Let There Be Light
As autumn arrives, the familiar world begins to change. The leaves turn to gold, the mornings grow colder, and the evenings draw in. Daylight retreats a little earlier each day, until darkness becomes a more constant companion. Windows glow against the dusk, lamps are switched on, candles are lit, and homes become places of warmth and welcome. The flicker of a flame in a window seems to offer a reassuring reminder of human presence and activity.
The arrival of autumn and winter has always encouraged people to celebrate light in the face of darkness. Festivals take many forms, shaped by different cultures, religions, and traditions, but they share a powerful theme: light represents hope, renewal, remembrance, and the promise that darkness will not last for ever.
Although the meanings and customs differ, these celebrations reveal something fundamental about our relationship with light. It is practical, offering the ability to see and work after sunset, but it is also emotional and symbolic. A flame can signify safety, hospitality, faith, celebration, or remembrance. Light brings people together, creates atmosphere, and helps us make sense of the darkness beyond our doors.
This exhibition explores this enduring relationship through the history of domestic and household lighting in Britain. The objects tell a story of ingenuity and adaptation, of how people illuminated their homes, carried light from place to place, and gradually transformed the experience of everyday life after dark.
The objects gathered here are more than just tools for dispelling darkness. They are reminders of the ways people adapted to their surroundings, balanced practicality with expense, and brought comfort and reassurance into the home. A candleholder, a paraffin lamp, a hurricane lantern, or a gas fitting each belongs to a particular moment in the long history of domestic life. Together, they invite us to look again at something we often take for granted. Today, light is available at the touch of a switch, yet the flicker of a candle still has the power to create intimacy, and a lantern still evokes journeys through the dark.
Dates: 15 October 2026 to 20 January 2027
Open: Every day from 9.00am to 9.00pm apart from Bank Holidays
Location: Goldsmiths Library Foyer (Rutherford Building), London, SE14 6NW
Entry: you do not need a library card to access the foyer and the exhibition is free and open to the public