41. Handel House
Seemingly
removed from the modern world, Handel House offers much to soothe and
inspire, not just for disciples of the eighteenth century composer, but
for lovers of Georgian architecture, interiors and portrait painting.
Handel lived here from 1723 to 1759, while composing the ‘Messiah’. You
move from room to room, opening doors as if exploring a private
residence and Handel’s music plays delicately during frequent recitals.
Best exhibit The museum’s treasured facsimile of the original ‘Messiah’ manuscript, complete with notations and smudges.
25
Brook St, W1 (entrance behind in Lancashire Court) (020 7495
1685/ www.handelhouse.org) Bond St or Oxford Circus tube. Adm £5.
42. National Army Museum
Predictably,
weapons feature prominently in here: the 2,500 edged weapons, 200 pole
arms and 1,850 firearms should keep bloodthirsty teenagers interested.
But it’s the human side of the exhibits that make the National Army
Museum work, including oral histories from World War I veterans, and
the order that launched the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Best exhibits Florence Nightingale’s lamp, and Lord Raglan’s Crimean telescope.
Royal Hospital Rd, SW3 (020 7881 2455/www.national-army-museum.ac.uk) Sloane Square tube. Adm free.
![]() |
| Monkey business at Forest Hill's Horniman Museum |
43. Horniman Museum
A
25-foot Alaskan totem pole outside the main entrance gives a clue as to
what’s in here: a wealth of quirky anthropological and natural history
treasures. You can while away hours perusing the place, but the Grade
II-listed natural history gallery – refreshingly devoid of computer
touchscreens – possibly contains the most memorable: a comically
over-stuffed walrus (the work of an over-zealous 1880s taxidermist).
There’s
much fun to be had in the music gallery, too, where the impressive
collection of 7,000 instruments includes an Iranian zarb, 600
concertinas and a pair of Egyptian clappers dating to 1,500BC.
Wandering through the rest of the museum, you’ll discover an Egyptian
mummy, a Nigerian Ijele (a special ceremonial African mask), Inuit
seal-skin clothing, Vodou altars and a functional beehive.
The
aquarium, which first opened in 1903, has just been rebuilt and
officially opens on July 14. It will be filled with 150 different
species of animals and plants from such far-flung climes as Fijian
coral reefs and mangrove swamps to British ponds. It won’t contain the
museum’s merman; that transpired to be a hoax – a joker had attached a
fish’s tail to a monkey’s body (it’s on display in the Centenary
Gallery).
The Horniman Museum must be south London’s most
cherished public attraction. The collection is built upon that of
Victorian tea trader Frederick John Horniman, who began acquiring
objects in the 1860s. The buildings are a mix of the original Victorian
and recent additions – which won a prize for architectural excellence
from RIBA in 2004. The gardens’ spectacular views make for pleasurable
picnicking. And, if you’re still not convinced, it’s free.
Kathryn Miller
100 London Rd, SE23 (020 8699 1862/www.horniman.ac.uk) Forest Hill rail. Adm free.
Feature continues
44. Kew Bridge Steam Museum
LONDON'S ONLY STEAM RAILWAY
For
genuine steam enthusiasts this museum hosts Cornish engines (in their
original engine housings) and rotative engines (collected from pumping
stations around the country). On Sundays (March-November), there’s also
a chance to ride on London’s only steam railway.
Best exhibit The Cornish engines. They use so much steam that they’re only run occasionally – check the website for details.
Green
Dragon Lane, Brentford, TW8 (020 8568 4757/ www.kbsm.org). Kew Bridge
rail. Adm £6.50, £5.50 concs, children under-15 free.
45. Sikorski Museum
Named
after General Wladyslaw Sikorski, a war hero and leader of the Polish
government-in-exile, this museum was set up to document the social and
military history of Poland. Like the nearby Institut Français, there is
the feeling that it’s been set up purely for Polish ex-pats, as all of
the exhibits are labelled in Polish, but there are guided tours in
English. Best on show here is one of the Enigma deciphering machines
that were used by Polish mathematicians to crack codes.
Best exhibit Although
the line, ‘Hey kids, we’re going to the Sikorski Museum!’ doesn’t have
a particularly appealing ring to it, younger visitors may enjoy the
full-size model of Wojtke the 'soldier bear' mascot of the Polish
soldiers.
20 Princes Gate, SW7 (020 7589 9249/www.sikorskimuseum.co.uk) South Kensington/Knightsbridge tube. Adm free.
46. Museum of Methodism & Wesley’s Chapel
You
don’t need to be a Methodist to receive divine inspiration here – the
building alone is worth a visit. Wesley described his chapel as
‘perfectly neat but not fine’. Riddled with self-doubt, he was never
one for boasting. Fine it is, with an elegant courtyard.
Best exhibit If you can, go for one of the Tuesday lunchtime recitals in the chapel to soak up the celestial atmosphere.
Wesley’s
Chapel, 49 City Rd, EC1 (020 7253
2262/ www.wesleyschapel.org.uk/heritage)Old St tube/rail. Adm free,
donations welcome.
|
| Marvel at how the packaging of household products has evolved |
47. Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising
This 120-year history of consumerism, culture, design, domestic life,
fashion, folly and fate, presented as a magnificently cluttered time
tunnel of cartons and bottles, toys and advertising displays, is a
small part of the collection amassed by Robert Opie – son of the
celebrated collectors of children's lore and literature Ioana and Peter
Opie – since the day in 1963 when the 16-year-old arrived home with a
Munchies wrapper and declared his intention never to throw away
anything ever again.
Colville Mews, Lonsdale Rd, W11 (020 7908
0880/www.museumofbrands.com) Notting Hill Gate tube. Tue-Sat 10am-6pm,
Sun 11am-4pm. Adm £5.80 adults, £3.50 concessions, £2 children, free
for under-7s.
48. Florence Nightingale Museum
An
advocate of free healthcare, Florence Nightingale raised nursing to a
professional level for women and started her own training school for
nurses at St Thomas’. Appalled by the conditions the wounded
experienced in the Crimean War, she helped to develop new hospitals in
the Victorian era, for which she was the first woman to receive the
Order of Merit in 1907. Her possessions, letters and portraits are on
display here.
Best exhibit To bring Florence’s legacy up to date, there are talks from St Thomas’ current nurses (check website for details).
St
Thomas’ Hospital, 2 Lambeth Palace Rd, SE1 (020 7620
0374/www.florence-nightingale.co.uk)Waterloo tube/rail. Adm £5.80,
£4.80 concs.
49. London Sewing Machine Museum
Dedicated
to Thomas Albert Rushton, founder of the Wimbledom Sewing Machine
Company, this museum contains a collection of antique sewing machines,
including 600 domestic and industrial sewing machines, dating from the
1850s-1950s. A replica of the first Wimbledon Sewing Machine Shop,
originally built in Merton Road can also be visited within the museum.
Best exhibit A unique sewing machine, given as a wedding present to Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa.
292-312 Balham High Rd London SW17 (0208 767 4724/ www.sewantique.com) Tooting Bec tube. Adm free.
50. London Fire Brigade Museum
It
was the Great Fire of 1666 that defined the Capital as we see it today.
With assorted fire-fighting paraphernalia, the most interesting element
of thos museum is seeing how the equipment has advanced over the
centuries. If you are planning to visit, remember to call them up first
as they only open up if you book in advance. Also, you might want to
leave the kids at home for this one – the tour lasts roughly two hours.
Best exhibit You can occasionally watch new recruits training with modern kit (call for details).
Winchester
House, 94a Southwark Bridge Rd, SE1 (020 7587 2894) Southwark tube.
Tours by appointment only. Adm £3, £2 concs, £2 children.
2 comments
i would just like to say that if you appreciate things a little unusual, you cant go wrong in Ploocks toy museum...
the building itself is an adventure, you feel like alice in wonderland as the celings shrink and rise as you enter the different rooms.
its atmospheric, creepy and wonderful! (dont miss the bethnal green museum of childhood either!)
also take the backstage tour at the national history museum and see the AMAZING scenes behind closed doors....WELL worth it, and free to boot!
This site is invaluable for planning trips around London to visit the lesser known places where the treasures of history are hidden. I have some research to do on Victorian London, and my material cannot be found in any one place, so it was a good source.