Museums of London Part 1 – South Kensington

Posted on 14. Nov, 2011 by James Riches in Famous Places, What To Do

London is a city full of museums, but no road is home to more fascinating artefacts and exhibits than Cromwell Road in South Kensington. Along this street, there sits a trio of museums that are among the most exciting in London. One of them on its own could easily cater for a full day out, but if you are staying in the area you would not regret taking in the full set.

They are the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum, and you can find out more about them below:

Natural History Museum

When you consider that this museum only came about because another one was too full, it is remarkable how it has come to be so popular and highly regarded. The Natural History Museum was opened in 1881, and comprised parts of the collections formerly housed at the British Museum.

The latter is of course still going strong over in Bloomsbury, but back in the late 19^th century it was decided that the natural history elements of the collections, bequeathed to Britain by physicist Sir Hans Sloane in 1753, should be housed separately.

It was because of expeditions such as that undertaken by Captain Cook on board the HMS Endeavour in 1768 that the British Museum became too full, as voyagers were frequently returning with yet more fascinating artefacts for the already overflowing archives.

Despite the impressive collections, which were fully integrated into their new home by 1883, the combined works were not deemed to be a museum until as late as 1963. Today, more than 70 million specimens are on display, making it one of the largest and most renowned collections of natural history in the world.

Visitors will find some 55million animals, including the extinct dodo, a full blue whale skeleton and around 28million insects. There are also 9million fossils and over half a million rocks and minerals, including 3,200 meteorites. 6million different plants are housed in the fascinating Cocoon section, where visitors wind their way across two floors with the help of virtual guides.

Entry to the Natural History Museum is free, although there may be a small charge for some temporary exhibitions. Opening hours are from 10am until 5:50pm, with the last entry permitted at 5:30pm.

Science Museum

If the Natural History Museum is a celebration of the beauty of nature, then the Science Museum is very much an homage to the things man has created itself, with over 300,000 artefacts revealing the scientific progress the human race has made from 1700 up to the present day.

The first incarnation of the Science Museum was opened in 1857, and was a rather eclectic mixture of industrial and decorative arts, with only a few science collections thrown in. Early steam trains such as Stephenson’s Rocket were put on display in 1862, with model ships added two years later.

From here, frequent additions caused the collection to grow, and towards the end of the century the Museum Library was established. In 1893 the science collections were afforded their own director, but were still displayed alongside more artistic pieces in what was known as South Kensington Museum.

Gradually, the arts section broke away to become the Victoria & Albert Museum, which left an obvious gap for the Science Museum to go it alone. In 1909, this wish was granted by ministers.

This marked a renewed period of growth for the museum, with the addition of an interactive Children’s Gallery in 1931 turning it into a real family day out.  Throughout the 20^th century, the museum buildings expanded to allow for more and more exhibits, and it has to continually adapt these exhibits accordingly when new discoveries are made and old theories deemed no longer relevant.

The museum is split into four main sections. Science deals with how scientists carry out their work, and covers fields including maths, physics, chemistry, astronomy and navigation. Medicine shows how medical implements have altered in the last 300 years, while ICT offers a similarly interesting history of communication and technology. Finally, Engineering Technologies reveals how all the things we take for granted are made.

Entry is free and the museum is open from 10am until 6pm most days. Small charges will apply for IMAX exhibitions, flight simulators and some temporary exhibitions.

Victoria & Albert Museum

As we have seen, this was formerly paired with the Science Museum under the name of South Kensington Museum, but in 1899 it became known as the Victoria & Albert Museum, more commonly known today as the V&A. As touched on earlier, it stored more artistic pieces than the Science Museum, making it an intriguing museum/gallery hybrid.

The exhibits were fairly disorganised in these early stages after it became the V&A, with artefacts split into five sections; ceramics, woodwork, metalwork, textiles and sculpture. However, the pieces were not really ordered in any structured way, and the only concession given to organising everything was a suggested route for visitors that would lead them along the most logical path.

So precious were the pieces, however, that when war broke out in 1939 the museum was closed and the exhibits stored away to protect them from any bombings. Just a year later, a few pieces returned and the museum reopened in an effort to improve morale. In fact, the evacuation of the museum eventually meant that it was easier to reorganise it into the easily navigable and highly popular institution it is today.

The V&A is open from 10am until 5:45pm daily, except Fridays when selected galleries remain open until 10pm. Entrance is again free, but again some special exhibitions may command a small extra fee.

Tags: museums, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, South Kensington, V&A Museum