Tea towel from Stephen Hawking's Office

Red and white gingham tea towel, from the kitchen of Professor Stephen Hawking’s office at the University of Cambridge.

Stephen Hawking's office was fitted with a kitchen counter covering a whole wall under his bookcases. This included a refrigerator, microwave oven, sink and several counters with storage space. Just down the corridor, his academic department (known as 'DAMPT', the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge) included a common room where conferences and daily tea-time gatherings were held, as was already the tradition in his previous office on Silver Street, and Stephen loved to attend.

Theoretical physics is not a lone enterprise, and much progress in Stephen Hawking's work, as that of most of his peers, occurred in group settings, working long hours, caffeinated, working together in front of blackboards and computer screens.

The kitchen in his office catered for smaller groups of visitors while working with Stephen, and it also supported some of his more specific care needs.