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Museums in London
London offers a diverse range of cultural entertainment much of which is rooted in the city’s rich history and royal traditions. There are numerous museums to choose from but visitors should not miss the British Museum, which houses a rich display of ancient artifacts from around the world including the world famous Rosetta stone and the Elgin Marbles. Another museum worth including on your itinerary is the Victoria and Albert Museum, which currently holds around 4.6 Million items including massive collections of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, Medieval objects, sculptures, prints and photographs. The Museum was voted “Visitor Attraction of the Year” in 2007. Other noteworthy museums in the city include the Imperial War Museum, and the Museum of Natural History. Art lovers will enjoy a trip to either the Tate Modern or the National Gallery, which is home to over 2,300 paintings.
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Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
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Address: 39a Canonbury Square
Phone: +44 20 7704 9522
e-mail: http://www.estorickcollection.com/home.php
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Website: info@estorickcollection.com
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The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art opened its door to the general public in northern London in 1998. Located in a charming Georgian building, the gallery is known around the world for its impressive assembly of Futurist and figurative art works dating from 1890 to the 1950s. The collection includes paintings by all the main protagonists of Futurism, such as Giacomo Balla, Carlo Carrà, Umberto Boccioni, Luigi Russolo, Gino Severini and Ardengo Soffici. It also features masterpieces by Amedeo Modigliani, Giorgio de Chirico, Mario Sironi, Giorgio Morandi and Marino Marini. The collection was property of Eric Estorick (1913-93), an American sociologist and writer, who moved to England after World War II. On his numerous travels to Italy, he began to collect works of art and soon became a renowned art dealer, a representative of prominent figures in the London auction rooms.
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Islington Museum
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Address: 245 St John Street
Phone: +44 20 75273235
e-mail: islington.museum@islington.gov.uk
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Website: http://www.islington.gov.uk/education/LocalHistory/IslingtonMuseum/
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This small yet charming museum is dedicated to the history of Islington district of London. Set in the former Assembly Hall, just next to Islington Town Hall, the museum contains two galleries. One of them is devoted to contemporary art exhibitions and another displays old photos and documents related with Islington. It also has a small shop, offering various postcards, books, and photos. There is also a large space , situated next to the Foyer Gallery, which is on hire for external exhibitors. You can find the new museum underneath the Finsbury Library, on St. John Street. The nearest tube stop is Angel, or you can get there by bus on the 19, 38, 153 or the 341. Addmission is free!
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Sir John Soane's Museum
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Address: 13 Lincolns Inn Fields
Phone: +44 2 7440 4263
e-mail: jbrock@soane.org.uk
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Website: http://www.soane.org
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The Soane’s Museum focuses on architecture. The building in which the museum is housed was initially the house and studio of the eccentric architect Sir John Soane who designed the Bank of England building. The museum holds many models and drawings of his projects as well as his collections of paintings and antiquities. The museum can be found in the Holborn district of central London, with a view over Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
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The British Museum
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Address: Great Russell Street
Phone: +44 2 7323 8616
e-mail: information@britishmuseum.org
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Website: http://www.britishmuseum.org/default.aspx
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Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10 -17
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The British Museum was designed by Sir Robert Smike and was established in 1753 by an act of Parliament. It is one of the most famous museums in the UK and with 14 acres of display area; it ranks among the world’s largest museums. Situated in the chic Bloomsbury region of London it is easily accessed by bus and train. Over six million people from around the world visit annually to experience the huge display that educates while challenging the imagination.
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Imperial War Museum
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Address: Lambeth Road
Phone: +44 2 7416 5320
e-mail: mail@iwm.org.uk
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Website: http://www.iwm.org.uk/
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Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10 -18
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In 1917, the Government decided that a National War Museum should be established to collect and display content relating to the Great War, which was still being fought at the time. King George V opened the Museum in June 1920. At the outset of the World War II, the Museum was enlarged to cover both world wars and it was again extended in 1953 to take in all of the military engagements, which Britain or the Commonwealth had been involved in since 1914.
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The Victoria & Albert Museum
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Address: Cromwell Road
Phone: +44 2 7942 2000
e-mail: bookings.office@vam.ac.uk
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Website: http://www.vam.ac.uk/
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Opening Hours: Monday-Thursday 10 -18 Friday 10 -22 Saturday-Sunday 10 -18
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The Victoria & Albert (V&A) is the world’s largest and most important museum of art and design. It covers 12.5 acres of land and hosts 146 different galleries. The V&A was established as the 'Museum of Manufactures' in 1852 when Queen Victoria set the foundation stone.
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Wallace Collection
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Address: Hertford House
Manchester Square
Phone: +44 2 7563 9500
e-mail: visiting@wallacecollection.org
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Website: http://www.wallacecollection.org
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Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 10 -17
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The Wallace Collection is a small museum located in an old city town house. It was founded in 1897 from the private collection of Sir Richard Wallace, which was opened to the public on his death in 1990. There are 25 galleries with excellent displays of 18th century French painting, porcelain and furniture with superb Old Masters and a first-rate armoury. The Wallace Collection is divided into six separate exhibition halls Arms & Armour, Pictures & Miniatures, Ceramics, Objet d'Art, Sculpture and Furniture.
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Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms
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Address: Clive Steps King Charles Street
Phone: +44 2 7930 6961
e-mail: cwr@iwm.org.uk
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Website: http://www.iwm.org.uk/cabinet/index.htm
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Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday 09 -18
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This museum is devoted to the personage of Winston Churchill, the greatest British statesman in the 20th Century and the Prime Minister during the World War II. It is set within the impressive Cabinet War Rooms, constructed at the end of the 1930s at the dawn of the war. The purpose of this bolthole was to provide a shelter to government authorities if a German invasion was to occur. Therefore a refectory, an infirmary and even a shooting gallery were all built there. Legend has it that there was also a tunnel leading to the Buckingham Palace so that the Royal Family could make their escape in case of Nazi air raids. Inside the Cabinet War Rooms, Winston Churchill held cabinet meetings with the most prominent European politicians and took the vital decisions about military operations throughout the war years, until the allied forces triumphed on the Nazis 5 May 1945. Almost unchanged since the war period, nowadays the Cabinet War Room still gives one a glimpse of what it was like to live in Britain during the World War II. There are numerous documents, newspaper cuttings and photographs, reflecting the perilous wartime atmosphere.
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