Museums

Around London – New Year’s Eve fireworks; a Resurrectionist diary; and, Russian architecture at the Royal Academy…

by exploringlondon

• Plans for this year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks – marking the beginning of the year in which London hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games – have been announced by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The EDF London Eye on South Bank will once again form the focus of the fireworks display and those wishing to attend have been warned to take their places early with some areas filling up by 9pm or 10pm. Parents with young children are advised to consider attending fireworks displays closer to home (for more, see www.london.gov.uk/newyearseve). The display will be followed by a parade on New Year’s Day (for more, see www.londonparade.co.uk). Meanwhile, the annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony will take place next Thursday. The tree is a gift from the people of Oslo, the Norwegian capital, given annually for more than 60 years in recognition of Britain’s support during World War II.

• On Now – The Diary of a Resurrectionist. This month marks the 200th anniversary of an intriguing diary which offers insights into the work of a group of grave robbers and to mark the moment, the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England is hosting an exhibition featuring extracts from the diary and charting the rise and fall of grave robbing. The exhibition, which is being hosted in the Library Reading Room, runs until 22nd December. There is a special lecture by Kirsty Chilton at the museum from 7pm tonight (24th November, entry fee applies). For more, see www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums/exhibitions/index.html.

• On Now – Building the Revolution: Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-1935. The Royal Academy of Arts is hosting this exhibition which looks at the avant-garde architecture which appeared in Russia from 1922 to 1935, and its design origins in the earlier flowering of Constructivisit art which emerged around 1915. Large scale photographs, taken by Richard Pare, are juxtaposed with relevant Constructivisit drawings and paintings as well as vintage photographs. A reconstruction of Vladimir Tatlin’s Monument to the Third International (known as Tatlin’s Tower) has been built in the Annenberg Courtyard to coincide with the exhibition. Runs until 22nd January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk.

Around London – New picture gallery at V&A; remembering the 5th of November; War Horse – the exhibition; and, celebrating Private Eye…

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• The Victoria and Albert Museum has opened a new permanent gallery displaying highlights from its internationally renowned collection of photographs in what amounts to a chronicle of the medium stretching from its invention in 1839 to the 1960s. The gallery, which opened in late October, initially features works such key figures as Henri Cartier Bresson, Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Diane Arbus and Irving Penn. Among highlights are the oldest photograph in the V&A’s collection – a daguerrotype of Parliament Street taken from Trafalgar Square in 1839, a Robert Howlett portrait of Isambard Kingdom Brunel standing in front of the Great Eastern, and an early botanical photography taken without a camera in 1854. The display also includes two “in focus” sections, looking at the lives of two photographers – initially British photographer Julia Margaret and the influential Henri Cartier-Bresson – in depth. The V&A was the first museum to start collecting photographs when it did so in 1856. Entry is free. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

• Remember, remember, the 5th of November! This weekend is Bonfire Night (aka Guy Fawkes Night) and across London communities will be gathering around bonfires to gasp at fireworks displays. We don’t have the capacity to collect all the details of where they’re taking place but thankfully the people at View London do. Follow this link to see its listing of where fireworks displays are taking place. To see our previous entry looking at the origins of the night, follow this link. For more on the Gunpowder Plot, see our previous entry here.

• On Now – War Hose: Fact & Fiction. A book, a long running stage performance and a soon to be released film, War Horse is now also the subject of a major exhibition at the National Army Museum. War Hose: Fact & Fiction is a family-friendly exhibition which tells the real-life story of horses in war and includes archive material from the animal charity The Brooke, which was founded after Dorothy Brooke rescued some former war horses being sold into a life of hard labour in Cairo (Brooke, who rescued some 5,000 horses, went on to found the Old War Horse Memorial Hospital in Cairo in 1934). The exhibition also features content from Michael Morpurgo, author of the novel War Horse, as well as the National Theatre’s production and the upcoming Spielberg-directed movie. Entry is free. Runs until August 2012. For more, see www.nam.ac.uk.

On Now: Private Eye: The First 50 Years. A celebration of the irreverent Private Eye magazine which, since it was founded in October 1961, has distinguished itself through a combination of satire and hard-hitting journalism. The exhibition features more than 120 of the magazine’s funniest cartoons and a display of the magazine’s distinctive covers with one of from each year chosen by editor Ian Hislop. It also shows how surprisingly low-tech the magazine’s production remains despite great changes in technology, and there’s a recreation of the editor’s Soho office. Admission is free. Runs until 8th January. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

Around London: Taking to the skies over the Thames; a new plumber in Cannon Street; and, new images of war at IWM…

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• The proposed cable car crossing of the Thames will be sponsored by airline Emirates in a 10-year, £36 million deal announced last Friday. To be known as the ‘Emirates Air Line’, the cable car will link the DLR station Royal Victoria with the Jubilee Line station North Greenwich and will involve the creation of two new cable car stations bearing the sponsor’s name – Emirates Greenwich Peninsula on the south bank and Emirates Royal Docks on the north. It is the first time a corporate brand will appear on the Tube map. Transport for London has said the new service could be operational by summer 2012 (although whether it will be ready for the Olympics remains uncertain). It will feature 34 cable car gondolas and ferry as many as 2,500 passengers across the river every hour with an expected two million passengers to use the service each year. The journey is expected to take five minutes and will see the gondolas travelling at a height of 160 feet above the river. The sponsorship deal was announced by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, along with Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, and Mike Brown, managing director of London Underground and Rail.

• The Duke of Gloucester unveiled a new statue, called Plumber’s Apprentice, at Cannon Street Station last week to mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of a Royal Charter to London’s Worshipful Company of Plumbers. Sculpted by Martin Jennings (he also created the statue of British poet Sir John Betjeman that now stands in St Pancras Station), the seven foot tall bronze statue is said to underline the livery company’s ongoing commitment to train young plumbers. The company, which was formed in 1365, received its charter from King James I in 1611. From 1690, following the destruction of the company’s previous hall in the Great Fire of London, it was based in a building on the site of the railway station. In 1863, it was forced to again move when the hall was compulsorily purchased to make way for the railway. Also present at the unveiling were the Lord Mayor of London, Michael Bear, and the Lady Mayoress, herself a sculptress and liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers. For more, see www.plumberscompany.org.uk.

• On now: Shaped by War: Photographs by Don McCullin. The Imperial War Museum is hosting the largest ever exhibition of the life and works of acclaimed photographer Don McCullin. The display features some 250 photographs including rarely seen before portraits of anonymous victims of war, contact sheets, objects, magazine and personal memorabilia. Conflicts covered include those of the Cold War, in places like Vietnam and Cambodia, Bangladesh and the Middle East – the latter include images from the Gulf War and the 20o3 invasion of Iraq. There is also a newly commissioned video in which McCullin talks about the exhibition. Runs until 15th April, 2012. An admission charge applies. For more, see www.iwm.org.uk.

Around London: The East India Company at National Maritime Museum; Open days at London Transport Museum’s depot; and, Atkinson Grimshaw at the Guildhall Art Gallery…

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• The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has launched five month-long festival looking at the East India Company and the mark it’s left on London and the world. The festival, which was launched late last month as a new gallery, Traders: The East India Company and Asia, opened its doors at museum, features musical performances, film screenings, games, discussions, story-telling and debates surrounding the company and its legacy as well as ‘curry and a pint’ nights and tea parties. Also included are two days of celebrations marking Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, on 12th November, and Chinese New Year on 18th February. For more on the events and the museum, see www.nmm.ac.uk.

• London Transport Museum’s Depot in Acton is holding a family open weekend this Saturday and Sunday with ‘make and take’ workshops, object handling sessions and rides on the open air miniature railway and life-sized heritage vehicles. Among those on hand to answer all your questions will be London’s Emergency Response Unit. Open between 11am and 5pm both days (last admission 4pm). An admission charge applies. To book or to find out more information, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/museum-depot/events.

• On Now: Atkinson Grimshaw: Painter of Moonlight. The first major show of Grimshaw’s work for more than 30 years, this exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery includes more than 60 paintings from his earliest Pre-Raphaelite inspired landscapes to the Impressionist style seascapes of his last years along with drawings, manuscripts and photographs on loan from public and private collections and descendants of the artist. Grimshaw (1836-1893) was a popular Victorian artist known for his evocative scenes of the urban environment at night and for his landscapes. Runs until 15th January (admission charge applies). There is also a special late viewing (the gallery’s first) on 21st October. For more on the exhibition, see www.guildhallartgallery.cityoflondon.gov.uk/gag/.

Around London: Talking rubbish; Conan Doyle’s lost manuscript; John Martin’s apocalypse; and, Postmodernism at the V&A…

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• Twenty-five talking rubbish bins will be installed in Westminster City Council area as part of a campaign to encourage people to use them more. The rubbish bins, which will look no different from normal bins, will start chatting from 13th October and will be in London for two months before embarking on a UK tour after which they may become permanent fixtures. Each bin will have a unique respond when used – from singing a part of the Hallelujah Chorus to a blast of the trombone and will be tailored to suit their location (Covent Garden’s, for example, will be operatic in nature). The talking bins, which are also being trialled in Liverpool, are being put on the streets as part of Keep Britain Tidy’s Love Where You Live initiative.

• A hitherto unpublished novel by Arthur Conan Doyle – creator of Sherlock Holmes – was published by the British Library this week. The Narrative of John Smith was Conan Doyle’s first novel and was written between 1883 and 1884 but the manuscript was lost on the way to the publishers. Conan Doyle rewrote it from memory but never resubmitted the work for publication. It serves as a rare insight into his creative development prior to his writing of more famous works like those featuring Holmes (the new book and an audio CD featuring Robert Lindsay, are available from the library shop). The library is also hosting an exhibition of related items in the Treasures Gallery, including one of the four notebooks that comprise the manuscript of The Narrative of John Smith, letters Conan Doyle wrote to his mother, and a “scientific and monthly magazine” he created when he was just 16. The exhibition is open until 5th January. The library is also hosting an event in which author Anthony Horowitz – commissioned by the Conan Doyle Estate to write a new Sherlock Holmes novel, The House of Silk, which will be published in November – will talk about his work and the new novel. To be held on 27th November from 2.30pm to 4pm (admission charge applies). For more, see www.bl.uk.

• On Now: John Martin: Apocalypse. The Tate Britain is hosting an exhibition featuring the works of nineteenth century British artist John Martin, in the first show dedicated to his works in more than 30 years. While something of an outsider, Martin was a key figure in the art world of his day, known for his “dramatic scenes of apocalyptic destruction and biblical disaster”. The exhibition brings together some of his most famous paintings as well as previously unseen and newly restored works. Admission charge applies. Runs until 15th January. For more, see www.tate.org.uk/britain/.

• On Now: Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990. An “in-depth survey of art, design and architecture of the 1970s and 1980s”, this exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum shows how postmodernism evolved from being merely a provocative architectural movement in the 1970s through to ideas that went on to broadly influence popular culture – everything from art and film to music and fashion. The exhibition is divided into three broad chronological sections – the first focuses on architecture, the second on the “proliferation of postmodernism through design, art, music, fashion, performance, and club culture during the 1980s” and the third on the “hyper-inflated commodity culture of the 1980s”. Admission charge applies. Runs until 15th January, 2012. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

LondonLife – A last chance to experience Australia at the British Museum…

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An Australian landscape constructed in the forecourt of the British Museum as part of the museum’s Australian Season. The landscape takes the intrepid on a journey across the vast Australian continent through the arid red desert of the red centre to the granite outcrops of the country’s west coast. The plants include iconic Australian flora such as the kangaroo paw, wattle, coast banksia, gums and ferns as well as a Wollemi pine. The landscape is the fourth created in the museum’s forecourt under a partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. But time is running out to see it – the garden will disappear on 16th October. Other events held at the museum as part of Australian Season have included an exhibition of Australian artworks and handcrafted baskets. Admission to the garden is free. For more, visit www.britishmuseum.org.

Around London – Design Festival in full swing; museum acquires rare merchant figure; Olympic medals on display; and, remembering Polish, Czech and Slovak airmen…

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• The London Design Festival is in full swing in London this week with more than 250 events taking place across the city over its 10 days. Launched last Saturday, the festival runs until Sunday and there’s still plenty of time to get involved. Among the highlights is a series of events, workshops and talks being held at the Victoria & Albert Museum (where you can also see 12 specially commissioned installations, one of which sees the museum’s grand entrance transformed with a sculptural form), a series of shows focusing on design in six London “design districts” – Brompton, Pimlico Road, Covent Garden, Fitzrovia, Clerkenwell and Shoreditch, and a broad program of ‘partner’ and ‘international’ events – everything from a festival featuring African-Caribbean design through to an exhibition of experimental chairs by the Danish Cabinetmaker’s Association. To find out more, simply head to www.londondesignfestival.com.

• The Museum of London has announced the purchase of a rare 18th century clay figure of London druggist and tea merchant Thomas Todd. The figure, which was acquired with the help of the Art Fund and MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund,  is one of only two known portrait works attributed to the Chinese artists Chitqua on show in Britain. The figure, which is made from unfired clay held together by bamboo and brightly painted, was acquired from Todd’s great, great, great, great grand nephew, Thomas Todd, and will appear shortly in the Expanding City Gallery in the Galleries of Modern London. Based in Fleet Street, Pat Hardy, the museum’s curator of paintings, prints and drawings, says Todd “epitomised the kind of business acumen which ensured the growth of Britain’s industrial, mercantile and commercial empire in the eighteenth century”. For more, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk

• The British Museum has opened an exhibition giving the public their first chance to see next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games medals. Medals have been awarded at the Olympic Games since the first modern games were held in 1896. The latest Olympic medals were designed by jeweller David Watkins, for many years Professor of Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery at London’s Royal College of Art, while the latest Paralympic Medals were designed by jeweller Lin Cheung, a senior lecturer for Jewellery Design at London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. The exhibition tells how, using minerals mined in the US and Mongolia (Rio Tinto is sponsoring the exhibition), the medals were produced at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales. Mine to medals: the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games medals runs until 9th September next year. Admission is free. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

• On Now: Brothers in Arms – Airmen of Poland and Czechoslovakia in the Battle of Britain & Beyond. The Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale, north London, is hosting an exhibition looking at the contribution of Polish, Czech and Slovak airmen in the Battle of Britain and their life afterwards. Curated in association with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, the exhibition features drawings, archival film footage and sculpture as well as uniforms, diaries and combat reports. Opened by Poland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Radoslaw Sirkorski (who later attended the annual banquet held in honor of the Veterans of the Battle of Britain), it runs until 4th March, 2012. Entry is free. For more, visit  www.rafmuseum.org.uk.

Famous Londoners – Captain Thomas Coram

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A ship-builder and New World colonist of some renown, Thomas Coram is primarily remembered now as the founder of London’s Foundling Hospital.

While details of Coram’s early life are sketchy, it is known that he was born in Dorset, possibly in Lyme Regis, in 1668 and was believed to be the son of a merchant seaman, John Coram.

Coram’s mother apparently died while he was still young and he went to sea at the age of just 11. Following his father’s remarriage, however, the family moved to Hackney in East London and it was after that move that Coram was apprenticed to a shipwright working beside the Thames.

In 1694, having previously worked for the Government auditing troop and supply ships, a group of merchants asked Coram to establish a new shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts. He did so and spent the next 10 years building ships in Boston and Taunton. But, a staunch Anglican living among Puritans, he apparently make some enemies while doing so (this led to lawsuits and even apparently an attempt on his life). It was during this time that he also married a Bostonian, Eunice Wait.

Following his return to England in 1704, Coram found further success as a merchant and was soon commanding merchant ships during the War of the Spanish Succession (it is believed it was during this time that he acquired the title of captain). Throughout the following years he continued to conduct business in the New World colonies – particularly Massachusetts and Maine – as well as in London.

It was after he had moved to Rotherhithe in 1719 that Coram’s eyes were opened to the plight of abandoned children – he would apparently see them when travelling into London – and, his heart obviously moved, he began to advocate for the creation of a foundling hospital similar to those he had seen on the continent during his travels.

While his efforts initially came to nothing, Coram eventually received the backing of Queen Caroline, wife of King George II – an important step for the plain-speaking seaman. Having presented numerous petitions to the king, His Majesty finally signed the Foundling Hospital Charter on 14th August, 1739. The first meeting of the governors – which included notables such as artist William Hogarth and prominent physician Dr Richard Mead – was held at Somerset House that November.

A temporary hospital opened it’s doors at Hatton Garden on 25th March, 1741, and the first foundlings were baptised Thomas and Eunice Coram. But it was only four and a half years later – in October, 1745 – that a purpose-built hospital opened its doors in an area known as Bloomsbury Fields. As well as Hogarth (who painted Coram in 1740 – the picture can still be seen in the Foundling Hospital today), the hospital also attracted the support of composer George Frideric Handel.

Coram’s role in the governance of the hospital effectively came to an end in 1741-1742 (he is said to have made some indiscreet comments about some of his fellow governors) but – despite being still engaged in numerous business activities – he continued to visit the hospital regularly and, as well as being Godfather to more than 20 of the foundlings, the story goes that he found the time to sit in an arcade at the hospital and pass out pieces of gingerbread to the children.

Captain Thomas Coram died on 29th March, 1751, in lodgings on Spur Street near Leicester Square (his wife Eunice had died earlier, in July 1740, and the couple had no children). He was buried in the Foundling Hospital chapel.

One of the best places to visit to find out more about Captain Coram and his life is the Foundling Museum, housed in part of the former hospital. For our previous story on the hospital, follow this link. A statue of Coram (pictured above) stands outside in Brunswick Square.

Around London – Open House London; Magna Carta on display; Fashion Week photography; and, Henry Moore returns to Greenwich…

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• It’s Open House London weekend again and there’s scores of properties across the city which will be opening their doors to allow the curious a rare glimpse inside. The properties which will be open include architect’s homes and cutting edge housing as well as historic city landmarks, landscape projects and government buildings (including the Foreign Office & India Office – pictured). Other highlights of this year’s event – conducted under the theme of ‘The Liveable City’ –  include a night hike, a festival aimed at kids and families, talks, walks and cycle tours and competitions. Among the buildings flinging their doors wide are Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, livery company halls, the newly reopened St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the Bevis Marks Synagogue in the City. Most properties can simply be visited on a first come, first in basis but some do require advance booking so check before you go. Open House London was first started 19 years ago and has since spread to many other cities around the world including New York, Jerusalem and Helsinki. For more information and to purchase an online guide, see www.londonopenhouse.org. PICTURE: (c) Nick Woodford.

• King Edward I’s Magna Carta will go on show at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City this weekend, presenting a rare opportunity to see this pivotal document. The City of London Corporations 1297 Magna Carta – regarded as one of the finest 13th century copies – will be on display in the Roman Amphitheatre during Open House London. The document features King Edward I’s seal and the original writ to the Sheriffs of London ordered that the charter be promulgated within the City. Admission over the weekend is free. For more see, www.guildhallartgallery.cityoflondon.gov.uk/gag/

 

• The Museum of London has launched an online collection of early Twentieth century fashion photographs to coincide with London Fashion Week. The more than 3,000 glass negative plates come from the collection of Bassano Limited, founded by Italian-born Alexander B. Bassano, and were taken between 1912 and 1945. They record a wide range of fashions as well as designers and retailers and can be accessed via the Museum’s Collections online web portal. Meanwhile, the museum is hosting it’s first ever professional catwalk show on Friday night. It features the works of Christopher Raeburn. For more, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk.

• A Henry Moore sculpture, Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge, has been returned to Greenwich Park, more than four years after it was removed. The almost five metres tall sculpture, made by Moore in 1976, was originally placed in the park in 1979 but was removed for conservation in early 2007 before joining a Moore exhibition at Kew Gardens and then forming part of the Henry Moore display at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The bronze, on loan from The Henry Moore Foundation for two years, has now been returned to its original location between The Avenue and Croom’s Hill Gate.

10 small (and fascinating) museums in London…10. The Horniman Museum

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For the last in our series on small (and fascinating) museums, Exploring London visited the Horniman Museum, an eccentric collection of artifacts based in south-east London.

The museum started life as the personal collection of wealthy 19th century tea merchant, philanthropist and MP Frederick John Horniman. Horniman, who started collecting in the 1860s, opened his house in Forest Hill to the public so people could come and view his collection. But as the number of objects in the collection increased, he decided to construct a purpose-built museum and in 1898 commissioned architect Charles Harrison Townsend to design it.

The new art deco museum building – which includes a landmark clocktower – opened in 1901 and, along with 16 acres of gardens, was given to the people of London. While further buildings were added over the ensuing century (including in 1911 when Horniman’s son Emslie donated a new building), some of these later additions were demolished in the late Nineties and a new extension built which was opened in 2002.

These days Horniman’s original collections only make-up around 10 per cent of the 300,000 objects in the museum. The artifacts are grouped in a series of thematic galleries. Among them is a Natural History Gallery containing stuffed specimens and models of animals ranging from the Dodo (extinct since 1680) to the yellow-bellied pangolin (which rolls into a prickly ball when threatened).

Other galleries include the stunning African Worlds Gallery, housing everything from a display of Ethiopian crowns, a series of plaques from Benin depicting scenes from the country’s history, 25 kilogram Bwa plank masks, and macabre Midnight Robber head-dresses from Trinidad as well as the Music Gallery which contains an amazing array of instruments old and new, including a monster 6’6” tall tuba and a Tibetan trumpet made from a femur.

There is also the Centenary Gallery which contains a display of Horniman’s original artifacts and new finds – everything from American Indian head-dresses to a Burmese Buddhist shrine and a fake torture chair which was once claimed to have dated from the Spanish Inquisition but is actually believed to have been assembled in the 19th century.

The site also includes an aquarium (an entry fee applies) and spaces for special exhibitions – these currently include The Art of Harmony, which brings together musical instruments from the Horniman and some on loan from the V&A, and Bali: Dancing for the Gods, which explores Balinese dance culture and dance (this is free with the aquarium ticket or an entry fee applies).

There’s also a shop, cafe and gardens to explore (although the latter are currently undergoing redevelopment, meaning of the gardens are currently not accessible).

This quirky museum – aptly once known as a “cabinet of curiosities” – will reward any visitor. As Horniman himself said in a quote which appears in the museum: “Those who use their eyes obtain the most enjoyment and knowledge. Those who look but do not see go away no wiser than they came.”

This is the last in our series on 10 small (and fascinating) museums. Given the number of museums we haven’t yet mentioned, we’ll be running another such series in the future. Next week we start a new Wednesday series on Royal Parks.

WHERE: Horniman Museum, 100 London Road, Forest Hill (nearest station is that of Forest Hill – both Overground and South-Eastern); WHEN: 10.30am to 5.30pm; COST: Free (with the exception of the aquarium and some special exhibitions – the aquarium is £2.50 an adult/£1.20 a child aged 3 to 16/ £5.50 a family; WEBSITE: www.horniman.ac.uk

10 small (and fascinating) museums in London…9. HMS Belfast

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OK, so it’s not exactly small but HMS Belfast – an offshoot of the Imperial War Museum moored permanently on the Thames near Tower Bridge – does make a fascinating museum in which to spend a few hours.

Commissioned into the Royal Navy on 5th August, 1939 (just in time for the start of World War II), the HMS Belfast is a large light cruiser built, along with the HMS Edinburgh, as an improvement on the then existing ‘Southampton’ class vessels. It is now the only surviving example of the many big gun armoured warships which were built for the Royal Navy in first half of the twentieth century.

Assigned to the Home Fleet on the outbreak of war, the ship operated out of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Isles in far north Scotland and was charged with patrolling the northern waters as part of efforts to impose a maritime blockade on Germany. Striking a mine in November of that year, however, it was put of out action until two years later when it rejoined the Home Fleet and then began escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union – a mission which saw it take part in the Battle of North Cape off the Norwegian coast in late 1943 (this battle saw the sinking of the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst).

The HMS Belfast later saw action on D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy in 6th June, 1944, when it was employed to bombard German positions onshore before, heading to Japan where, after the end of the war, it was used to evacuate survivors of prisoners-of-war and internment camps in China.

The HMS Belfast saw action in the Korean War and then spent further time in the Far East before – under threat of being disposed of and broken up – it was acquired as a museum and moored in London. The first visitors were admitted on Trafalgar Day, 1971, and, as of last year, nearly 10 million people have taken up the chance to look at the ship.

These days there’s a well-defined route through the vessel, complete with audio guide (it’s included in the admission price), which takes visitors on an informative journey describing what life was like for those who served onboard the Belfast – including everything from the Arctic messdecks where ratings slept in hammocks to the NAAFI store where they could buy supplies, sick bay, the ‘modern’ laundry room, and chapel as well as the engine room, shell rooms and magazines, and , of course, the bridge.

Many of the rooms have been set up – some using life-sized manniquins – to show how they would have looked during a typical day. Particularly worth a look is the new Gun Turret Experience: A Sailor’s Story 1943, an immersive film, light and sound show which gives a glimpse into what life was like working inside one of the six inch gun turrets.

It can take a while to get around the whole ship (and parents are asked not to take small children into the boiler room) but it’s well worth taking the time to explore properly. In addition to the features of the ship itself, there are two exhibitions – one looking at the role of the ship in peace and war, and the other, an interactive experience in what life was like on board.

WHERE: HMS Belfast is moored on the Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. Entry is from the south bank of the Thames near Morgans Lane (nearest Tube stations are London Bridge, Tower Hill or Monument); WHEN: 10am-6pm (last admission 5pm) daily until 31st October, then 10am to 5pm (last admission 4pm); COST: £13.50 adults/£10.80 seniors and students/children under 16 free (price includes a voluntary donation); WEBSITE: http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk.

Around London – Tens of thousands expected for weekend’s Sky Ride; IWM marks 10th anniversary of September 11; Liberty festival hits South Bank; British Library launches new 19th century app; and, a new slavery exhibition at Museum of London…

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• Tens of thousands of people are expected to join London Mayor Boris Johnson for the annual Sky Ride this Sunday. The event, organised by the Mayor of London, Sky and British Cycling in partnership with Transport for London, allows people to cycle a 11.6 kilometre route through the city centre minus the usual car traffic. The circular route, which takes in Westminster Bridge, the Mall and Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, will be vehicle-free between 9.30am and 4.30pm. Last year more than 85,000 took part. For more information, seewww.goskyride.com/london.

• The Imperial War Museum is marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US with a new photographic exhibition showing artefacts recovered after the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York. Memory Remains, which opened on 26th August and runs until 26th February, is a photographic exploration of Hangar 17 – a previously empty hanger at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York where debris and material retrieved from the 16 acre World Trade Center site were stored. It features images taken by Spanish-American artist Francesc Torres, who was commissioned by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to capture what was happening inside the hangar and granted special access to do so. The exhibition is being accompanied by another at Imperial War Museum North in Manchester. In the Spotlight: Remembering 9/11, which runs from 10th September until September next year, features artefacts from the World Trade Center including a British flag which was laid on the altar in St Paul’s Cathedral on the first anniversary of the attacks. Admission to both exhibitions is free. For more information, see www.iwm.org.uk.

• South Bank hosts the Liberty festival, an annual showcase by deaf and disabled artists, this Saturday. The festival, which will take place at two sites – the Southbank Centre and the National Theatre, will feature a mix of music, dance, street theatre, comedy, circus performances and aerial displays. Highlights include Mark Smith’s Deaf Men Dancing, performance artist Bobby Baker, Jean-Marie Akkerman’s Cirque Nova featuring four disabled aerial artists, and Kazzum, who produce theatrical work for children up to 16-years-old. The event is free. For more information, see www.london.gov.uk/liberty.

• The British Library and BiblioLabs have launched a new 19th century historical collection app for iPad users. The app (which costs £1.99 a month or $US2.99 for those outside the UK and is available through Apple’s App Store) allows users to explore historical and antiquarian books including classic novels, original accounts by Victorian travellers, books on science and poetry, memoirs and military histories. Around 45,000 titles are initially available with a further 15,000 to be added by the end of the year.

• On Now: Freedom from: modern slavery in the capital. A new exhibition looking at the reality of trafficking and forced labour has opened at the Museum of London and the Museum of London Docklands – the museum first cross-site exhibition. Created in partnership with Anti-Slavery International and coinciding with the launch of its Slavery-Free London campaign, the exhibition looks at the personal impact of human trafficking and slavery in 21st century London and includes personal testimonies such as that of ‘Gheeta’ who was trafficked from India and forced into work. It also features a series of large scale photographs by Chris Steele-Perkins of Magnum Photos. Runs until 20th November. Admission is free. For more information, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk.

10 small (and fascinating) museums in London…8. The Geffrye Museum

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We have mentioned this museum before, but it’s well worth doing so again (particularly for those who may have missed the first entry). Located in former almhouses in Shoreditch, the Geffrye Museum is a survey of house interiors from the 17th century through to modern times.

Featuring 11 reconstructed period interiors created using authentic furnishings, it tells the story of the city through its residents’ homes (albeit largely wealthy ones) and includes a look at a hall in 1630, a parlour in 1790, a drawing room in 1870 and a loft conversion dating from 1998. There’s an audio guide which provides details on each room and information panels as you go along (and if you can’t get there but want to have a look, the website gives a detailed look at each room with notes on select furnishings).

The almshouses in which the museum resides (it runs along the rear wing of a U-shaped courtyard and takes in the chapel) were built in the early 1700s by the Company of Ironmongers after it received a bequest from Sir Robert Geffrye, a former twice-master of the company and a former Lord Mayor of London (his statue adorns the front of the chapel and faces out into the courtyard, itself a quiet oasis in busy Shoreditch).

These were used until early in the 20th century when the company decided to relocate the remaining pensioners. But the buildings have been preserved and it is possible to visit a former almshouse which has been restored and opened as a museum with displays on what life was like for the pensioners. Meanwhile, at the rear of the museum is a walled herb garden filled with herbs and a series of ‘period garden rooms’ ranging from the 17th to 20th centuries.

There’s also a restaurant and shop onsite (housed in a new extension opened in 1998).

WHERE: 136 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch. Nearest tube is Liverpool Street or Old Street (a fair walk) or Hoxton Overground Station (next door); WHEN: Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10am-5pm or Sundays and Bank Holidays, 12-5pm (gardens open until 31st October); COST: Free (admission to almhouses £2.50 at set times on select days); WEBSITE: www.geffrye-museum.org.uk

 

Around London – Story of London Festival; a new filmlovers’ walk; ‘pocket histories’ of London; and, Your 2012…

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• The third Story of London Festival kicked off at the start of the month with a programme of events aimed at celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Festival of Britain. This year’s festival is being coordinated by the Museum of London in partnership with the Southbank Centre. It also involves five London borough museums – that of Brent, Dagenham, Haringey, Redbridge and Wandsworth – which are hosting free displays and events around the theme of how they celebrated in 1951. The festival runs until the end of the month, so there’s still plenty of time to get involved. Among the highlights still to come is the Floral Bicycle Parade around the Southbank Centre on 28th August (‘decorating stations’ will be set up at the centre prior to the parade). For a full listing of what’s happening, see www.london.gov.uk/priorities/art-culture/storyoflondon.

• The City of London has released a new filmlovers’ walking tour of London which takes in locations featured in films and TV shows. Lights, camera, action starts on Millennium Bridge (destroyed in the opening sequence of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and takes in 23 other locations including St Paul’s Cathedral (The Madness of King George and Great Expectations), Bank Junction (28 Days Later, National Treasure II), St Bart’s Hospital (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Moorgate (Ocean’s 13 and The Bourne Ultimatum) and Tower Bridge (Brannigan, The Mummy Returns, Thunderbirds, Tomb Raider, Sherlock Holmes) before finishing at Postman’s Park (Closer). The walk has been mapped out by the City’s film team which works with location managers and film directors when they’re working in the Square Mile. The leaflet can be picked up free-of-charge from the City of London Information Centre (opposite St Paul’s) or downloaded here.

• Interested in a snapshot of what London was like during a particular historical era? The Museum of London has launched a series of 16 “pocket histories”, each of which, in up to 1,000 words, tackles a particular aspect of the city’s history based around five objects or images. The subjects covered range from a look at the River Thames in prehistory to life in medieval London, from an examination of the history of Jack the Ripper and the East End, to a detailed look at the London’s plagues. While designed for a general audience, the histories are expected to be particularly useful to school students. They can be looked at online or downloaded as a PDF. Further subjects are expected to be added in the future. See www.museumoflondon.org.uk/pockethistories. The museum has also launched Picturebank, a collection of images which can be accessed online and viewed, printed or copied for educational use.

• On Now: Your 2012. The Museum of London Docklands is hosting a free exhibition featuring images capturing the construction work at the Olympic site in East London and the impact on the surrounding boroughs and the environment as well as archival images which show the history of the site. The free exhibition runs until 5th February. For more, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands/.

10 small (and fascinating) museums in London…7. The Cartoon Museum

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Hidden away in Bloomsbury almost in the shadow of the gigantic bulk of the British Museum, this small museum offers an interesting insight into the development of cartoons and comic strips from a uniquely British perspective.

Opened in 2006, the museum exhibits are spread over two floors and trace the history of cartoons and comic strips from their origins in the 1700s through to today’s graphic novels.

While it can seem at first glance only a small display, there’s a wealth of information accompanying the more than 200 exhibits which range from Hogarth prints and early satirical political cartoons by the likes of James Gillray and George Cruikshank through to the works of more modern artists like David Low and Donald McGill, originals of comic strips like Dennis the Menace and Andy Capp and even manga Shakespeare.

And no need to worry about the kids – if they become bored (as is likely), there’s an interesting exhibition on the creation of Peppa Pig complete with original storyboards and a cartoon running on the television as well as plenty of reading materials and, upstairs, the chance for them to indulge their passion for cartoons by designing their own.

The museum is also currently running a splendid exhibition on Dr Who comics spanning the period from 1964 (the year after the first Dr Who was televised) through to today. For Dr Who fans, this exhibition – which runs until 30th October – is a must.

Don’t forget to pause at the shop on the way out – it’s stocked with all sorts of comic-related paraphernalia.

WHERE: The Cartoon Museum, 35 Little Russell Street (nearest Tube stations are Tottenham Court Road, Holborn and Russell Square); WHEN: 10.30am to 5.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, 12.30pm to 5pm Sundays; COST: £5.50 an adult/£4 concessions (£3 students)/children under 18 free (children 12 or under must be accompanied by an adult); WEBSITE: www.cartoonmuseum.org

10 small (and fascinating) museums in London…6. London Canal Museum

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London’s Regent’s Canal no longer plays the important transport role it once did – it’s now largely for pleasure that people ply the waters from the East London Docks up to Little Venice. But its key contribution to the city’s development and those of other canals across the country are celebrated at this small museum.

The museum, which sits just behind King’s Cross railway station, was opened in 1992 and features two floors of exhibits. They include half a narrow boat, the Coronis, which you can walk through to experience the cramped conditions in which the boatmen and their families once lived. There are also some fascinating recordings of people who actually did live on narrowboats about what life was like as well as displays and photographs of a lifestyle now long gone.

Outside, in Battlebridge Basin, is a moored a small collection of narrowboats while upstairs is a more detailed history of how the canals were developed, some fascinating film archival footage on a continuous loop, and a chance to operate a model of a lock.

As an added bonus, the museum is housed in what was once an ice warehouse and it’s still possible to view one of two massive ice wells which occupied the basement space where blocks of ice imported from Norway were once stored.

There are also displays on the history of the former ice business owner, Carlo Gatti, and some interesting information about the early days of ice and icecream in London – of particular note is the collection of ‘licking dishes’ in which icecream was sold for a penny.

WHERE: London Canal Museum, 12-14 New Wharf Road (nearest Tube station is King’s Cross); WHEN: 10am to 4.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday (open late until 7.30pm on the first Thursday of each month); COST: £4 an adult/£3 concessions/£2 children/£10 a family; WEBSITE: www.canalmuseum.org.uk

10 small (and fascinating) museums in London…5. The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret

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It’s the most unlikely location for anything to do with a hospital. High above the street in what was a herb garrett above a former church sits what was the operating theatre for females of St Thomas’ Hospital.

Built in 1703, the attic space resembles something of a large barn and was likely first used for storing and drying herbs by the resident apothecary at the then newly reconstructed St Thomas’ Hospital (this was largely rebuilt at the end of the 17th century on the same site previously occupied by the hospital as far back as the 1200s).

In 1822, the hospital’s governors decided that part of the herb garrett be converted into a new purpose-built operating theatre for female patients. The addition of windows in what was left of the adjoining garret, meanwhile, suggest it may have been used as a recovery ward.

The first thing that assails you as you enter the herb garrett these days, having clambered up a narrow twisting staircase is the sweet, spicy smell of herbs.

There are plenty of these within the garret, each with a hand written card explaining the curative properties they were renowned for – who knew, for example, that the ash of bladderwrack, dried kelp or seaweed, could be used to treat scrofula and goitre, or that the origins of aspirin go back to 1758 when a Chipping Norton clergyman chewed on a willow twig?

Elsewhere in the space are displays featuring early surgeon’s implements (and all the horror that entails), specimen jars containing human organs, anatomical models, pill and medicine making equipment and a display on nursing (there’s also a display on the poet John Keats who briefly served as an apprentice apothecary at St Thomas’ and St Guy’s in 1815-17).

Through the garret is located the operating theatre itself, complete with the wooden operating table and series of seats for spectators. Information panels nearby speak of such things as the blood box located below the floor into which the blood drained away and the speed with which surgeon’s had to work (until 1846 there was no reliable anaesthetic and it wasn’t until 1865 that Sir Joseph Lister introduced antiseptic procedures). There’s also a panel on the resurrection men – people who traded in cadavers to meet the growing needs of anatomists in the 18th and 19th centuries (and whom were known in London and elsewhere to have murdered people to meet the demand for bodies).

For all the faux-horror of nearby attractions like the London Dungeon, it’s here that you can truly experience the horrors some people have had to face as they prepared to go under the surgeon’s knife.

WHERE: The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, 9a St Thomas’s Street, London Bridge (nearest Tube station is London Bridge); WHEN: 10.30am to 5pm daily; COST: £5.90 an adult/£4.90 concessions/£3.80 children under 16/£13.80 a family (up to four children); WEBSITE: www.thegarret.org.uk.

Around London – 16 Underground stations listed; life in a gun turret at HMS Belfast; and that dress on display at Buckingham Palace

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• Sixteen London Underground stations were this week listed as Grade II heritage buildings. The Tube stations – several of which were designed by Leslie Green, known for his pioneering use of ‘ox-blood’ red tiles on the exterior of stations to create a consistent brand for the stations – include the now-closed Aldwych (pictured) along with Oxford Circus (originally two stations), Covent Garden and Russell Square as well as Belsize Park, Brent Cross, Caledonian Road, Chalk Farm, Chesham, Perivale, Redbridge, St John’s Wood, West Acton and Wood Green. Three other stations – Arnos Grove, Oakwood and Sudbury Town – have had their status upgraded from Grade II to Grade II*. These three were all designed by modernist architect Charles Holden for the extension of the Piccadilly Line in the 1930s. The new listings were made by Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose on the advice of English Heritage.

• A new permanent exhibition showing would-be sailors what it is like to fight at sea opens at the HMS Belfast this weekend. Gun Turret Experience: A Sailor’s Story, 1943, is an immersive experience using lights, imagery, sound, smoke effects, movement and smell to recreate the atmosphere and conditions of a gun turret tower when a crew was at battle stations. Visitors are encouraged to follow the story of a young sailor on Boxing Day, 1943 when the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst is sighted leading to the Battle of the North Cape. The Gun Turret Experience, housed within the original triple gun turrets overlooking the quarterdeck, was developed with the help of Royal Navy veterans and eye-witness accounts from the Imperial War Museum (of which the HMS Belfast is part). Entry is included in normal admission price. For more information, see www.hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk.

• Now On: See the dress the Duchess of Cambridge wore when she was married to Prince William in April at this year’s summer opening at Buckingham Palace. The gown, which features a nine foot long train, will be displayed along with the Halo Tiara until 3rd October in the palace ballroom (the same room used for the newly married couple’s reception). The exhibition features video footage of designer Sarah Burton, explaining how the dress was made. This year’s summer opening also features a display of the work of Carl Faberge – including his magnificent jewel-encrusted Imperial Easter Eggs as well as bejewelled boxes and miniature carvings of favorite pets of the royal family. More than half a million people are expected to visit the exhibition. For more information, see www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=30

10 small (and fascinating) museums in London…4. The Wimbledon Windmill Museum

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A tiny museum located in an 1817 windmill standing in the middle of Wimbledon Common, the Wimbledon Windmill Museum provides an interesting insight into the work and lives of the millers who once occupied it and the thousands of other windmills around the UK.

Displays are located over three levels – the last reached by a steep climb up a ladder – and range from the tools and machinery used by the millers to a room packed with models of different types of windmills (all of which turn when you press a button) through to a room set up as the mill was in the 1870s when it was divided into homes for six families.

As well as the more static displays, there’s also a chance for the kids to make their own flour and a video playing on a loop which goes into considerable detail on the history and function of windmills in the UK.

There are tearooms located next door (and, if you happen to visit when it’s snowing, there’s a great toboggan run located nearby!).

The windmill itself has some interesting historic connections – it was in the miller’s cottage behind the windmill (now much enlarged) that Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell was staying when he wrote Scouting for Boys in 1907.

While this mill dates from 1817, there is a record of millers being on the common as far back as the 17th century. As well as making flour, the miller also served as the common’s constable.

This job entailed keeping an eye out for robbers operating on the common as well as illegal duelists (Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath were apparently popular spots for this).

Indeed, history records that Thomas Dann – the first miller about whom there is a record – and his wife witnessed an infamous duel between Lord Cardigan and Captain Tuckett from the windmill’s roof. Tuckett was wounded during the second round of shots and subsequently taken into the windmill for treatment of his injuries while Dann took Lord Cardigan into custody (he was eventually acquitted after a trial in the House of Lords).

This is certainly a small museum but, with an entry price of only a couple of pounds, well worth spending a little time to look through.

WHERE: The Wimbledon Windmill Museum, Wimbeldon Common (nearest Tube stations are Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Southfields); WHEN: 2pm to 5pm Saturdays, 11am to 5pm Sundays (and Bank Holiday Mondays) until October 30th; COST: £2 adults/£1 concessions and children/£5 families (two adults and up to four children); WEBSITE: www.wimbledonwindmill.org.uk.

Around London – Yuri Gagarin honored; Londinium by iPhone; celebrating a year to the Olympics; and, British Museum hopes to buy Europe’s oldest book…

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• Earlier this month it was former US President Ronald Reagan’s turn to be honored with statue in Grosvenor Square. Last week it was the turn of former Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – the first man in space – to be so honored with a new statue located outside the British Council’s offices in the Mall (opposite another explorer, Captain James Cook). The statue, a gift of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, was unveiled to mark the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s celebratory visit to London on 14th July, 1961, just three months after he completed his orbit of the earth on 12th April that year. The 3.5 metre high zinc alloy figure stands close to Admiralty Arch which was where Gagarin met then Prime Minister Harold MacMillan after he was invited to the UK by the National Union of Foundrymen. Among those present for the unveiling of the statue – which is a replica of one in the town of Lubertsy where Gagarin worked as a foundryman as a teenager – was Gagarin’s daughter Elena Gagarina, now director of the Kremlin Museums, and Vladimir Popovkin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency. The British Council is running an exhibition, Gagarin in Britain, which looks at the life of Gagarin and the early Soviet space programme, until 14th September – among the objects on display is the first space suit and an ejector seat similar to that Gargarin used when he ejected out of Vostok 1. Entry is by registration only and space is limited – email gargarin@britishcouncil.org is you’d like to register for a place. For more information, see www.britishcouncil.org. PICTURE: Frank Noon/British Council

• A new iPhone app which directs people to key sites in what was Roman London (Londinium) will go live on Monday. Developed by the Museum of London and the History Channel, Streetmuseum Londonium will bring to life some of the city’s most significant Roman sites, such as the amphitheatre at Guildhall, using “augmented reality video” which will overlay scenes of Roman London over the modern city while soundscapes will allow users to listen to a ritual at the Temple of Mithras or traders at the forum. In addition, users will be able to ‘digitally excavate’ Roman artifacts including leather bikini briefs and an ancient manicure set. Navigation to these “immersive experiences” will be via a specially created new map of Roman London which will be superimposed on a modern map of the capital, allowing users to see how the city has changed. The launch follows the earlier creation of the Streetmuseum app which guides people to more than 200 sites across the city. More than 200,000 people from across the world have so far downloaded this. Streetmuseum Londinium will be available free to download from 25th July. See www.museumoflondon.org.uk/apps for more.

• London will mark one year to go until the Olympic Games next Wednesday with a ceremony in Trafalgar Square which will be broadcast live on BBC1. Among those present with be the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) chairman Sebastian Coe and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. The event will also feature a live cross to the Aquatics Centre in Olympic Park where Olympic hopeful Tom Daley will make the first dive into the pool.

• The British Library hopes to raise £2.75 million to acquire the world’s earliest surviving intact European book, the 7th century St Cuthbert Gospel. A copy of the Gospel of St John, the book was buried with St Cuthbert on the isle of Lindisfarne in 698 and later found in the saint’s coffin in Durham Cathedral in 1104. The National Heritage Fund Memorial has already awarded £4.5 million to obtain the St Cuthbert Gospel and the Art Fund and The Garfield Weston Foundation have donated £250,000 each. The book has been on long-term loan to the library since 1979 and is regularly on view in the Sir John Ritblat Treasures Gallery. The library was approached last year and given first option to acquire the text after the Society of Jesus (British Province) decided to sell it. A price of £9 million has been agreed, of which £2.75 million remains outstanding. For more, see www.bl.uk.