02392 821 879.