5 fascinating museums off Museum Lane
Some of the most astonishing museums in the world can be found in London, but if you’d like to explore alternatives to the British Museum, Victoria & Albert and the Natural History Museum, here’s five other suggestions.
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If you’re not interested in paintings or sculptures and find science museums a bit too ordinary, the Hunterian Museum might be to your liking. Centred around a collection of hundreds of exotic animal species collected by the 18th century surgeon John Hunter, the museum opened in 1799. It was, however, expanded and redesigned several times throughout the 19th and 20th century. During the bombings of World War II, a large part of the museum and its collection was demolished. It wasn’t until 1963 that the museum reopened. Today it is part of the Wellcome Museum of Anatomy and Pathology.
Focusing on surgery and anatomy, the museum exhibits surgical instruments, pathological specimens and human and non-human jaws and skulls, amongst other things.
Price: Free
Address: 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PE
Nearest Underground: Holborn
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Continuing the theme of illness and death, the Foundling Museum has taken over what used to be the Foundling Hospital. The hospital was founded by Thomas Coram, a British philanthropist, who returned from America in 1707 and acknowledged the need for a hospital for orphaned or abandoned children. In mainland Europe, the Catholic church took care of abandoned babies, but in London the Christ’s Hospital was prohibited to admit illegitimate children.
Thomas Coram started campaigning for an alternative when he returned, but it wasn’t until 1741 that the first children were admitted. The buildings now housing the museum were being used from 1745. Today the museum’s exhibitions include the history of the hospital and of abandoned children, the tokens left with the children as well as donated art. There is also a collection relating to composer George Frideric Handel.
Prices: From £7.50-£10.25
Address: 40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ
Nearest Underground: Russell Square
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And now for something completely different – the bright colours and beautiful artwork at the Leighton House Museum in Kensington. When Lord Leighton died in 1896, he left behind a house that had been continuously decorated through the 30 years that he inhabited it. With only one bedroom in this huge house, the other rooms were used to exhibit his own art work as well as others. Today his house and the surrounding studio-houses give visitors a glimpse into how well-off artists lived and worked at the end of the 19th century.
Price: £12
Address: 12 Holland Park Road, London, W14 8LZ
Nearest Underground: High Street Kensington
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Undoubtedly one of the most famous leaders from our time, Winston Churchill resided in Downing Street Number 10 for a total of nine years. During the First World War, Churchill held the position of First Lord of the Admiralty and in 1939, when war was once again on the horizon, he was appointed for the same position. However, when Chamberlain resigned in 1940, Churchill took over as Prime Minister and played a big part in how World War II played out.
Many hours during the war were spent underground in a bunker close to Downing Street and Whitehall, especially in the map room, which was manned round-the-clock. As a part of the Imperial War Museum, visitors can go underground and get a sense of how world politics was conducted from these cramped quarters.
Price: £19
Address: Clive Steps, King Charles Street, London, SW1A 2AQ
Nearest Underground: Westminster/St James Park
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History can be seen in the changes in art or science, but the way homes and furniture have developed through the decades also tells its own story. If you happened to watch an episode or two of the BBC programme “Further Back in Time for Dinner”, you’d have been presented with how the changing looks of the parlour reflected the world outside. At the Geffrye Museumof the home, you can do your own time travel through rooms exhibiting styles from the 1630s to the 1990s.
Besides the rooms, there’s the opportunity to get a tour at the restored almhouse, which housed up to fifty poor pensioners in the 18th and 19th century. There’s also period gardens connected to the museum, perfect for a stroll on a spring day.
Price: Free (tours in the almhouse is £4)
Address: 136 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8EA
Nearest Underground: Old Street
