Between 1800 and 1803 Blake had lived on the Sussex seaside at the village of Felpham. Eventually tiring of Hayley, his officious patron, and frightened by his impending trial for sedition, Blake returned eagerly to this house in his hometown of London. The location - close to Tyburn (now Marble Arch) where public hangings took place - was significant to Blake who makes reference to 'Tyburn's tree' and 'Tyburn's brook' in his prophetic book Jerusalem.

Sadly Blake's optimism about his return to London was unjustified. Before setting out from Felpham he had written 'My heart is full of futurity...I rejoice and tremble', but in the years he lived in South Moulton Street he was to suffer his bitterest disappointments. Fame and financial success continued to elude him, and he sank into poverty and paranoia.

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