Old English Court

Do you want to travel back to the English merchant past without leaving the Russian capital? The Old English Court is an amazing historical landmark located in the heart of Moscow on Varvarka Street, just a few minutes' walk from Red Square. It is the oldest surviving official representation of a foreign power and one of the oldest monuments of civil architecture in the capital.

History of the white-stone chambers: from a boyar to English merchants

The chambers of the Old English Court were built in the early 16th century, when Moscow was still predominantly a wooden city. Only very wealthy people could afford stone buildings. Initially, the building belonged to a Moscow merchant known as Yushka, or, according to other sources, to the boyar Ivan Bobrishchev. There is a version that it was the same person who belonged to the top tier of Moscow’s merchant class.

Ivan the Terrible’s gift to English merchants

A fateful turn in the building’s history occurred in 1556. Ivan the Terrible gifted the chambers to representatives of the Muscovy Company — an English trading company established a year earlier specifically for trade with Russia. This was preceded by dramatic events: in 1553, the English galleon “Edward Bonaventure” under the command of navigator Richard Chancellor appeared off the coast of the White Sea while searching for the Northeast Passage to India and China. Chancellor’s meeting with Tsar Ivan IV led to the establishment of trade relations between the two powers. Interested in regular contacts with Europe, the tsar promised the English generous trading privileges and gave them an estate in Kitay-gorod. The English merchants received unprecedented conditions: duty-free trade throughout Russia and royal maintenance — they were allocated a quarter of a bullock, chickens, geese, a sheep, wine, and other products daily.

Trial by fire: the fire of 1571

In spring 1571, the troops of Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey approached Moscow. The Tatars ravaged the suburbs and set them ablaze. The fire on May 24 destroyed Moscow in just three hours. In the cellars of the stone house on Varvarka, where the English tried to escape the flames, about 40 people suffocated. The estate suffered colossal losses — goods worth more than 10,000 rubles burned, a gigantic sum for the time. After the fire, the upper part of the house was severely damaged. The English rebuilt the walls and vaults in brick instead of white stone and added two porches with open galleries on the south and east sides. Only two lower vaulted cellars from the original early 16th-century white-stone chambers have survived — the lower rooms where goods were stored.

Architectural features and uniqueness of the building

Loading devices and storage rooms

The cellars still have a loading hatch through which bales were lowered directly from the street. Wall niches served as storage for goods. On the southern gallery, added after the Time of Troubles in 1612, there are remains of another unique lifting device — a huge loading hatch through which goods were raised to the attic using a winch. Houses with such hoists are typical of Northern Europe — they can be found in the Baltics, Sweden, Poland, and Norway, but for Moscow this design is unique.

The Treasury Chamber: the ceremonial hall with a tiled stove

The main and most beautiful room of the house is considered the Treasury Chamber. In the era of English merchants, meetings of the Muscovy Company agents were held here, business receptions took place, and the merchants’ treasury was kept. Restoration research from 1968–1972 made it possible to recreate the interior. In the late 16th–17th centuries, the floor was paved with black and white ceramic tiles in a checkerboard pattern. Along the western wall stood chests for valuables. The real gem was the tiled stove — a luxury affordable only to wealthy homes. The stove was decorated with relief images of a unicorn, the Sirin bird, and double-headed eagles. This is the only reconstruction in Russia of a stove faced with red unglazed tiles.

Change of owners and new functions of the building

The end of the English era

In 1649, a royal decree ordered the expulsion of the English from Russia. The pretext was the news of the execution of King Charles I during the English Revolution. Aleksey Mikhailovich reacted harshly: English merchants were ordered to leave Moscow and trade only in Arkhangelsk. After living on Varvarka for almost a century, the English left the estate forever.

From boyar Miloslavsky to a mathematical school

The estate was confiscated by the treasury and soon transferred to a new owner — the tsar’s relative, okolnichy Ivan Andreevich Miloslavsky. By that time the building had fallen into disrepair. The Treasury Chamber ceased to be a ceremonial room, and the second room became a kitchen — known in historical sources as the “Cookery”. After Miloslavsky’s death in 1663 and his wife’s in 1669, the house reverted to the treasury. In the early 18th century, one of the first secular mathematical schools in Russia was housed here — the Ciphering School, opened in 1720. Peter the Great’s reforms required educated young people, and creating a network of elementary schools became a matter of state importance.

Private owners and oblivion

At the end of the 18th century, the chambers passed into the private hands of Moscow merchant Afanasy Solodovnikov, then belonged to his widow Maria, and in the first half of the 19th century to the Nizhyn Greek woman Ekaterina Melas. Repeated rebuilds changed the building’s appearance beyond recognition. By the end of the 19th century, the ancient chambers were hidden deep inside a huge three-storey apartment house, with the estate’s perimeter built up with stone wings.

Revival of the monument: restoration and the present day

After the revolution, the house shared the fate of many old Moscow buildings — it was filled with institutions, offices, and communal apartments. In the postwar years, the Foreign Literature Library under Margarita Rudomino (affectionately called “Razinka” by Muscovites) was located here.

Rescue from demolition

In the 1960s, Zaryadye was to become the construction site for the Hotel Rossiya, Europe’s largest hotel at the time. The library building was scheduled for demolition. The famous restorer Pyotr Baranovsky stood up for the house; he had discovered the remains of ancient chambers inside the building back in the late 1940s. Baranovsky acted decisively: he quickly restored a fragment of the ceremonial façade cornice to visually prove the existence of a medieval monument. At the same time, appeals were written in defence of the English Court. The efforts succeeded — the house was saved.

Restoration and museum opening

In 1968–1972, large-scale restoration work was carried out. All later additions were removed, and the building was returned to its early 17th-century appearance. In 1994, a museum — a branch of the Moscow City History Museum — opened in the chambers. Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov attended the grand opening ceremony. In 2013–2014, another restoration took place. In January 2016, the museum presented an updated exhibition dedicated to the life of the English merchant house in the 16th–17th centuries and the origins of Russian-English relations.

What to see in the museum: exhibitions and programmes

The exhibition of the Old English Court tells not only about the history of the chambers themselves but also about Russia–England relations in the 14th–17th centuries. Visitors will see:

• Archival documents and copies of old books
• Interior and everyday objects found during excavations in Zaryadye
• Reconstructions of items that accompanied the English on their travels
• Photographs and graphic works
• Recreated interiors of a 16th–17th-century merchant house

Theatrical tours and interactive programmes

The museum’s uniqueness lies in its special approach to guided tours. Theatrical and costumed programmes are offered where guests are greeted not by a regular guide but by an English merchant of that era. Interactive games for children are also interesting for adults. Visitors can fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the distant Middle Ages. In the Treasury Chamber, chamber concerts are held monthly, as well as performances of historical plays.

Practical information for visitors

Location and how to get there

Address: Varvarka Street, 4a, Moscow The Old English Court is located in the very centre of the capital, in the picturesque part of the Zaryadye district, within walking distance of Red Square. Nearest metro stations:

• “Kitay-gorod”
• “Ploshchad Revolyutsii”

The building is part of Zaryadye Park, making it easy to include in walking routes around Moscow’s historic centre.

Opening hours and ticket prices

Museum opening hours:

• Tuesday – Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00
• Thursday: 11:00 – 21:00
• Closed: Monday and the last Friday of the month
• Ticket office closes 30 minutes before closing time

Ticket prices for the Museum of Moscow:

• Full ticket: 450 rubles
• Children under 7: free
• Concession ticket (children over 7 and privileged categories): 225 rubles

Why you should visit the Old English Court

Visiting the Old English Court is a unique opportunity to:

• See one of the oldest monuments of civil architecture in Moscow outside the Kremlin
• Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Russian-English trade relations in the era of Ivan the Terrible and Elizabeth I
• Learn about the daily life of English and Moscow merchants of the 16th–17th centuries
• Admire the unique reconstruction of the tiled stove and see authentic architectural elements
• Take part in theatrical programmes and interactive tours
• Instantly transport yourself from modern Moscow to medieval England

The Old English Court is a living history textbook where centuries-old past comes alive thanks to carefully preserved architecture and a well-thought-out museum concept. It is a place where the history of diplomacy and trade intertwines with the fates of real people, creating a fascinating portrait of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries and the birth of international relations between Russia and the West.