Museums and galleries
                  

London's national museums and galleries contain some of the richest collections in the world; and are full of surprising treasures and oddities. They range from the vast British Museum to more recent and specialist additions, many of which incorporate interactive displays and exhibits. Access to special items or collections not on show is willingly given. In addition they offer a service of advice and scholarly reference unequalled anywhere in the world. Note that their reference libraries and print collections are further described under 'Reference libraries'.

The British Museum, the V & A and other national galleries give expert opinions on the age or identity of objects or paintings - they will not however give you a valuation. Apart from the national art collections in the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, London is further enriched by other, once private, collections, now open to the public.

It has long been a tradition that national museums and galleries are free, but some have now found it necessary to introduce either voluntary contributions or a fixed admission fee.

Here is a selection of them.

·         National Portrait Gallery

·         Sutton House

·         Crafts Council

·         St Bride's Crypt

·         Brunel Engine House

·         Dickens House Museum

·         National Postal Museum...

·         Pollock's Toy Museum...

·         Theatre Museum

·          London Toy and Model Museum

·         Bank of England Museum...

·         Victoria & Albert Museum

·         Museum of London...

·         National Maritime Museum

·         Science Museum...

·         Imperial War Museum... 

·         Natural History Museum & Geological Museum

·         Sherlock Holmes Museum...

·         Tower of London, the Jewel House and Royal Armour's

_{National Portrait Gallery}

2 St Martin's Pl WC2. 0171-306 0055. Founded in 1856, an historic collection of contemporary portraits of famous British men and women, forming a fascinating study of human personality. There are now over 9000 portraits in the primary collection, from Henry VII to Churchill, Shakespeare to the Princess of Wales and Lawrence of Arabia to Mick Jagger. The importance of the sitter is the main criterion for inclusion. The collection includes paintings, miniatures, sculptures, drawings, caricatures and photographs and is arranged chronologically, from the medieval period to the present day. Post-war portraits, and photography and video galleries, now take up the first floor. The gallery has constantly changing displays and a programme of special temporary exhibitions; the annual competition for young portrait painters produces exciting developments in modern portraiture. Education centre, resource centre, library, bookshop. OPEN 10.00-18.00 Mon-Sat, 12.00-18.00 Sun.
Nearest Tube is Charing Cross on the Northern, Bakerloo and Jubilee Lines.
(to Web-Page...)

2-4 Homerton High Street, Hackney E9. Sutton House is East London's oldest house. Built in 1535 and now owned by the National Trust, Tudor, Jacobean and Georgian interiors are on show. There is also an Edwardian chapel, medieval foundations in the cellar and a 16th century garderobe (possibly London's oldest loo...). OPEN Wed & Sun 11.30-17.00.
Get there by Tube to Bethnal Green on the Central Line or by train to Hackney Central.
(to Web-Page...)

44a Pentonville Rd, N1. 0171-278 7700. Six main exhibitions a year of contemporary craft; also an information service on where to learn about or buy crafts; picture library which surveys the best crafts in Britain. Shop. Café. OPEN 11.00-18.00 Tue-Sat, 14.00-18.00 Sun. CLOSED Mon.
Nearest Tube is Angel on the Northern Line.
(to Web-Page...)

St Bride's Church, Fleet St EC4. 0171-353 1301. Interesting relics found during excavations. A unique continuity of remains from Roman London to the present day. OPEN 08.00-17.00 Mon-Sun.
Nearest Tube is Blackfriars on the District and Circle Lines.

_{Brunel Engine House}

Tunnel Road, SE16, access by No. 47, No. P11 and No. 188 buses. 0171-231 3314. Open on the first Sunday of each month, this Grade II listed building was built by Sir Marc Brunel to house the steam engines that drained the Thames Tunnel, constructed between 1825 and 1843. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Sir Marc's son, was resident engineer under his father.
Joining Rotherhithe and Wapping, it was the first tunnel under a river anywhere in the world. Thomas Page, who built Westminster Bridge, was Brunel's assistant throughout the construction. Work was suspended between 1828 and 1835 due to lack of funds. The lack of money also meant that the tunnel remained a foot-tunnel, rather than carrying carriages as intended. In the 1860s it was converted into a railway tunnel for the East London Railway. OPEN 12.00-16.00.
(to Web-Page...)

Dickens moved to 48 Doughty Street, WC1, in April 1837, paying a rent of £80 a year. His daughters, Mary and Kate, were born in the house and his sister-in-law died there. The later chapters of Pickwick Papers were written in the house as well as Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby.
Dickens House was bought by the Dickens Fellowship in 1924 and it houses letters, portraits, first editions and some of Dickens' own furniture.
Access by Russell Square tube station on the Piccadilly Line and various buses.
(to Web-Page...)

King Edward Bldg, King Edward St EC1. 0171-239 5420. Superb displays of stamps including the Phillips collection and the 'Berne' collection. Reference library. Tours by prior arrangement. OPEN 09.30-16.30 Mon-Fri. CLOSED Sat, Sun.

_{Pollock's Toy Museum}

1 Scala St W1. 0171-636 3452. Old toys, theatres and dolls crammed into two houses. Also toys for sale, including the colorful Victorian theatre for which Pollock's is famous. OPEN 10.00-16.30 Mon-Sat. CLOSED Sun.

Russell St WC2. 0171-831 1227. Another arm of the Victoria and Albert Museum, here is told the story of the theatre from Shakespeare to the present. There are permanent and changing exhibitions, as well as a daily programme of events, including Guided Tours, Costume Workshops and Make-Up Demonstrations.
The museum was first suggested in 1955 by Laurence Irving, grandson of Sir Henry, and actually opened in 1963 in an annexe of Leighton House. OPEN 11.00-19.00 Tue-Sun.
(to Web-Page...)

_{Bank of England Museum}

Threadneedle St EC2. 0171-601 5545. History of the 'Old Lady of Threadneedle Street' recreated through reconstructions of Soane's original designs, displays and an interactive video game. Also see the history of the banknote and real gold bars. Exhibits include Bank's first strong-box and the reproduction of the original Bank Hall. Audio cassette tour for visually-handicapped visitors. OPEN 10.00-17.00 Mon-Fri.
(to Web-Page...)

21-23 Craven Hill W2. 0171-706 8000. Originally an eccentric private collection, it was bought by a Japanese construction company in 1989 and the museum has had £4m spent on it. It is a very extensive collection of thousands of toys and models in themed displays over five floors. There are some outstanding working models. You can find examples of toys from the beginning of the millennium and projections into the future of toy design. OPEN 10.00-17.30 Mon-Sun.
Access by tube at Bayswater station (District and Circle), Queensway station (Central Line) or Lancaster Gate (Central).

Cromwell Rd SW7. 0171-938 8500. The V & A is Britain's National Museum of Art & Design and has some of the world's finest collections of furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewellery, textiles and dress from the Middle Ages to the 20thC, as well as paintings, prints and drawings, posters and photographs and sculpture. It also has superb collections from China, Japan, India and the Middle East. More than 300 paintings hang the length of the restored Great Staircase in the Henry Cole wing. There is a full programme of courses, events and introductory tours. Restaurant (Jazz Brunch on Sun) and café.OPEN 10.00-17.50 Tue-Sun, 14.30-17.50 Mon. 
Access is by South Kensington tube and various buses, including the No.70.
(to Web-Page...)

_{Museum of London}

150 London Wall EC2. 0171-600 3699. A three-dimensional history of the City and London area, with models, reconstructions and even the Lord Mayor's Coach of 1756. 'Tudor and Stuart Theatres' display shows a model of the Rose Theatre based on evidence excavated by museum archaeologists. Lectures, films, shop and restaurant. OPEN 10.00-17.50 Tue-Sat, 12.00-17.50 Sun. CLOSED Mon.
(to Web-Page...)

Romney Rd SE10. 0181-858 4422. Finest maritime collection of paintings, navigational instruments, costumes and weapons. 'Twentieth Century Seapower' is a permanent gallery illustrating seapower on a global scale with paintings, water-colours, ship models, photographs and medals. OPEN 10.00-17.00 Mon-SAt, 12.00-17.00 Sun. 
Access by rail at Maze Hill station.
(to Web-Page...)

_{Science Museum}

Exhibition Rd SW7. 0171-938 8000. The history of science and its application to industry. A large collection of very fine engineering models, steam engines, early moto cars, aeroplanes and all aspects of applied physics and chemistry. Explore the history of printing, textiles and many other industries through working models. Special features include space exploration, with the actual Apollo 10 space capsule. The Wellcome galleries examine the history of medicine with a reconstruction of a 1980s operating theatre. The 'Launch Pad' is a popular interactive hands-on gallery of large working models which demonstrate scientific principles and present challenging activities. OPEN 10.00-18.00 Mon-Sat, 11.00-18.00 Sun.
(to Web-Page...)

_{Imperial War Museum}

Lambeth Rd SE1. 0171-416 5000. This popular national museum tells the story of wartime from Flanders to the Gulf War. Weapons, aircraft, submarines, sound and film exhibits, art galleries. The 'Blitz and Trench Experience', multi-sensory displays, and operation 'Jericho', where visitors can experience at first hand what it was like to fly with the RAF on their daring 1944 raid over France, are not to be missed. Education and research programms. Guided tours (by arrangement - phone 0171-416 5350). Shop and café. OPEN 10.00-18.00 Mon-Sun.
(to Web-Page...)

_{Natural History Museum and Geological Museum}

Cromwell Rd SW7. 0171-938 9123. Made up of the Life Galleries and Earth Galleries where advanced and innovative methods of display involve, interest and entertain visitors of all ages. In the Life Galleries walk among huge skeletons and watch moving dinosaurs come to life. Exhibits on human biology, marine invertebrates and meteorites. Don't miss 'Creepy Crawlies', the world of anthropods revealed using audio-visual aids, or the lifesize model of a 90ft (27.5m) blue whale. In the Earth Galleries learn about the Earth's resources, Britain's fossils and minerals and see brilliant gems on view. Discovery Centre, shops, café, picnic area. OPEN 10.00-17.50 Mon-Sat, 11.00-17.50 Sun.
(to Web-Page...)

_{Sherlock Holmes Museum}

221b Baker St NW1. 0171-935 8866. In a Grade II listed building, a collection of Victorian memorabilia relating to Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr Watson, the world-famous characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. OPEN 10.00-18.00.
(to Web-Page...)

_{Tower of London, the Jewel House}

Tower Hill EC3. 0171-709 0765. The Crown Jewels (heavily guarded). London's oldest museum with the largest collection of armour and arms in Britain: 10-20thC. OPEN Mar-Oct 09.00-18.00 Mon-Sat, 10.00-18.00 Sun; Nov-Feb 09.00-17.00 Mon-Sat, 10.00-17.00 Sun
(to Web-Page...)

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