Ann Oldfield plaque

Explorer Tom Handel and Hendrix shared a London street without ever meeting, which may be Brook Street's finest trick. At today's Handel Hendrix House, you can visit the rooms where the baroque composer worked and the upstairs flat where a rock guitarist later made himself at home. I would have liked to hear the neighbours compare notes. George Frideric Handel lived at 25 Brook Street from 1723 until his death in 1759. His restored house includes the dining room where he rehearsed musicians and his bedroom, along with rooms that evoke everyday Georgian life. Jimi Hendrix lived next door at number 23 from July 1968 to March 1969. His flat takes the story into a different London, with the music scene of the late sixties just outside the door. Their careers were centuries apart, yet the buildings let you compare two creative lives room by room. Listen as well as looking at furnishings: Handel's works and Hendrix's recordings make these addresses more than celebrity plaques. The museum presents both homes and offers current public visiting days at 25 Brook Street in Mayfair. Check its access notice before travelling; the lift is currently out of service, so stairs affect what can be reached. Give each set of rooms its own time rather than racing straight from the powdered wig to the guitar. My invented story has Handel asking Hendrix to turn it down, then sneaking next door because he liked the tune. Neither musician can confirm it. The real surprise is that so much creativity happened in two adjoining houses. Go in ready for both eras, leave wondering which notes the walls would play if anyone taught them an instrument.