Blake's father was not able to afford to send him to be instructed by a great painter, so in 1771, at the age of fourteen, Blake was apprenticed to the engraver, James Basire of Queen Street. Engraving - which was then a booming trade - seemed to offer a better chance of earning a steady living than did painting.

Basire had executed engravings of the works of Reynolds, Hogarth and West. Gilchrist describes his abilities as 'stolid but not fascinating'. More significantly Basire was official engraver to the Society of Antiquaries, and by sending Blake out to Westminster Abbey and other old churches to sketch tombs and monuments, awoke in him both a passionate love of the gothic and an equally passionate disdain for contemporary fashions. Blake remained with Basire for seven years.

The original building was unfortunately demolished in the late nineteenth century, but the next-door houses (of brick rather than stone) give an idea of its original appearance.

Nearest Underground:
Covent Garden