Connection with Gandhiji 
Gandhiji stayed at 20, Baron’s Court Road, West Keansington for around eight months when he went to study law in London in 1888.

Background
Gandhiji reached London in September 1888. He spent a day at a costly hotel and a month at Richmond. His Gujarati friends Dr. Pranjivan Mehta and Dalpatram Shukla decided to put him with some family. Mr. Shukla found out an old English widow’s house at 20, Baron’s Court Road, West Keansington, and placed Gandhiji there.

Details of the Stay  
• Gandhiji paid 30 Shillings per week at this place for room and boarding.
• Gandhiji had to starve at a new place just like the previous one even though the old lady had promised to look after him well. Because Gandhiji was not consuming non-vegetarian food as per his vow.
• Also, Gandhiji had a ‘capacious stomach’ and he was shy to ask for more. ‘She had two daughters. They insisted on serving me with an extra slice or two of bread. But little did they know that nothing less than a loaf would have filled me.’ Wrote Gandhiji.
• Gandhiji searched and found a vegetarian restaurant in the city during the stay.
• Gandhiji’s efforts to become an English gentleman—lessons in dancing, music, and elocution—started during this period. He realized the futility of these things in around three months and abandoned them. Except for punctiliousness in dressing that persisted for years.
• As Gandhiji was staying with a family of a lady and her two daughters, he had to incur additional expenses. ‘It also included the courtesy of occasionally taking members of the family out of dinner, and likewise attending parties with them. All these involved heavy items for conveyances, especially as, if the friend was a lady, custom required that the man should pay all the expense.’
• To avoid unnecessary expenses and gain new experience, Gandhiji rented a suite of rooms and left 20, Baron’s Court Road, West Keansington in 1889.

Site Address/Contact Details
20, Barons Court Road, West Kensington, London
20 Baron's Ct Rd
London W14 9DT, UK