The Slessorium

The post-war bathhouse in the garden of Talbot House, which was converted into an impressive exhibition space. A place where you, as a visitor to the House, can view temporary exhibitions and discover numerous stories about the history of the House.

Temporary exhibition

Discover between 24 January and 24 November 2026 the temporary exhibition 'Nineteen Nineteen'. Award-winning author Aline Sax and photographer Jeremy Gordon-Smith join forces in 1919, an exhibition capturing both the veterans' and the locals' first steps in the Ypres Salient after the Great War. Featuring powerful photographs by Ivan Bawtree, Gordon-Smith's great-great-uncle, and inspired by Sax's new book '1919', it offers a striking portrait of loss, hope, and renewal.

History

After the war, countless British veterans returned to Flanders Fields with their families to commemorate the fallen. A large number of them traveled to Poperinge, hoping to find something of their 'Little Paris'.

In 1929, Maurice Coevoet, the original owner of Talbot House, decided to sell the house. Thanks to the financial support of Lord Wakefield of Hythe, the house could be donated to the non-profit organization 'Talbot House de Poperinghe', an association of which Major Paul Slessor was secretary.

Slessor immediately set to work renovating and redesigning the House. During this period, a bathhouse was built in the garden to provide sanitary facilities for the increasingly frequent pilgrims. This bathhouse was called the Slessorium.

In this former bathhouse, you can now visit temporary exhibitions all year round.

At the moment we have the 'Refusing to Forget' exhibition in The Slessorium.