I recently visited Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, a place I’ve been meaning to go to for a long time, and now having been there I am wondering why I never went sooner. Imagine if you can, being teleported back to early 1800’s Britain to visit a learned gentleman’s house full to bursting with architectural and fine art grand tour treasures, meticulously arranged for your delectation and education. Indeed this was and remains the primary purpose of the home of Sir John, he essentially designed and rebuilt much of it as a live-in personal museum, reflecting both his passion for collecting and his working life. Even before stepping inside, you know this is going to be a special place… the Portland stone neo-classical façade he added in 1812 is rather a give-away for a start!

Sir John Soane, the son of a bricklayer, rose from humble beginnings to become London's great Regency architect. His great architectural achievements were (amongst others) the Bank of England and Dulwich Picture Gallery (London). He was made Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy in 1806, a post that he held until his death. He was also an avid and idiosyncratic collector of art and antiquities, and as such arranged his house to share his obsessional interests with others.

Located in the tranquil metropolitan ‘oasis’ of Lincolns Inn Fields (numbers 12 to 14), there can't be many small collections in the world that can rival this museum for both quality and eclecticism. The house is  crammed full of so many architectural samples and antiquities as well as some rather famous artworks too, it’s hard to know where to begin.

After passing through the tastefully decorated main rooms you enter the 'Colonnade' and 'Dome' areas clad from floor to ceiling with architectural curiosities. Views into the Crypt containing an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus of King Seti (1303-1290 BC) is a taste of more that awaits in the basement below. You then ‘squeeze’ through a doorway into the small Picture Room, constructed on the site of the stable-yard of No.14. Holding about 10 people at a time, the room houses more than one hundred pictures in total. It does this with the aid of special ‘walls’ that are in fact huge hinged panels that open out to reveal even more paintings behind, allowing three times as many artworks to be displayed than would normally be accommodated. Amongst the many exquisite pictures on display are works by Canaletto and Hogarth, as well as many beautifully executed architectural drawings and paintings. All this in a room the size of a typical bedroom – unbelievable!

Up the curved staircase, the first floor drawing rooms offer a light and airy feel to the house, where Mrs Soane would have entertained their guests. Views out across Lincoln’s Inn Fields also remind the visitor of Sir John Soane’s position in society.

The museum is open free to all visitors, thanks to Sir John's foresight and generosity, as he left both the house and the collections within to the public after his death in 1837. He had previously ensured that an act of parliament was passed (in 1833) to ensure it would be kept ‘as nearly as possible in the state in which I shall leave it’.

Indeed the atmosphere and wonderment of the whole museum is one that you are unlikely to ever forget, let alone the treasures witnessed inside. My advice would be to not leave it as long as I did to visit this wonderful personal collection in an equally wonderful home.

Sir John Soane's Museum, 13 Lincoln Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP.